Final Oral Examination (DMA)

Blank Record of Dissertation Form

PhD Dissertations and Document Only
PhDs submit dissertation to Graduate School and College of Music
Doctoral Documents are submitted to the College of Music only

Blank Lecture Recital Form (w/ Document)

Doctoral Documents are submitted to the College of Music only
Recital AUDIO Recording and program submitted to the College of Music

Blank Lecture Recital Form (no Document, 2 recitals)

Recital AUDIO RecordingS and programS submitted to the College of Music

Students must be registered for at least 1 credit during the semester(s) in which they take their final oral examination (see Maximum and Minimum Credits). The final oral examination is the defense of the dissertation, composition, document and/or lecture-recital(s).

The comprehensive examinations must be passed before an oral defense of the dissertation or document and/or lecture-recital(s) can be scheduled.

The dissertation, composition or scholarly paper on which the final oral examination is based, must be submitted to the members of the student’s guidance committee no later than four weeks before the final oral examination.

In cases where the final oral examination involves a lecture-recital and document, the student must pass the defense of the lecture-recital and the document before the lecture-recital can be performed. In cases where the final oral examination involves two lecture-recitals, the student must pass the defense of the lecture-recital before that lecture-recital can be performed. Final oral examinations and performances of lecture–recitals are given during Fall and Spring semesters. They may be given during a summer session with the approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and every member of the student’s committee.

For the Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education degree, should the student’s guidance committee fail to accept the dissertation or the student’s performance on the final oral examination, the student shall be allowed to revise the dissertation or to retake the examination only once. The dissertation must be revised or the examination must be retaken within one year, during a fall or spring semester.

For the Doctoral of Musical Arts degree, should the guidance committee fail to accept the student’s performance on the lecture-recital, the related paper, or the final oral examination, the student shall be allowed to repeat the performance of the lecture-recital, to revise the related paper, or to repeat the final oral examination.
The lecture-recital must be repeated, the paper revised, or the oral examination repeated within one year, during a fall or spring semester.

The format of the final oral examination varies, depending on the degree program. The examination should be scheduled for 90 minutes.
– For students in the PhD degree in Music Education, the DMA in composition or the DMA in conducting, the examination is a defense of the dissertation, document, or final composition.
– For students in the DMA in performance who elect to do a lecture-recital and document, the oral
examination is a presentation of the lecture-recital and a defense of the document. Formats vary somewhat depending on the primary teacher and the area, but generally the student is asked to present the lecture itself (approximately 30 minutes) and to be prepared to present the musical portion (approximately 30 minutes), though often the committee will ask for only excerpts from the musical portion. The remainder of the examination is a defense of the document and the lecture.
– For students selecting the two lecture-recital option, the preceding format for the lecture-recital is followed. For specific details about the defense, a student should consult with their primary teacher or the chair of their guidance committee.

Revised Protocol for DMA document and/or lecture recital(s) and PhD dissertation

Doctoral students wishing to complete their degree in a given semester must adhere to the following.

For a document-lecture recital/dissertation:
• The proposal must be approved by each committee member and submitted to the Graduate Office no less than 3 months prior to the defense.
• The document/dissertation must be submitted to the committee no less than 3 weeks (21 days) prior to the defense.
• The completed document/dissertation must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. Thursday of Week 12 of the semester. (Regardless of the submission date, the committee must receive the document/dissertation 3 weeks prior to the defense.)
• The defense cannot occur after 5 p.m. Friday of Week 15. (Click here for Defense Form.)
• The public performance of a lecture recital may occur after the above date, but no later than 5 pm on Friday two weeks after the last day of classes.
• The final document/dissertation may be submitted to the committee only when the major professor has reviewed it and deemed it acceptable for the defense.
• The defense may only be scheduled once the document/dissertation has been submitted to the committee.
• No revisions may be made to the document/dissertation by the student or by the committee members once the document has been submitted prior to the defense. Any revisions should be discussed at and implemented following the defense. This will allow time for the student to make revisions and still complete the degree requirement in time to graduate that semester.
• To aid in scheduling, students and/or faculty members will be allowed to attend via Zoom, although an in-person exam is preferred. A mix of in-person and virtual attendance is permitted.

For each lecture recital of the two-lecture recital option:
• The proposal must be approved by each committee member and submitted to the Graduate Office no less than 1 month prior to defense.
• The defense cannot be scheduled until the proposal is approved.
• The defense cannot occur after 5 p.m. Friday of Week 15 of the semester.
• The public performance of a lecture recital may occur after the above date, but no later than 5 pm on Friday two weeks after the last day of classes.
• To aid in scheduling, students and/or faculty members will be allowed to attend via Zoom, although an in-person exam is preferred. A mix of in-person and virtual attendance is permitted.

It is the student’s responsibility to complete the form as instructed above, to confirm their signatures, and to share it with musgrad@msu.edu.

Instructions
1. CLICK HERE and open the DMA Record of Defense Form.
2. Go to “File” and “Make a copy.”
3. Rename your copied file adding your full given name (Last, First).
4. Double-click in each box to edit.
5. Complete the top portion, Committee Names (center column) and the recital information. This is completed just prior to the defense date.
6. Go to “Share” and add the E-mail address of each Committee member as editor for their signature immediately following the Exam.
7. At the end of your defense ask each Committee member to sign your form electronically.
8. Once you have confirmed that your committee members have signed the form, go to “Share” and add musgrad@msu.edu as an editor.

** You can choose to print a paper copy, take it to your exam and have the committee members sign it. You then submit that to the Graduate Studies Office (116 Music) or musgrad@msu.edu. **

Alternatives to the ‘Lecture-Recital’ option

Beginning Fall 2022, the College will pilot a program that implements an expanded definition of ‘lecture recital’. This will allow students to substitute alternatives such as a pedagogical presentation, a series of pedagogical or stylistic videos, development of a website that has scholarly and performance components, a professional level recording with a scholarly component, etc. In all cases the presentation must contain both a scholarly and a performance component.

For the purpose of implementing this pilot program, the following language will apply.

i. A presentation supported by a scholarly paper. The presentation may take the form of a traditional lecture-recital or an alternative format appropriate to the individual discipline and approved by the student’s guidance committee. The presentation must be given first to the guidance committee as part of an oral examination, which will be a defense of the presentation and the paper. Following a successful oral examination, the presentation must be given to the public.
ii. Two presentations on discrete topics. Each presentation may take the form of a traditional lecture-recital or an alternative format appropriate to the individual discipline and approved by the student’s guidance committee. Each presentation must be given first to the student’s guidance committee as part of an oral examination. Following a successful oral examination, each presentation must be given to the public.