The final project for the degree includes both performing and scholarly components, which vary according to the degree emphasis.
Two types of master’s degrees are offered: “A Thesis Plan I master's requires a research thesis, while a Capstone Plan II master's has a capstone requirement, which may be a comprehensive exam, an individual project, or a group project.”
Students with a composition emphasis will complete a Thesis Plan I masters. Students with this emphasis submit a thesis composition together with an essay that addresses historical, technical, and/or interpretive issues of the music (MUSC 299); and they complete a full-length recital (MUSC 298) of their compositional work.
Students with a musicology/ethnomusicology emphasis will complete a Thesis Plan I master's, regardless of whether or not they complete a performance or lecture-recital. Students with this emphasis will complete a thesis (MUSC 299) and may choose to give a short performance or lecture-recital related to the thesis (MUSC 298).
Students with a performance practice emphasis will usually complete a Capstone Plan II master's and write a short essay to accompany a recital, but may have the option to choose a Thesis Plan I master's instead. Students in this emphasis complete a full-length recital (MUSC 298) and an accompanying short essay that addresses historical, technical, and/or interpretive aspects of the music performed in the recital. Students in this emphasis whose main area is conducting complete a full-length recital (MUSC 298) and one of the following: a shorter lecture-recital, a short analytical or contextual essay on a different topic, or a collaboration with a graduate student composer or faculty composer on a premiere public performance. Students are encouraged to create a program involving corollary studies such as computer studies, area cultural studies, linguistics, anthropology, theater arts, and visual arts.
Graduate students must take all core courses for a letter grade. These courses include the following: MUSC 200, MUSC 201, MUSC 202, MUSC 203A-H, MUSC 206A-D, MUSC 219, MUSC 220, MUSC 253A-D, and MUSC 254A-X. Grades of C or D do not satisfy any course requirement for a music graduate degree.
The colloquium course (MUSC 252) must be taken with the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade option.
Independent study courses (MUSC 261, MUSC 265, MUSC 295, MUSC 297, MUSC 298, and MUSC 299) may be taken with the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade option.