The PhD in Fine Arts (Fine Arts Doctoral Program, or FADP) PROGRAM HANDBOOK

Established in 1972, the Fine Arts Doctoral Program was originally created within the College of Arts & Sciences; in 2002 it moved to the newly-created College of Visual and Performing Arts, and in 2024 found a home in the new Department of Interdisciplinary Arts (DIA), the fourth unit within the Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts (TCVPA). Thus, while the program and its students are administratively situated in the DIA, the FADP remains an intensive collaboration with and between the DIA and the School of Art, School of Music, and School of Theatre & Dance.

GENERAL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Texas Tech University's unique Fine Arts Doctoral Program, which leads to a PhD in FINE ARTS, encourages students to pursue creative-critical study of the arts as an energetic exchange between multiple disciplines. Our students work both deeply and broadly. They balance focused disciplinary investigation with more integrative research bringing together approaches from the arts, social and natural sciences, and/or humanities. The FADP serves two types of students: 1) those with interdisciplinary scholarly or practice-based research interests, and 2) those with disciplinary research agendas who also want to increase their breadth as educators or administrators in a variety of institutional contexts.

Students who pursue arts-practice-based dissertation research should consider the creation, performance, and/or presentation of works of art as ways of answering research questions of interest to a broader scholarly/creative community. Consequently, preliminary bibliographic research should be undertaken and primary research questions identified prior to the creation, performance, or presentation of the work of art, which must be a means to an end and not an end in itself.

INTERDISCIPLINARITY AS AN ETHOS AND CORE VALUE

Interdisciplinary research involves using the insights and/or methodologies of multiple disciplines in an integrative way to solve a problem or answer a question that can’t be adequately addressed by any single discipline. In other words, interdisciplinarity does not disparage or deny the disciplines, but depends on them, even as it reorganizes their commitments. Interdisciplinarity is a performance of world-building aimed at both current and future cultural institutions, from universities and other educational organizations to nonprofits and governmental agencies.

ADMINISTRATION

The Dean of the Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts appoints the FADP Director, currently also the Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts. The Directors of the four TCVPA units (Art, Interdisciplinary Arts, Music, Theatre & Dance) and the Director of the FADP jointly identify and appoint Track Coordinators to who serve as the point people for students in the respective FADP Tracks. These individuals also serve de facto on the FADP committee, the group charged with supervising the FADP. Additional members of the FADP Committee include Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors of Interdisciplinary Arts (i.e. tenure-track faculty appointed in the DIA). 
The FADP Director chairs the FADP Committee and serves as liaison to the unit administrators of the School of Art, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Arts, School of Music, School of Theatre & Dance, and Dept. of Philosophy; all Affiliated Faculty of the FADP; and the TCVPA and Graduate School upper administrations.

Among other responsibilities, the FADP Committee makes final recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate School on admissions and maintains a continuing review of all aspects of the program.

All tracks exercise responsibility for their prospective and current students. This responsibility includes screening applicants and recommending admission to the FADP committee, counselling students in the development of individual degree plans, administering examinations, and overseeing the formation of advisory committees for direction of dissertations. For this reason, FADP Track Coordinators constitute an important liaison between the FADP Committee and the faculty and students that they represent. Students in the Transdisciplinary Arts Track are the co-responsibility of the coordinator of the Transdisciplinary Arts Track and the coordinator(s) of the Track(s) that houses the student’s TCVPA concentration(s).

Peter Martens, Ph.D. 
Chairperson, Program Director 
Peter.martens@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-1870

Christina Gonzales 
Business Manager 
Christina.gonzales@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-0068

Aaron Chavarria 
Director for Student Success 
Aaron.chavarria@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-2565

Alison Pruitt 
Senior Academic Advisor 
Alison.pruitt@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-7476

Art Track

Andres Peralta, Ph.D. 
Track Coordinator 
Andres.peralta@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-4493

Tricia Earl 
Track Advisor 
Patricia.a.earl@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-8964

Arts Administration Track

Divya Janardhan, Ph.D. 
Track Coordinator 
dijanard@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-7717

Alison Pruitt 
Track Advisor 
Alison.pruitt@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-7476

Music Track

Sarai Brinker, Ph.D. 
Track Coordinator, School of Music Associate Director 
s.brinker@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-7957

Clark Preston 
Track Advisor 
Clark.preston@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-3259

Theatre Arts Track

Andy Gibb, Ph.D. 
Track Coordinator, School of Theatre & Dance Associate Director 
Andy.gibb@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-6832

Abigail Wright 
Track Advisor 
Abigail.wright@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-5573

Transdisciplinary Track

Heather Warren-Crow, Ph.D. 
Track Coordinator 
Heather.warren-crow@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-3022

Alison Pruitt 
Track Advisor 
Alison.pruitt@ttu.edu | Office: 806-834-7476

CHAIN OF SUPPORT

Should a problem arise, please follow the chain of support described below. This allows for a workflow that can address problems in a course.

The professor of the course → (if not resolved) your Track Coordinator → (if not resolved) the Director of the FADP → (if not resolved) the Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts  
If you have issues with one of the professors for a School-specific class you are taking or with a student in a School-specific course, please pursue the following chain of support:

The professor of the course → (if not resolved) follow your School’s conflict resolution procedure → (if not resolved) the Director of the FADP

If you have an issue about the FADP more generally or a collective concern, please pursue the following chain of support:

Your Track Coordinator AND the Director of the FADP → (if not resolved) the Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts

A note on terminology: this DEGREE PROGRAM is a PhD with a MAJOR in Fine Arts. TRACK refers to the major area of specialization (i.e., Art, Arts Administration, Music, Theatre, or Transdisciplinary) and CONCENTRATION refers to a focus within an individual track (i.e., Musicology or Applied Art History).

TRACKS

As an interdisciplinary degree with diverse pathways to completion, the PhD with a major in Fine Arts operates on a Track model (note: in some University systems, Tracks are labeled 1st Concentrations instead). Different Tracks of the FADP prescribe different curricular structures, while maintaining coherence across the program.

The Fine Arts Doctoral Program has five Track options, some with Concentrations; all Tracks and Concentrations have 3- or 4-letter codes for use in various enrollment management platforms:

Art Track (FAA)

Concentrations in Applied Art History (AARH), Art Education (ARTE), Practice-Based Research (PBRS)

Arts Administration Track (FAAA)

Transdisciplinary Track (FATD): Students choose two concentrations: one or both chosen from available arts concentrations within the TCVPA (All concentrations from other Tracks, plus Dance); one may be chosen from a non-TCVPA concentration (those established include Anthropology, Educational Curriculum and Design, Psychology. The FATD was formerly the Interdisciplinary Arts Track (FAIA).

Music Track (FAM)

Concentrations in Music Education (MUED), Music Theory (MUTH), and Musicology (MUHL).

Theatre Arts Track (FATH)

GENERAL DEGREE PLAN

Each student, regardless of Track, completes coursework in three broad categories: the FADP Interdisciplinary Core, Dissertation hours, and requirements specific to a given Track/Concentration, as detailed below.

The Fine Arts Doctoral Program Interdisciplinary Arts Core (15 hours)

The 15-hour core of the FADP serves to establish for all students a foundation of multidisciplinary knowledge and interdisciplinary methodology. Core courses have been specifically developed for this unique program or chosen for their relationship to the rest of the Core. Together, these courses provide the essential backdrop against which the Core Exam takes place. The Core Cohort Sequence serves to establish an initial interdisciplinary arts community for each incoming group of students.

Core Cohort Sequence (3 courses; 9 hours); Core Cohort Courses are to be taken in this order.

IVPA 5301 (Fall semester 1) -> IVPA 5310 (Spring semester 1) -> IVPA 5314 (Fall semester 2).

IVPA 5301 Colloquium: Inter/disciplinarity in the Arts

The principal goal of this course is to introduce students to interdisciplinary research and inquiry in the arts. From the Course Catalog: Foundation for practice of interdisciplinary scholarship in the arts, including formation of interdisciplines, disciplinary labor of various approaches to arts research, and function of critical theory.

IVPA 5310 Arts Histories

The principal aim of this course is to approach the interdisciplinary arts from the perspective of history and historiographic research. From the Course Catalog: Examines the changing nexus of disciplinarity across world-historical space and time through selected instances of visual art, music, and theatre.

IVPA 5314 Arts Research in Contemporary Contexts

The principal focus of this course is contemporary issues in the field, focusing on current research methodologies. From the Course Catalog: Identifies and interrogates current trends in arts research and examines interdisciplinary research methodologies associated with the composition, performance, reception, and interpretation of artworks.

Core Philosophy Requirement (1 course; 3 hours)

All courses that fulfill the FADP philosophy requirement focus on philosophical constructs that are applicable across all art forms. This context is essential for any interdisciplinary arts scholar in general and will help prepare students for the FADP Core Exam (below).

IVPA 5300 Continental Philosophy Across the Arts

PHIL 5310 History of Aesthetics

PHIL 5314 Contemporary Aesthetics

Core Elective Requirement (1 course; 3 hours)

Any core-elective-approved IVPA 5300

IVPA 5300 Continental Philosophy Across the Arts

PHIL 5310 History of Aesthetics

PHIL 5314 Contemporary Aesthetics

Note: a single course may not count as both a Core Philosophy course and a Core Elective course.

Dissertation Hour Requirement (12 hours)

Dissertation hours (courses numbered 8000) are variable credit, with students able to enroll in 1 to 12 hours in a single semester. Hours are determined in consultation with the faculty member providing the instruction, most often the dissertation committee chair.

Track/Concentration-Specific Requirements (33 hours)

Please reference the curricular guides for individual Tracks/Concentrations that are included as Appendix A of this handbook.

TYPICAL COURSELOAD

Normal full-time enrollment varies between 9 and 13 hours per semester for doctoral students. Full-time enrollment in the summer in a summer term is from 3 to 6 hours. Students on fellowships, assistantships, or scholarships designed for the support of graduate study must enroll in 9 hours (and no more than 13 hours) in each regular semester (i.e., Fall and Spring) and at least 3 hours in a summer term.

After the completion of required courses, the Core Exam, the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam, and (preferably) the Dissertation Proposal Defense, the student may enroll in 8000-level DISSERTATION HOURS with the chair of their Dissertation Advisory Committee (students are strongly advised to wait to register for ART 8000 until after the successful defense). Students taking 8000-level DISSERTATION HOURS register for a minimum of 1-credit hour per semester (this is called “continuous enrollment”), but students on a fellowship and/or assistantship are required to enroll for 9 (Fall and Spring) or 3 (Summer) hours. Students should consult their offer letter regarding the terms of their fellowship/assistantship/scholarship; students should keep a copy of this offer letter. 
Most faculty who serve on dissertation advisory committees for FADP students are on 9-month contracts, meaning that they are not paid for any summer labor. While all 8000-level DISSERTATION HOURS are self-directed by the student, DISSERTATION HOURS scheduled during the summer sessions have varying levels of faculty involvement, with many faculty unable to read student work during the summer months, when they are not under contract. Students should determine faculty summer availability well in advance if significant and/or timely feedback is desired.

REGISTRATION IN SESSION OF GRADUATION

There are three official graduation dates: December, May, and August. Every candidate for a graduate degree must be registered for at least 3 hours at the 8000 level during the term of the dissertation defense and graduation. Students who do not complete the dissertation or who do not pass the defense during that semester must again take 3 hours at the 8000 level during the term of a subsequent defense and graduation. Students must complete an new Application to Graduate for each semester they expect to graduate.

However, if a student’s dissertation defense occurs in a given term after the dissertation defense deadline for graduation, and the student is enrolled in at least 3 hours at the 8000 level during the term in which the successful defense occurs, the student is then allowed to enroll in only 1 hour of 8000 during the subsequent term of graduation.

INCOMPLETES

The symbol “I” (Incomplete) may be given by a professor when a student’s work in a course has not been completed at the end of a semester, but only when failure to complete the work has been due to causes beyond the student’s control, and when the progress at the point at which the Incomplete is requested has been satisfactory. It is not used as a substitute for F. The incomplete (I) form is initiated by the instructor of record online through the Office of the Registrar. The instructor assigning the incomplete (I) must stipulate in writing at the time the grade is given the conditions under which the incomplete (I) grade may be removed and the specific date by which the make-up work is to be completed. This date must be within one calendar year of a recorded incomplete (I).

If these conditions are not met, the incomplete (I) will revert to a grade of F. The Dean of the Graduate School will consider extensions of “I” grades beyond the one-year deadline only under serious circumstances beyond the student’s control.

BENCHMARKS BY YEAR OF FULL-TIME ENROLLMENT

Year 1

• Core Coursework (IVPA 5301 and 5310, IVPA Philosophy or Elective requirement) and track-specific courses
• Begin identifying potential Dissertation Advisory Committee members

 Year 2

• Core Coursework (IVPA 5314, remaining IVPA Philosophy or Elective requirement) and track- or even dissertation-specific courses
• Refine list of potential Dissertation Advisory Committee members

Year 3

• Finish Core Coursework and track-specific (and perhaps dissertation-specific) courses
• Secure the Core Exam Committee
• Take the Interdisciplinary Core Exam portion of the Doctoral Qualifying Exam
• Secure a Dissertation Advisory Committee and Committee Chair
• Secure a Qualifying Exam Committee
• Take or begin taking Track-specific portions of the Doctoral Qualifying Exam
• Write and defend dissertation proposal (end of Year 3 or beginning of Year 4)

Year 4

• Write and defend dissertation proposal (end of Year 3 or beginning of Year 4)
• Conduct dissertation research
• Write dissertation

Year 5

• Write and revise dissertation
• Defend dissertation
• Graduate in the Spring semester

Progress through the program depends on a number of factors, including a student’s performance, dissertation research agenda, and life events. Students who accept full-time employment prior to completing the dissertation, especially off-campus full-time employment, should expect a delay in graduation.

SATISFACTORY PROGRESS

All FADP students will be evaluated annually for progress through the program as well as for their performance in assistantships (see below). These evaluations may be conducted by separate units and may be combined as a single overall evaluation.

Students in the FADP take a multi-part Doctoral Qualifying Examination. This exam consists of an oral Interdisciplinary Arts Core Exam and one or more written, Track-Specific Qualifying Exams. Music Track students will take foundational Qualifying Exams in Music Theory and Music History as well as a concentration-specific (major area) exam in musicology, music theory, or music education. For students in other FADP tracks, the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam consists of a single written exam.

CORE EXAM FACULTY and COMMITTEE FORMATION

Only faculty who have been vetted and approved as “Core Exam Faculty” are eligible to serve on Interdisciplinary Arts Core Exam committees. Current Core Exam faculty are listed on the FADP website.

In consultation with the relevant track coordinator, students secure members of the Core Exam Committee (which is separate from the Dissertation Advisory Committee). All members must be from the group of approved Core Exam Faculty. One member must represent the Art track, one must represent the Music track, one must represent the Theatre Arts track, and one must represent Philosophy (there must be 4 and no more than 4 members total). Dept. of Interdisciplinary Arts faculty can sometimes represent philosophy or multiple tracks; that said, a Core Exam Committee member can only serve in a single capacity per exam (e.g., Dr. Warren-Crow can’t represent both Art and Theatre for a single exam). Typically, the committee members will be the professors who have taught the student in the core classes. It is the student’s responsibility to approach faculty about their willingness to serve on a Core Exam Committee.

Students ask one of the four committee members to be the chair of the Committee; that chair will lead the writing of the Core Exam question in consultation with the other members of the Core Exam Committee. The member who writes the question cannot be from the student’s home unit (i.e., Art/Music/Theatre and Dance) or, for Transdisciplinary track students, from the primary concentration. All members of the committee are voting members.

CORE EXAM GUIDELINES

The Core Exam (part of the Doctoral Qualifying Examination, per the Graduate School’s terminology) tests the student’s ability to apply concepts, methodologies, and rhetorical strategies important to FADP core courses. The exam consists of a Core Exam Question, custom-written by a student’s core exam committee, which will require the student to address theatre, music, visual art, and philosophy, and which may have several parts.

The student has three weeks to write and design a 20- to 25-minute oral presentation (with visual aids, as appropriate) and prepare to answer questions posed by the committee and the audience that respond directly and completely to the core exam question.

Through the exam, the student should demonstrate an ability to formulate a coherent, persuasive, and compelling argument that applies to music, theatre, visual art, and philosophy as well as a proficiency with the structure of an academic presentation. The presentation is expected to be rehearsed and polished, which in most cases will involve writing out the presentation and reading it aloud.

The following is a guide to the process:

When should a student take the Core Exam?

Students should take the core exam during the semester following the conclusion of their core coursework or at the end of the last semester in which they are enrolled in core courses. 
How is the Core Exam Committee formed?

Students identify and approach faculty members for service on their Core Exam Committee, typically those with whom they have taken coursework. Names of committee members should be shared with the FADP staff member responsible for Core Exam recordkeeping. Currently this role is filled by Alison Pruitt.

How is the Core Exam Question created?

Any member of the Core Exam Committee from outside of a student’s home discipline is eligible to write the Core Exam Question; this individual becomes the default chair of the core exam committee. The core exam committee chair typically meets with the student for a preliminary assessment of research areas and orientation, and then crafts a question in consultation with the other committee members. This question is delivered to the student three weeks prior to the exam date. Students in the Transdisciplinary and Arts Administration tracks should consult their Track Coordinators for additional guidance on forming their Core Exam Committee.

How is the exam scheduled, and how are the arrangements finalized?

Core exams can be held face-to-face or via Zoom, providing all relevant parties agree on the modality.

To schedule the exam, the student should as soon as possible initiate a scheduling poll (Doodle, et al.) and send it to all committee members. Once a suitable day and 2-hour block of time are secured, the student should reserve an appropriate conference or classroom, if the exam will occur face-to-face. If the exam will occur over Zoom, the Core Exam Committee chair should send a Zoom link to all relevant parties.

The Core Exam Committee Chair should inform the Director of the Fine Arts Doctoral Program of the date, time, and location of the exam. The Director will publicize the announcement.

The Core Exam question will be given to the student 3 weeks in advance of the exam date. It is recommended that a student confer with the committee chair about exam scheduling at least 6 weeks in advance of a planned exam date to ensure that the question can be written and delivered with that timing. During the 3-week preparation period, the student is expected to meet with each committee member to guide their research process and discuss their developing response to the question posed.

What happens at the Core Examination?

The Core Exam Committee Chair presides over the exam. The exam is open to the public, meaning that other students, faculty members, and community members may attend as visitors.

At the beginning of the exam, the Core Exam Committee Chair will introduce the faculty on the committee and read aloud the question posed to the student. The student will then deliver the presentation. The Core Exam Committee Chair will act as timekeeper, notifying the student after 25 minutes have passed.

The Q-and-A period typically lasts forty-five minutes to an hour. During the open Q-and-A session, the members of the Core Exam Committee will be the first party to ask the student questions about the presentation. Then, members of the public will be invited to ask the student questions. Finally, members of the public will be asked to leave, and the Q-and-A will go into closed session for further questioning. After the closed session, the Core Exam Committee Chair will ask the student to leave the room so the Core Exam Committee can discuss and evaluate the student’s performance. Pass/fail will be determined by the majority decision of the Core Exam Committee. In the case of a tie, the vote of the Core Exam Committee Chair will be counted twice.

When the Core Exam Committee has reached a decision about whether the student has passed or failed, the student is invited back into the room and is given the committee’s decision. The Core Exam Committee Chair will then summarize the committee’s feedback.

After the Core Exam, the Core Exam Committee Chair will report the outcome of the exam on the Core Exam Reporting Form.

What does the Core Exam Committee expect?

Examiners expect the following:

• the ability (a) to formulate a clear argument in response to the given question; (b) to provide persuasive evidence to support the argument; and (c) to respond thoughtfully to challenges to the argument
• an understanding of principles of music, theatre, art, aesthetics/philosophy relevant to the question
• clear evidence of research appropriate to the question and reflecting the length of time allotted to preparation
• a demonstration of professionalism and rhetorical skill appropriate to thesis-driven academic presentations

What if a student does not pass the Core Exam?

Students who fail the core exam will be asked to retake it between 4 months and 12 months after the first attempt (students may not retake the exam sooner than 4 months after the first attempt). Students who fail the core exam more than twice will be dismissed from the program, per the rules of the Graduate School.

The track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination confirms that the student has the necessary knowledge and facility with project- or field-specific methodologies to complete the dissertation research, write the dissertation, and teach within their primary field of study. All parts of the Qualifying Examination, including the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination and the Core Exam, are reported to the Graduate School as a single event. The following is a guide to the parts of the Track-specific qualifying exam process that apply to all tracks.

When should a student take the track-specific portion(s) of the Doctoral Qualifying Examination?

A majority of FADP students take the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination after completing most of the coursework required by the degree plan and prior to the writing and presenting of the dissertation proposal. Students should take these parts of the Qualifying Exam within 1 calendar year of completing all the requirements listed on the degree plan.

Students in the Art, Theatre, Arts Administration, and Transdisciplinary tracks must have identified the dissertation topic prior to the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination. Students in these tracks whose proposed dissertation topic lies outside of their coursework may be asked to take additional courses in advance of the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination; for this reason, students should establish the basic parameters of their proposed dissertation project as early as possible after the first year. Students in the Music track should identify the basic dissertation topic prior to taking the Major Area portion of the qualifying exam, but need not have done so to take the foundational portions of the Qualifying Exam.

What if a student does not pass any part of the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination?

Students who fail any part of the Qualifying Examination will be asked to retake it between 4 months and 12 months after the first attempt (students may not retake the exam sooner than 4 months after the first attempt). Students who fail any portion of the Qualifying Examination twice will be dismissed from the program, per the rules of the Graduate School.

TRACK- or CONCENTRATION-SPECIFIC QUALIFYING EXAM COMMITTEES

Generally, the Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair, in consultation with the student, chooses the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee members from the Dissertation Advisory Committee, which is secured first. Additionally, the Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair should also chair the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee, although exceptions are made for faculty on leave or otherwise unable to perform this duty. Transdisciplinary Track students should have representatives from all designated concentrations on the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee.

GUIDELINES FOR THE ART TRACK PORTION OF THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

PROCEDURES

Participation in the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination process helps faculty understand the dissertation project and the expectations of the FADP when it comes to Dissertation Advisory Committee service. This is also an opportunity for the Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair to provide guidance to faculty new to the process, especially faculty from units across the university that have radically different procedures for examination.

Faculty participating in the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination are considered members of the Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee. In consultation with the student and members of this committee, the Dissertation Advisor Committee Chair identifies 3 areas on which to examine the student. Questions may focus upon (but are not limited to) the following 3 areas: (1) critical issues in theory and interdisciplinary approaches relevant to the dissertation topic, (2) research and/or methodologies appropriate to the dissertation topic, and (3) specific questions regarding the topic or field of emphasis. This third area may examine the dissertation topic’s broader context or may require demonstration of conceptual/methodological synthesis germane to the general field of emphasis. The essays of students doing interdisciplinary dissertation projects should demonstrate their knowledge of the project’s primary disciplines.

COMPONENTS

The Track-Specific Art Qualifying Examination Committee develops 3 written questions (4, if the student is pursuing a formal minor), usually with one or two members writing a draft of each question. The track-specific portion of the Qualifying Exam requires students to answer these questions (each question may have multiple parts) and may include an oral exam, the latter at the discretion of the Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair.

The student answers each question in an essay of 10 to 12 pages (approx. 3000 words) in 
length, with a bibliography of references. Each answer must be spell-checked, grammar-checked, proofread, word-counted, and properly cited according to the agreed-upon style.

The oral component, if required, may include extemporaneous discussion of issues and/or a prepared question.

TIMELINE

Written questions are submitted to the student, who completes the qualifying examination over a 2-week period. ESL students are permitted 3-weeks to facilitate a meeting with the Writing Center. Students with relevant disability accommodations may get additional time on the exam.

EVALUATION

Evaluation of the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Exam is the responsibility of members of the Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee. A copy of the exam may be made available to members of the FADP (Art) Committee, at the discretion of the Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair.

The final evaluation of the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination is pass or fail based upon a simple majority vote of faculty on the Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee. If 1 written component of the exam is deemed unsatisfactory, it can be revised and resubmitted within 30 days of the date the exam was completed. Should that revised component still be unsatisfactory, the entire examination is failed, and the student must schedule a second exam no earlier than 4 months and no later than 12 months after the initial attempt. If 1 written component of the exam is considered marginal, the Dissertation Advisory Committee may request that the student address the area in the oral examination. If 2 components of the exam are considered unsatisfactory, a second exam is required, scheduled no earlier than 4 months and no later than 12 months after the initial attempt.

The Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair informs the student of the result, copying the FADP Art Track Coordinator on all communication.

GUIDELINES FOR THE ARTS ADMINISTRATION TRACK PORTION OF THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

PROCEDURES

Normally the semester prior to the exam, or at a minimum 30 days prior to commencing the exam period, the student will ask two faculty members – the student’s Major Area Exam Committee – to work with the student to devise a master reading list and one topic each. The topics and reading list will serve as the basis for two questions that the student will answer at the time of the exam, one from each committee member. This Major Area Exam Committee will usually be a subset of the student’s Dissertation Committee, with no required faculty balance in relation to the student’s home unit. Normally the student’s Dissertation Chair will be the Area Exam Chair.

If the faculty writing the questions are not on the student’s Dissertation Committee, they should be faculty who have expertise in the topic of interest and who are approved by the Area Exam Chair 
The reading list will typically be comprised of material totaling 1500-2500 pages and will have significant overlap with a bibliography that would support the student’s dissertation.

COMPONENTS

Topics developed by faculty members should focus on some aspect of the student’s dissertation research; other topics are possible (such as a relevant ancillary topic) but normally should be related to the student’s course of study as defined by the student in consultation with the student’s Dissertation Chair. The student will meet with each committee member to discuss a topic and relevant readings to comprise part of the reading list. The agreed-upon topic will guide the question that each faculty person will write.

TIMELINE OF THE EXAMINATION

Once written, both questions will be delivered to the Area Exam Chair, who will then deliver them to the student at the beginning of the agreed upon two-week exam period. The student will then have two full weeks to write the two essays. The student will write 1500-2500 words on each question.

EVALUATION

Each question will be graded by both members of the Area Exam Committee. The grade will be a simple “pass” or “fail” for each question.  If the student fails one or more questions, the exam will be suspended. A student with a suspended exam will consult with the committee for feedback and after an appropriate designated period of time (two weeks minimum) will again answer a question from the same question writer. The student will sit for an oral exam on the questions only if it is deemed necessary or advisable by the committee

GUIDELINES FOR THE MUSIC TRACK PORTION OF THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

PROCEDURES

A student is eligible to stand for this examination after receiving approval of the "Program for the Doctoral Degree" from the Dean of the Graduate School and after completing most of the course work prescribed by the approved program. No part of the examination may be taken in absentia without approval from the Graduate School.

COMPONENTS

The Track-Specific portion of the Qualifying Examination for the track in Music is divided into several parts: the Foundational portions of the Qualifying Exam (Music Theory and Music History) and Concentration-specific (Major Area) portion of the Qualifying Exam. All parts of the Qualifying Examination, including the Major Area portion of the Qualifying Examination and the Core Exam, are reported to the Graduate School as a single event.

The foundational examinations in Music Theory and Music History are typically given on non-consecutive Saturdays in October/November, in March, and in June. Students are encouraged, but not required, to sit for both examinations during the same semester. Check with the relevant School of Music Associate Director for specific dates. Guidelines for both foundational exams can be found in the School of Music Handbook for Graduate Students.

The Major Area exam in the concentrations of Music Education, Music Theory, and Musicology is administered by faculty in those divisions of the School of Music. Students in the Musicology concentration must also demonstrate competency in two languages other than English. For details, please contact the current Division Head of Music Education, Music Theory, or Musicology, or see the School of Music Handbook for Graduate Students.

GUIDELINES FOR THE THEATRE TRACK PORTION OF THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

PROCEDURES

Normally at the start of the semester prior to the exam, or at a minimum 60 days prior to commencing the exam period, the student will ask three faculty members to work with the student to devise one reading list and broad topic each. The topic and list will serve as the basis of the question the student will answer at the time of the exam. Topics should focus on some aspect of the student’s dissertation research. Other topics are possible (such as a relevant ancillary topic) but normally should be related to the student’s course of study and as defined by the student in consultation with the student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair.

Faculty members of the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee will usually be members of the student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. Normally the student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair will be the Qualifying Exam Committee Chair. If the professors on the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee are not on the student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee, they should be faculty who have expertise in the topic of interest and who are approved by the Qualifying Exam Chair. Once three faculty members agree to serve on the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee, the student will meet with each member to discuss a topic and an agreed upon reading list of between 2000 and 3000 pages of readings. The agreed-upon readings will guide the question that each Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee member will write.

COMPONENTS

Each of the 3 members of the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee writes one question. The student will write a 2000–3000-word essay in response to each question (3 essays total). The student may be asked to sit for an oral exam, if deemed necessary by the Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee.

TIMELINE OF THE EXAMINATION

Once written, all three questions will be delivered to the student’s Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Chair, who will then deliver them to the student at the beginning of the agreed upon 2-week exam period. ESL students will have a 3-week exam period to facilitate a meeting with the Student Writing Center.

EVALUATION

Each essay will be graded as “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory.” If 1 or more essays is deemed “unsatisfactory,” the exam will be suspended. A student with a suspended exam will consult with the committee for feedback and after an appropriate designated period of time (30 days minimum) will again answer a question from the same question writer.

GUIDELINES FOR THE TRANSDISCIPLINARY TRACK PORTION OF THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

PROCEDURES

The semester prior to the Track-Specific portion of the Qualifying Examination, the student identifies a topic for the dissertation. In consultation with the Track Coordinator and the Coordinator of the Track in which the primary concentration resides, the student requests the leadership of a Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair and meets with that Chair in order to clarify the dissertation’s topic and content. The student may need to investigate this material further by means of independent study and/or additional coursework, although this is less likely in the Transdisciplinary Track, as these students identify the basic field(s) of their proposed dissertation research prior to beginning the program.

Working in conjunction with the Dissertation Committee Chair and in consideration of faculty expertise, the student asks 4 faculty members to serve on the Dissertation Advisory Committee (see Section 4.2). While students can proceed with the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination with only 3 or 4 Dissertation Advisory Committee members chosen, it is strongly recommended that all members of the Dissertation Advisory Committee participate in the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination as members of the Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee. Transdisciplinary Track students should have representatives from all designated concentrations on the Dissertation Advisory Committee and Track-Specific Qualifying Exam Committee (e.g., an IA student pursuing concentrations in musicology and cultural anthropology should have a musicologist and a cultural anthropologist on both committees).

Except under unusual circumstances, such as the temporary absence of a key faculty member, the Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair will also serve as the Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee Chair.

Each Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee member will work with the student to devise a reading list on a particular topic of relevance to the dissertation. In the case of a four-member committee, a pair of members will be in charge of one exam field, and the pair will work together with the student to determine the reading list. The Chair will be responsible for ensuring the coherence of the exam fields (both individually and in relation to each other) and their relevance to the dissertation topic. Chairs are strongly encouraged to include one methodology field, one theory field, and one research object field, although other structures are possible.

COMPONENTS

Each reading list will serve as the basis for a question that the student will answer at the time of the exam. There will be 3 questions total, and each Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee member (or, in the case of a four-member committee, a pair of members) will write 1 question. The student will write a 2500–3000-word essay in response to each question, for a total of 3 essays.

The student will sit for an Oral Examination if deemed necessary or advisable by the Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee.

TIMELINE OF THE EXAMINATION

Written questions are submitted to the student, who completes the qualifying examination over a 2-week period. ESL students are permitted 3-weeks to facilitate a meeting with the Writing Center. Students with relevant disability accommodations may get additional time on the exam.

EVALUATION

The final evaluation of the track-specific portion of the Qualifying Examination is pass or fail based upon a simple majority vote of faculty on the Track-Specific Qualifying Examination Committee. If 1 written component of the exam is deemed unsatisfactory, it can be revised and resubmitted within 30 days of the date the exam was completed. Should that revised component still be unsatisfactory, the entire examination is failed, and the student must schedule a second exam no earlier than 4 months and no later than 12 months after the initial attempt. If 1 written component of the exam is considered marginal, the Dissertation Advisory Committee may request that the student address the area in the oral examination. If 2 components of the exam are considered unsatisfactory, a second exam is required, scheduled no earlier than 4 months and no later than 12 months after the initial attempt.

A dissertation is required of all students in the FADP. The following guidelines aim to assist students and faculty members through the process of developing and presenting a proposal, writing the dissertation according to Texas Tech University standards, and preparing for the final examination of the dissertation, otherwise known as the dissertation defense. Each candidate for the doctorate writes a formal dissertation under the direction of his or her advisory committee for submission to the Dean of the Graduate School. All dissertation projects will involve some mode of research and analysis, and will include a stated problem, methodology, and planned structure of investigation.

A dissertation is an original contribution to knowledge. It develops a productive relationship between diverse methodologies, discourses, and subjects/objects of study. Whether the dissertation is strictly written, or contains an applied component, varies by Track/Concentration and is something negotiated between the student and the Dissertation Committee Chair and/or Committee.

In order to advance to candidacy (for the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Arts) the student must have passed all parts of the Doctoral Qualifying Examination, all required coursework, and all language/tool requirements. The FADP Track Coordinators (or relevant support staff) inform the Graduate School that the student has passed all parts of the Qualifying Exam and recommends advancement to candidacy. The student officially advances to candidacy when the Graduate School accepts the recommendation.

Authority for admitting an applicant to candidacy for a doctoral degree is vested in the Graduate Council. Upon receipt of a recommendation from the relevant FADP Track Coordinator (or relevant support staff), the Graduate Dean will submit it to the Graduate Council for approval. By written communication, the Graduate Dean will transmit the results of the council’s action to the applicant, to the chairperson of the Dissertation Advisory Committee, and to the chairperson of the Department/School concerned. A student must be admitted to candidacy for the doctorate by the semester prior to the proposed graduation semester.

In consultation with the Track Coordinator (and, in the case of FATD students, the coordinator of the track in which the primary concentration resides), the student will ask a professor to serve as Chair of the Dissertation Advisory Committee. This Chair must be from the student’s home unit (or, in the case of the tracks managed by the DIA, the unit of the student’s primary concentration). DIA faculty may be able to serve as “home unit faculty” in more than one unit (e.g., Dr. Warren-Crow can serve as “home unit faculty” for theatre or art).

The chair must have TTU Graduate Faculty status and a doctoral degree. Faculty with TTU Graduate Faculty status but without a doctoral degree may co-chair a Dissertation Advisory Committee with a partner who has a doctoral degree and TTU Graduate Faculty status.

Students should choose Dissertation Advisory Committee Chairs based on their qualifications, expertise in relation to the dissertation project, and compatibility. Consequently, students who have identified a possible Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair are strongly urged to take a class with this professor; this is especially important given that faculty who have never had a student in a course may refuse the request to chair a Dissertation Committee Advisory Committee.

The Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair and the student will assemble the remainder of the Dissertation Advisory Committee based on faculty expertise and availability. For the Music, Theatre Arts, and Art tracks, this four-person committee will consist of three faculty members internal to the student’s track and concentration, if applicable, and an additional member external to the Track.

Important considerations:

• DIA-appointed faculty may be able to serve as the committee’s external member, or as “home unit faculty” in more than one unit.
• FADP-affiliated faculty are faculty from non-TCVPA departments who have been vetted and approved as such; non-TCVPA individuals typically serve as the external member of a dissertation committee, but the special FADP affiliation status allows them to also serve as internal members, as the needs of the specific dissertation project suggest.
• Each dissertation committee member will need to have TTU Graduate Faculty Status, either as part of their normal TTU faculty appointment, or via the Graduate School’s adjunct graduate faculty approval process; all external-to-TTU committee members need to go through this process.  
  Transdisciplinary Track students should have representatives from all designated concentrations serving on the Dissertation Advisory Committee.

Doctoral dissertation proposals at TTU are neither required by, nor reported to, the Graduate School; the guidelines in this section are thus internal to the FADP. Program faculty and administration deem it essential that FADP students undertake a formal process of articulating, writing, and presenting an argument for a dissertation-length project that will be presented and defended in the presence of the dissertation committee. This proposal can be undertaken at any point during the first years of FADP student, but should be completed within a semester after completing all parts of the Doctoral Qualifying Exam.

PROPOSAL STRUCTURE

The proposal itself should include an overview of the topic/research area and justification of its importance, a focused statement of the research problem(s) to be addressed, an identification of the disciplines relevant to the project, a comprehensive review of relevant literature organized by discipline, and a plan for the dissertation, including a proposed table of contents and writing timeline. To cover these areas adequately, the document should be a minimum of 20 pages in length and no more than 30 pages, not including the bibliography and addenda (an IRB proposal, e.g.).

PROPOSAL DEFENSE FORMAT

The defense should be conducted similarly to the final dissertation defense (see below), with the proposal distributed to the full committee two weeks in advance of a scheduled defense. The defense itself will consist of a short opening presentation of the proposal by the student (15-20 minutes), followed by questions from and discussion by the committee with the student, and then in closed session, if/as needed, followed by a discussion among committee members only. During the closed committee discussion, a general approach to reading, editing, and distributing parts of the dissertation among committee members, as they come into being, should be established (see below for further detail).

The committee will take a pass/fail vote on the proposal, with the results of the vote communicated immediately to the student, and with the committee chair reporting the results and date of proposal defense to FADP staff (currently Alison Pruitt).

COMMITTEE WORKFLOW

There are multiple workable models for the oversight workflow of a dissertation between a successful proposal defense, and the submission of a complete dissertation draft three weeks in advance of the final defense. The goal of the guidelines below is not to be prescriptive, but to articulate the roles, responsibilities, and privileges of all stakeholders in the process. For example, a methodology-focused committee member may be more heavily involved nearer the beginning of the process, and in giving feedback on methodology-focused chapters; a chair often takes on the role of first-pass line editor, but that work may also be distributed among committee members; a student may deliver material to the committee chapter-by-chapter or in larger chunks. In all situations it is the responsibility of the committee chair to develop a process with the student and all committee members, and to communicate that process (and any emendations thereof) to all parties involved.

In no case should a dissertation committee member not have some opportunity to review, edit, or comment on an in-progress dissertation prior to the submission of a complete draft of the dissertation to the full committee three weeks prior to the final defense. An iterative process during this period will ensure that the student benefits from the full expertise of the committee while writing the dissertation, with the goal to prevent major methodological or structural issues with the project persisting in the document through to the final defense. Specifically, individual dissertation chapters submitted to the chair and/or committee members during a faculty member’s normal term of employment during the year (generally 9 months, September-May) should be returned to the student with feedback appropriate to its length and writing stage generally within three weeks of receipt. Finally, committee members should expect access to the first or first substantial chapter of a dissertation with one year of the proposal defense.

HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH

Texas Tech University is committed to protecting the rights and welfare of individuals participating in research. Texas Tech's Institutional Review Board (IRB) is charged with reviewing all human subjects research in accordance with federal regulations, state laws, and local and University policies (TTU OP 74.09). The Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) serves as a liaison to the IRB and point of contact for participants and researchers. Students who are doing research on human subjects will undergo IRB training and submit their projects for review under the auspices of a faculty Principal Investigator, usually the Dissertation Committee Chair. See https://www.depts.ttu.edu/research/irb/ for more detail on the definitions of human subjects research, and subsequent steps.

Dissertation defenses within the Fine Arts PhD program follow the guidelines of the TTU Graduate School, as outlined in the Graduate Catalog, Doctoral Program -> “Final Examination” and “Dissertation” sections.

SCHEDULING

A student’s semester of graduation on file with the Graduate School will not be used as a rationale for hurriedly scheduling and completing a dissertation defense in the absence of a complete draft that has been reviewed by at least the dissertation committee chair prior to its distribution to the full committee. Students should therefore be aware of their on-file semester of graduation and change that date as needed well in advance. Students approaching 99 total doctoral credit hours at Texas Tech should be especially vigilant in this area, since the Dean of the Graduate School possesses (and has exercised) the right effectively remove a student from the FADP by denying an extension of the graduation semester.

DISSERTATION DEFENSE FORMAT

Candidates defending a dissertation will begin by presenting an initial summary of the dissertation project (20-40 minutes, with target length determined in consult with the dissertation committee chair). Immediately following the presentation, the committee will deliberate on and evaluate the proposed topic with the candidate, offer suggestions, and ask questions. Faculty outside of the committee and guests may attend these portions of the defense, and the committee chair has the discretion to allow guests to join the discussion during this stage. Following this discussion, guests will be asked to leave the room while the dissertation committee confers with the student. After this discussion, the candidate will be asked to leave the room while the committee deliberates and decides by vote on two separate items: whether the dissertation defense was adequate, and whether the dissertation document itself is acceptable for submission to the Graduate School. The candidate should wait nearby during this discussion. Dissertations can be passed, passed with revisions, or failed. The dissertation committee chair will call the candidate back into the meeting to present the committee’s decisions in these two areas. The committee may ask the candidate further questions at this time, and vice versa.

The dissertation chair initiates the online forms for both decisions. If the dissertation is not passed, the candidate will be guided by the chair to redevelop the proposal. If the dissertation is passed with revisions, the dissertation chair will guide the student to revise as required by the committee; committee members may ask for these revisions before the document is considered passed or may cede that right to the chair.

Some students find it necessary to pause their progress toward completion, either entering a prolonged period of continuous enrollment (a minimum of 1 dissertation hour each Fall, Spring, and Summer semester), or dropping their enrollment entirely. In the latter case, there are necessary structural re-enrollment steps through the TTU Graduate School. In all cases, there are practical steps required to pick up the strands of a fallow research project, which often includes re-establishing a dissertation committee. Contact the FADP Director for further detail.

APPOINTMENT

Assistantships are available to qualified doctoral students for half-time employment (up to 20 hours/week) and renewable for up to four years, contingent upon enrollment as a full-time student ( at least 9 hours during fall/spring terms), eligibility to work in the United States, and satisfactory academic progress. Assistantships include an insurance allowance (insurance is required for international students and is an additional expense) and remission of all but a portion of tuition and mandatory fees (all but approximately $650 per semester for doctoral students). Students enrolled in more than the minimum 9 hours may see additional out-of-pocket costs. Refer to your assistantship offer letter for more details.

Students may be eligible to apply for a 5th year of assistantship funding, subject to academic and assistantship performance, as well as the department and college workforce needs and available resources.

There are two sources for assistantships offered to FADP students: 1) departmental teaching assistantships and 2) Distinguished Graduate Student Assistantships (DGSA). Departmental assistantships carry a stipend of $13,000 for the 9-month academic year, approximately $6,500 for the fall/spring semesters. DGSAs pay a stipend of $15,500 per academic year or $7,750 for fall/spring.

DGSAs for FADP students are funded jointly by the Graduate School and the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts. DGSAs have additional requirements that must be met; refer to the offer letter from the Graduate School for details. NOTE: the Graduate School’s language may refer to half of the assistantship (.25 FTE) as being devoted to research; in the TCVPA we are able to consider the full range of academic support and teaching duties as fulfilling this requirement.

Assistantships are different from scholarships/fellowships in that you will be hired as an employee through the TTU HR system, and your salary will be disbursed over a 9-month period from October 1 - June 1. You will need to complete new hire paperwork prior to your start date so that your ePAF (employee personnel action form) can be applied before the 10th class date. Once your ePAF has been applied, your waivers will then be applied to your bill.

DUTIES

Assistantship duties will often, but not always, correspond to students' areas of experience and academic focus. The exact duties of an appointment for an academic year are typically determined by the end of the preceding Spring semester, but some positions can not be finalized until early August. The main two roles for FADP students on an assistantship are 1) Teaching Assistant (TA) and 2) Graduate Part-Time Instructor (GPTI). A Teaching Assistant will work with a faculty member or senior graduate student to provide support for student assessment and occasional teaching, with other duties as assigned. A GPTI will be the lead, usually sole, instructor for a course, and may or may not have a TA assigned to that course.

It is not uncommon for FADP students with assistantships to have their duties split between the School of their Track, and the DIA or the TCVPA Dean’s Office. In those cases, unit leadership communicates with care to ensure that the duties assignment stays within the 20 hours/week maximum.

ANNUAL EVALUATION

The unit(s) in which a student with an assistantships serves has/have an annual evaluation process, which will be completed by the student’s faculty supervisor. The evaluation is meant to give constructive guidance to those new to assessing undergraduate work and developing as instructors; it also serves as the basis for assistantship renewal from year to year. Students may be asked to meet with supervising faculty members or administrators regarding their annual evaluation, and students are always free and encouraged to do so.

The TCVPA enjoys a limited amount of fellowship/scholarship funding for graduate students, with awards up to $6000/year. Most of these funds are limited to recruiting use, i.e. they are awarded to incoming first-year students. Unlike assistantships, these funds are not contingent on employment, but are simply added to students’ accounts. Like assistantships, recruiting fellowships and scholarships are renewable for four years, with the possibility of a fifth year, as above.

Graduate students have several sources of funding for professional travel. Fundable professional travel is typically defined as being the presenting author or co-author of an oral or poster project, a named exhibitor of artwork, or a named performer in a by-application festival. The common thread in all of these is the presence of peer review during the selection process for the event, conference, show, etc. Since the process outlined below is highly sequential and takes considerable time, students are encouraged to begin the process of applying for funding as soon as they receive notice of acceptance to the professional event. Funding for attendance only, or for other professional development-type activities, may be available on a limited basis from departments or the TCVPA. Students are typically eligible for one funded professional trip per academic year.

STEP 1: DEPARTMENTAL FUNDING

For FADP students, this initial stage of funding accrues by Track: the Art Track to the School of Art, Music to Music, Theatre to Theatre & Dance, with the Arts Administration and Transdisciplinary Tracks falling under the Dept. of Interdisciplinary Arts. Please contact your Track Coordinator and/or the Track unit’s administration for details on that unit’s process.

STEP 2: GRADUATE SCHOOL FUNDING

With Departmental “seed” money in hand, students should apply to the Graduate School’s funding for professional travel. Please see their detailed description and process here.

STEP 3: TCVPA RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY AWARDS FUNDING

Step 3 is the TCVPA’s RCAA program for Graduate Students. Note that applications for these awards are reviewed only a few times per semester; hitting those deadlines, even if Step 2 funding has not yet been awarded, is strongly advised.

Graduate travel funding is generally handled on a reimbursement basis; you will be asked to submit receipts for airfare/travel, lodging, registration, and incidental expenses. Meals are reimbursed according to governmental per diem rates. If significant expenses are incurred far in advance of travel (i.e. an international plane ticket), speak with your Track’s travel preparer about the possibility of advance reimbursement.

Texas Tech University provides resources for students who are experiencing sudden or significant hardships, including the Raider Relief Program, Raider Red’s Food Pantry, and Student Health Services. Students are encouraged to bring these issues to the attention of FADP program personnel as well.

Detailed curricular tables for the individual Tracks and Concentrations below are in preparation, expected Spring 2027. Please consult your Track Coordinator for the latest information of this type.

• Art Track – Applied Art History
• Art Track – Art Education
• Art Track – Practice-Based Research
• Arts Administration Track
• Music Track – Music Education
• Music Track – Music Theory
• Music Track – Musicology
• Theatre Track
• Transdisciplinary Track

• Foundational Exams in Music History and Music Theory, Schedule
• Music Theory Exam Study Guide

Major Area Exams:

• The major area examination is designed to test the student's specific understanding of concepts and materials in the student’s chosen concentration. For specific information about the Major Area Exam, contact your concentration’s Division Head (Musicology, Music Education, or Music Theory). See School of Music Graduate Handbook for additional details.
• Students with a concentration in Musicology must also demonstrate competency in two languages other than English.