DPS is a yearlong, credit-granting elective that is required for third year H/T/E students and recommended for composers who are developing a minor field paper/project. Please read more in the curriculum.

DCS is a sustained and supportive writing workshop that is recommended for students who have passed their proposal defense. Please read more in the curriculum.

Students should plan ahead in forming and maintaining their dissertation committee. The dissertation committee must be established by the time the student is admitted to candidacy. The strategy for choosing a dissertation adviser and building a committee is typically discussed and mentored in the DPS.

The Division recommends that a dissertation committee consist of at least three and no more than five members.The majority of the committee members must be University of Chicago faculty; any exception has to be approved by the DGS and the graduate studies committee. The dissertation committee chair (aka adviser), must be a faculty member in the student’s home department. Students typically choose a faculty member with whom they have worked on the development of their dissertation topic. In cooperation with the chair/adviser, students typically ask other Department faculty to serve on the committee. Students may invite a faculty member from a different Uchicago department with whom they have worked closely, or an outside faculty member who teaches at a different institution. Such invitations should be made in consultation with the chair/adviser.

The role of the dissertation adviser is to supervise the timely progress of the student’s development of the dissertation topic, the research and writing of the dissertation, and to support the student in working with other dissertation committee members. The membership of the dissertation committee may be modified as long as the committee adheres to the requirements stated above. The role of committee members is to provide feedback on portions of the dissertation within a reasonable time period. Generally, this means that committee members workshop the proposal with the student during the proposal defense, read drafts of chapters when requested, provide written or oral responses to draft materials, and participate in the dissertation defense. The adviser and the student should be in conversation about how much input, and what kind of input, is desired from committee members during the writing stage between the proposal defense and the dissertation defense.

Candidacy or “all but dissertation (ABD)” status is a major milestone for a doctoral student. The faculty certify that the student has met all program requirements except for teaching and dissertation. See the curriculum for area-specific requirements for attaining candidacy.

After completing all program requirements (coursework, exams, musicianship, dissertation proposal or minor field, etc), the student will submit a copy of the successfully defended dissertation proposal or composition prospectus to the Student Affairs Administrator. A digital copy of the proposal, with a cc: to the student’s adviser signaling approval, will suffice. The Student Affairs Administrator will update the student’s file and forward the candidacy form to the division.

The Division expects a student to reach candidacy in year 3 or 4 and to complete the writing of the dissertation in 2 to 3 years after reaching candidacy. A student must be in candidacy no later than the start of year 6 in order to be allowed to continue in their program. 

To schedule a dissertation defense, students should find a time that works best for their committee, then confirm the date, time, and location with the Students Affairs Administrator.  A final draft of the dissertation should be sent to the committee members, as well as the Student Affairs Administrator, no later than four weeks before the defense. The Administrator will create an announcement and share a copy of your dissertation in the Department ahead of the defense.

Dissertation defenses are open to the public, including family and friends. The majority of the conversation takes place between student and committee members; then the floor is opened to questions from other faculty members in attendance; and finally to other students and attendees. The committee deliberates in private to reach a decision at the end of the defense.

Before submitting, students should check with the Dissertation Office for guidelines. Students must submit their completed, properly formatted dissertation electronically to the University’s Dissertation Office in Regenstein Library no later than the deadline distributed by the Dean of Students office in the quarter in which you expect to graduate. Students who submit their final, approved version by the first Friday of the quarter in which they plan to graduate do not have to register as a student in that quarter and thus will not pay the associated tuition and fees. The Dissertation Office will send this copy to ProQuest to place in its database, limited by any embargo for which you have received permission. The University Library does not retain a copy independent of ProQuest’s electronic service. Well in advance of filing, familiarize yourself with the Dissertation Office’s formatting requirements, most of which concern legibility and reproducibility.

Changes may be suggested at or immediately after the defense. Dissertations requiring extensive revisions must be approved by a dissertation committee member via form (available in the Department office) before submitting the final version to the Dissertation Office. ProQuest processes dissertations for the University and notifies the Dissertation Office once it has received all required materials. It is imperative that submitted dissertations are formatted according to the Dissertation Office formatting guidelines, which can be found on their website. Following final submission of the dissertation, the Student Affairs Administrator submits a departmental approval form to the Dissertation Office.

At the start of every quarter, a reminder of graduation deadlines will be sent over email. Graduation applications can be submitted through my.uchicago. Applications should be submitted the first week of the same quarter students plan to graduate during. If plans change, please contact the Student Affairs Administrator.

Students (who do not yet have a MA or MM in music) may apply to receive the Master of Arts en route to the PhD upon completion of the following requirements:

For Ethnomusicology:

• 12 courses in the Department of Music, excluding the free electives
• 1 language exam
• 1 musicianship activity
• Two seminar papers demonstrating scholarly competence.

For History/Theory:

• 12 courses in the Department of Music, including 10 required or non-elective courses
• 1 language exam
• 1 musicianship activity
• Two seminar papers demonstrating scholarly competence

For Composition:

• 12 courses in the Department of Music, including 6 courses in Composition, and including at least 4 other non-elective courses
• 1 language exam
• 1 musicianship activity
• An M.A. composition written in residence. Normally the composition will be more than 8 minutes in duration. The composition should be submitted to the Department in final form at least one month before Convocation. A bound, legibly written copy of the composition is to be deposited in the Department of Music.

Seminar papers/M.A. composition can be submitted to the Student Affairs Administrator and will be forwarded for approval by area faculty. Once all requirements are complete, the Student Affairs Administrator will shepherd your application process with the Division.