Graduate music programs at Rutgers prepare students for music scholarship, on the one hand, or composition, on the other. Both areas include extensive study of music theory.
The M.A. degree requires a minimum of 30 credits. For students specializing in composition, the following courses are required: 16:700:501, 525, 526, 531, 532, 601, and 602. Those concentrating in musicology must take 16:700:501, 502, 519, 520, 525, and one other theory class, 552, and 602. The music history faculty recommends that musicology students take one course outside the department. Before the end of their second term of full-time study, all candidates must take an examination that will determine their eligibility to remain in the program. This examination will require students to identify important composers and compositions. Before the end of the third term, students seeking an M.A. degree must demonstrate a reading knowledge of one foreign language (German, French, Italian, or Latin). Those M.A. candidates who plan to continue for a Ph.D. must demonstrate a reading knowledge of two foreign languages before they complete their work in the M.A. program. One of the two languages should be German, as this language is required for the Ph.D. All candidates must pass a written comprehensive examination. Candidates in musicology submit a master's essay. Those in composition submit a work for chamber ensemble.
For admission to the Ph.D. program, applicants must have met requirements for the M.A. degree or their equivalents. Applicants in musicology should submit an essay giving evidence of their ability to engage in scholarly research. Applicants in composition should submit a work based on a traditional procedural model, such as a motet, chorale prelude, invention, or fugue. They also must provide a portfolio of their recent, representative compositions. Ph.D. candidates in composition must take 16:700:631, 632, 651, and 9 elective credits. Ph.D. candidates in musicology must take 16:700:619, 620, 651, and 9 elective credits. In addition, a minimum of 24 credits in individual research is required. Students should have met all language requirements by the end of the third year of graduate study. Students in musicology must show in a written examination that they have a reading knowledge of French, German, and a third language that is chosen with approval of the graduate director. Students in composition must demonstrate by the end of their third year a working knowledge of German and of one Romance language, which is chosen with approval of the graduate director. As part of their graduate training, doctoral students also are required to fulfill certain teaching duties under faculty supervision. Before admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, all students must pass a written and oral comprehensive examination. For students in musicology, a dissertation is required. Candidates in composition must submit an original work of substantial pro-portions, along with an appropriate critical or theoretical essay.
The master of philosophy degree is available to doctoral candidates. The faculty cooperates with the M.A. program in theology, with a major in music, offered by the New Brunswick Theological Seminary.
All students of composition (both M.A. and Ph.D. candidates) are expected to participate in the Composer Forum, a periodic meeting of students and faculty that provides a setting for the performance and discussion of students' music.
In addition to courses listed below, a student may, with approval of the graduate director, receive credit for certain upper-level, relevant undergraduate or graduate classes offered by other departments. One example would be 01:730:365 Philosophy of Music, which is offered by the philosophy department.
