Doctor of Musical Arts in Church Music

Doctor of Musical Arts in Church Music

Intensive study in performance and church music

The purpose of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Church Music is to provide intensive study in the student’s major field of performance augmented by integrative study of church music with theoretical and historical subjects.

Degree Highlights

  • 50 hours
  • Preparation for performance and teaching
  • 3 available concentrations
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Student Testimony

The DMA degree emphasizes the advanced development of both musical artistry and scholarly achievement in an applied area of specialization. Students enrolled in the program follow the current Doctor of Philosophy Handbook, which is also provided by the Research Doctoral Studies Office.

Prerequisites

A prerequisite for the DMA is a master’s degree from an accredited college, university, or seminary whose requirements approximate those of the Master of Music degree at Southwestern Seminary, and a minimum grade point average of 3.30.

Students who have not completed their master’s degree at Southwestern will need to take WORSP 4932 Theology of Pedagogy as a leveling class. Students in the piano concentration will take MUTHY 4501 Applied Theory at the Keyboard as a leveling class.

Application

English Requirements

International applicants must submit scores from either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the DuoLingo English Test (DET). For the TOEFL, a minimum score of 100 on the internet-based test or 250 on the computer-based test is required. Students who complete the computer-based TOEFL must also complete the TSE (Test of Spoken English). For the DET, a score of 120 is required.

Interview

An applicant must be interviewed by the Advisor to Graduate Studies and a representative from the applied department of the applicant’s concentration.

Concentration

The student may pursue the DMA in one of the following concentrations: Guitar Performance and Pedagogy, Piano Performance and Pedagogy, and Voice Performance and Pedagogy.

Auditions

Applicants for the DMA degree will perform an audition before the faculty of the proposed department of concentration, either in person on the Fort Worth campus or by submitting a digital audition. Please consult the Prospective Music Students page for details on scheduling or submitting an audition.

The applicant for the guitar concentration will be required to play a thirty- to forty-minute entrance audition. The repertoire should represent a contrast of styles and should reflect a level of achievement equivalent to a master’s degree recital. The selections should represent the major periods of music history from the Renaissance to the present.

The applicant for a piano concentration will be required to play a thirty- to forty-minute entrance audition. The repertoire should represent a contrast of style and should reflect a level of achievement equivalent to a master's degree recital.

The DMA student who expects to concentrate in voice should arrive on campus in time to confer with an accompanist before the audition. The audition material will consist of six songs from memory: four art songs (one each in German, Italian, French, and English), one opera aria in its original language, and one oratorio aria in English. The selections should represent the major periods of music history, including the modern era. If approval is granted, a thirty-minute jury performance at the end of the first semester will qualify the student for continuation in the voice concentration on the DMA degree.

Language Requirements

All DMA students are required to demonstrate proficiency in the reading of German. Students who have not passed the German reading examination by the time they have completed eighteen hours of doctoral seminars may enroll only for Doctoral Continued Enrollment (MUDOC 8100) until the German language requirement has been satisfied.

Residence Requirements

Two consecutive semesters in which the student satisfactorily completes sixteen hours of graduate coursework will satisfy the residence requirements of the institution.

Grades

Doctoral students must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.30.

Continued Enrollment

Doctoral students must enroll in the fall and spring semesters each year and pay enrollment fees from the time they begin their program until they graduate or withdraw from the program. Doctoral students who are not enrolled in regular coursework or doctoral examinations must enroll in MUDOC 8100 Doctoral Continued Enrollment.

Time Limit

The DMA degree must be completed within a period of seven years from the time of admission. Extensions may be granted to students who are serving in an international mission field.

Course Requirements

Guitar Performance and Pedagogy Concentration

Total Hours
50

Piano Performance and Pedagogy Concentration

Total Hours
50

Voice Performance and Pedagogy Concentration

Total Hours
50

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