Music Education
Doctoral Degree Program

Graduate opportunities

In the Division of Music Education, we’re dedicated to developing strong leaders in the field. With individual mentorship and guidance, our Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music Education prepares you for a career in higher education, capitalizes on your current knowledge and skills and broadens your perspectives through research.

You’ll explore a wide range of areas such as:

• Pedagogy in practice
• Philosophical foundations and principles of music teaching
• Psychology of music
• Research and measurement
• Sociology of music

You also can enroll in courses offered by other academic departments to enrich your knowledge base. These courses, chosen in consultation with your advisor, will prepare you for the final dissertation and guide you toward expertise in a related area. Our program’s advantages over others include the following features.

Doctoral Colloquia

Each month, Ph.D. students meet with faculty members to discuss special topics related to career preparation. Through interaction with peers at various stages of degree completion, you can prepare for research presentations at local, state and national conferences. In addition, the monthly colloquium can groom you for interviews and professional networking.

College Teaching

Throughout the degree plan, you’ll have multiple opportunities to develop teaching skills at the collegiate level. Ph.D. students assist professors teaching undergraduate courses for Music Education majors and undergraduate music courses for non-music majors.

Community Outreach

Ph.D. students can take advantage of teaching opportunities in the Early Childhood Program (ages 0-5), the “Start Up the Band” program (ages 10-12), the “Adopt a Singer” program (ages 11-14) and the New Horizons Senior Band (ages 50+).

Outstanding resources

Our faculty members remain current on trends through various research projects. Research topics include, but are not limited to:

• Instrumental and choral instruction
• Community music
• Issues in general music
• Music in special education
• Social justice in music education

Faculty members have also published many articles in peer-reviewed journals, written or contributed to textbooks and presented at regional, national and international conferences. They also remain active in music education through community outreach programs.

The College of Music is one of the nation’s most comprehensive music schools and is recognized internationally for its artistic and academic excellence. The college is vital to the region’s arts community, presenting more than 1,000 formal and informal concerts annually. Its facilities include more than 300 practice rooms, seven performance halls, numerous classrooms and rehearsal rooms, and computer labs.

Attending UNT

Admission requirements

To apply to the doctoral program, you’ll need a master’s degree and three years of full-time teaching experience in a group setting. Other requirements include meeting the admission requirements for the Toulouse Graduate School®, completing an online College of Music application and providing the following materials to the division:

• Current résumé or curriculum vitae
• GRE scores
• Personal statement addressing teaching, music and long-range professional goals
• Teaching DVD or video tape
• Three letters of recommendation
• Scholarly writing sample

The College of Music application process is outlined on our website. Applications to the program are accepted throughout the year. The graduate school’s admission requirements are summarized at the Graduate School's site. Acceptance to the graduate school does not guarantee acceptance to the Music Education program.

Degree requirements

Deficiency course work does not count toward doctoral degree requirements. Specific course requirements and descriptions are available in our catalog.

• 6 semester hours of required music education research courses
• 15 semester hours of music education courses chosen in consultation with the program coordinator
• 6 semester hours of statistics courses
• 21 semester hours of electives
• 12 semester hours of dissertation

Financial assistance

Our division funds several competitive, merit-based scholarships, teaching assistantships and teaching fellowships to help you pursue your education. Teaching fellowships allow you to teach courses as the primary instructor. Teaching assistants often teach a music fundamentals course, work with the Early Childhood Music Program or the New Horizons Senior Band, or oversee the Music Education Resource Room.

Contact the music education office for information about these opportunities. Visit the Financial Aid website for information about other financial assistance programs.