I. DMA score exam

Master's students in musicology must pass the DMA score exam by answering all 8 examples with a 7 or better (out of 10 possible points) on each score excerpt. Students are advised to sit for the exam as early as possible in their first year.

II. Historical essays

1. General essays -- 3 questions -- 4 hours
• 1 student question: each student will submit a total of 3 questions, from which at least one will be chosen as part of the exam. These questions may be modified at the discretion of the faculty.
• 2 faculty questions: the remaining 2 questions must be chosen from 7 total submitted by the faculty.


2. Current topics -- 4 questions -- 4 hours
• Ten topics related to the last 10 years of journal articles; answers must reflect an awareness of the major issues, methodologies, and questions in the field of musicology.
  
  Each student will answer 4 questions:
• 1 long answer (ca. 2 hours)
• 2 short answers (ca. 1 hour each)
• 1 take home (over the weekend)
  This answer must be a specific and in-depth summary of the state of research in a particular area. Because it is to be done in the library, the answer should contain specific citatoins and summaries of articles, a sense of the timeline of that particular field, and an awareness of earlier research as it relates to the present day.

III. Oral exam -- one week later

This exam will cover the take-home portion of the exam in detail and address any inadequacies or problems in the other written portions. The oral should be scheduled for 2 hours and be convened by the grading subcommittee.

Assembly of exam

A subcommittee of the musicology faculty will assemble a single exam from the questions provided by students and faculty. To create exams that are comprehensive, equal, and yet relate to students' interests, each full-time member of the history faculty will submit a question or topic for the historical essays.

Grading of exams

A second, separate subcommittee will be responsible for grading all of the exams. The chair of the subcommittee will make available all exams to all faculty, and any faculty member desiring to submit a one-page summary of a student's ability will be invited to do so. Thus each faculty member will have an opportunity both to participate in each student's exam at both the assembly and the grading stages.

Scheduling of exams

• The written exam will be scheduled for week 6 of the spring semester; oral exams will take place one week later.
• Submitted questions (from faculty and students) are due by week 4.
• The DMA score exam must be taken during its normally scheduled time in either the fall or spring semester.