Doctor of Philosophy in Composition & Music Theory
Application deadlines are specific to degree programs. See our Graduate Admissions page for a list of all deadlines.
This unique joint program leading to the PhD in Composition & Music Theory has been designed to take advantage of the unusual strengths of the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance in both Composition and Theory. Designed for students seeking the highest degree in the field, the PhD is a rigorous five-year course of study culminating in a doctoral dissertation.
Curriculum
- Doctoral Studies in Composition
- Advanced Seminar in Composition
- Individual Studies in Music Theory
- Seminar in Music Theory
- Advanced Studies in Electronic Music
- Bibliography of Music
- Musicology & Music Theory electives
Funding
Nearly all PhD students receive full-tuition fellowships. Most also receive health benefits and a stipend attached to a Graduate Student Assistantship, which can vary in proportion to the appointment fraction and the duties associated with it. In addition to the funding packages offered by the SMTD, Rackham students are also eligible to apply for a wide range of fellowships to fund research, travel, and performance.
Residency Requirement
At least one academic year of full-time residence is required.
Faculty
Department of Composition
Evan Chambers
Michael Daugherty
Roshanne Etezady
Kristin Kuster
Erik Santos
Bright Sheng
Department of Music Theory
Karen Fournier
Marc Hannaford
Patrick Harlin
Áine Heneghan
John Knoedler
Kevin E. Korsyn
Nathan Martin
Somangshu Mukherji
Nancy Murphy
Wayne C. Petty
René Rusch
Joshua Tanis
Aleksandra Vojčić
Performance Opportunities
Composition students regularly collaborate with their performer colleagues. Composers in both undergraduate and graduate programs receive premieres of their works at a variety of venues, including the “write HEAR / right NOW” Concert Series, the Midwest Composers Symposium (a forum for student composers from four schools), and concerts by U-M ensembles. Each term, The William Bolcom Residency in Composition hosts renowned guest artists who spend a week on campus, interacting with students and faculty through lessons, workshops, meals, lectures, and performances.
From large ensembles in celebrated concert halls to chamber groups in intimate recital spaces, performance opportunities across all disciplines abound, with nearly 900 student performances each academic year. Whether your focus is on early, classical, or contemporary music, whether your passion is for jazz, electronic, or world music, there is an ensemble—or in many cases, multiple ensembles—to suit your interests, including specific opportunities for percussion, piano, and organ & carillon. For students in theatre & drama, musical theatre, dance, and opera, opportunities abound in both professionally produced and student-run presentations.
Bands
With several large ensembles to choose from, wind and percussion students can explore a range of opportunities for immersive performance experiences.
Carillon
Chamber Music
The thriving chamber music scene at SMTD offers students nearly limitless options to perform, innovate, and collaborate in small, self-driven, and diverse ensembles.
Choirs
Students can explore opportunities across a wide array of SMTD and U-M choirs that perform a range of choral works in world-class venues in Ann Arbor and beyond.
Dance
Early Music
Students interested in historically oriented performance have opportunities to explore music from across the centuries, performed on authentic period instruments and high-quality replicas.
Electronic Music
Jazz
With large and small jazz ensembles exploring a range of styles, SMTD offers abundant opportunities for students – music majors and non-majors alike – to perform.
Musical Theatre
Offers a wide range of opportunities for our artists to integrate developing technique from the work in the classroom to the stage. Whether in the curated UProd season or in the varied student driven experiences offered across the university, there are an abundance of ways to engage one’s evolving craft.
Orchestras
SMTD orchestras offer numerous concerts each season, performing notable works in the symphonic repertoire as well as abundant newly commissioned works.
Organ
Percussion
The GRAMMY-nominated University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble has commissioned, performed, and recorded works from a global array of musical cultures.
Recitals
Across all disciplines, students perform and study with their peers in studio classes and perform for the public in solo student recitals and studio recitals.
Theatre
The department, in collaboration with University Productions, presents four to five fully-mounted main stage shows each year, with casts comprised of acting majors.
World Music