Music Education
Doctoral Degree Program

Graduate opportunities

In the Division of Music Education, we are dedicated to developing strong leaders in the field. The Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music Education will prepare you for a career in higher education. With individual mentorship and guidance, you will pursue course work that capitalizes on your current knowledge and skills as a music educator and broadens your perspectives through research.

You will 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 across campus to enrich your knowledge base. These courses, chosen in consultation with your advisor, will not only prepare you for the final dissertation but also will guide you toward expertise in a related area.

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 practice skills that prepare you for research presentations in local, state and national conferences. In addition, the monthly colloquia will help prepare you for interviews and professional networking.

College Teaching

Throughout the degree plan, you will have multiple opportunities to develop teaching skills at the collegiate level. In addition to teaching undergraduate music courses for non-majors under the direct supervision of a faculty member, Ph.D. students assist professors teaching undergraduate courses for Music Education majors.

Community Outreach

The Division of Music Education sponsors a variety of community outreach programs. Ph.D. students are encouraged to take advantage of teaching opportunities found in these programs, including 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 Band (ages 50+).

Outstanding resources

Our faculty members remain current on trends in the field 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 articles in peer- reviewed journals, written or contributed to textbooks, and presented at regional, national and international conferences. In addition, faculty members 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 a vital part of 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, computer labs, and a distributive learning center.

Attending UNT

Admission requirements

In order to apply to the doctoral program, you must have a master’s degree and three years of full- time teaching experience in a group setting. You will then need to meet the admission requirements for the Toulouse Graduate School, complete an online College of Music application and provide the following materials the division:

• Current résumé or curriculum vitae
• Personal statement that addresses teaching, music and long-term professional goals
• Teaching DVD or video tape
• Three letters of recommendation
• Scholarly writing sample

The College of Music application is available online music.unt.edu/admissions/graduate. Applications to the at program are accepted throughout the year. The graduate school’s admission requirements are outlined at gradschool.unt.edu. Acceptance into the graduate school does not guarantee acceptance into the Music Education program.

Degree requirements

Deficiency courses do not count toward doctoral degree requirements. Specific course requirements and descriptions are available at catalog.unt.edu

• 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 required statistics courses
• 21 semester hours of electives
• 12 semester hours of dissertation

Financial assistance

Our division funds several competitive, merit-based scholarships as well as teaching assistantships and fellowships to help you pay for 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 financialaid.unt.edu for information about other financial assistance programs.