Joint Ph.D. Program in Music and African American Studies

Coursework:
Students in the combined degree program will complete fourteen term courses with the following departmental requirements:

  • The Study of African American Music (joint seminar between Music and African-American Studies).
  • Theorizing Racial Formations (in African-American Studies)
  • Two of three Music Department proseminars (choose from History, Theory, or Ethnomusicology).
  • Three seminars in African American Studies (choice of history, social science, or literature/culture seminars).
  • Three additional courses in Music.
  • Four additional seminars in any department.

Prospectus Seminar: (2 total courses): Students choose the departmental sequence best suited to their dissertation research (i.e. either MUSI 998a/b or AFAM 895a/AFAM 896b).

Language Requirement:
Two required languages, adjusted according to the student’s area of research.

Comprehensive Examinations:

Timeline: The qualifying examinations and the dissertation proposal will be administered jointly by the African American Studies department and the Music Department and must be passed within the time required by the Music Department. A current tenured or ladder faculty member in African American Studies must serve on the dissertation committee, and the dissertation must have an African American Studies component.
 

Approval of Dissertation:
Dissertations will be approved in the Department of Music, with at least one reader to come from the African American Studies Executive Committee.