Applicants may be admitted to the program if they have at least a B+ average in a M.A. or M.Mus. program in Music, Ethnomusicology, or other relevant discipline in the Humanities or Social Sciences. 

The Ph.D. program is normally completed in 12-15 consecutive semesters of full-time study, depending on fieldwork requirements. The degree is taken by completing coursework, passing comprehensive examinations, satisfying a language proficiency requirement, and writing a Ph.D. thesis, which is defended in accordance with General Regulations, Theses and Reports of the School of Graduate Studies.

1. Students must complete a minimum of 21 credit hours of coursework. If required courses have been completed at the M.A. level, electives may be substituted (with approval of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee). The required courses are:

   1. Music 7001. This course will be waived if the student has previously taken an equivalent graduate-level course in research methods in ethnomusicology. Application for a waiver must be approved by the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee.

   2. Music 8001; Folklore 6030, Folklore 6070, or another social theory course approved by the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee; and Folklore 7100.

   3. Twelve credit hours of electives selected from courses listed below or from relevant courses offered in another discipline (with the approval of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee). Ph.D. students may take up to two courses (6 credit hours) in a cognate discipline.

   4. Reading proficiency in a language other than English, relevant to the student's research area.  The choice of language must be approved by the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee and proficiency must be demonstrated to the satisfaction of that committee. The language exam will normally be completed before the student has completed their comprehensive exams.

   5. Further courses beyond the minimum number may be required, depending on the background and needs of the student.

2. Comprehensive examinations will be administered in a major area, minor area, and theoretical/interdisciplinary area. Bibliographies for three topics in the major area, two topics in the minor area, and two topics in the theoretical/interdisciplinary area will be developed by the student in consultation with their supervisory committee and will be the basis of the student's examination questions. The written portion of the examination will be scheduled over a one-week period. The student's Comprehensive Examination Committee will normally schedule a consultation with the student to discuss the written essays within one month of the completion of the written examination. For further information see General Regulations, Ph.D. and Psy.D. Comprehensive Examination.

3. Students must complete a thesis, examined and defended in accordance with General Regulations, Theses and Reports of the School of Graduate Studies. A thesis proposal, including a working title, statement of purpose and research scope, outline of theoretical and methodological approach, outline of chapters, working plan, and preliminary bibliography, together with proposed membership of the supervisory committee, must be submitted for approval to the Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee. The thesis shall demonstrate the student's ability to carry out original and independent research, develop the necessary theoretical and methodological framework, and present the findings in a scholarly manner.

Theories and Methods:

• Music 6900 Public and Applied Ethnomusicology
• Music 7001 Research Problems and Methods in Ethnomusicology
• Music 7003 The Politics of Ethnographic Video Methods in Ethnomusicology (credit may be received for only one of the previous Music 6807, 7003, or 7803)
• Music 7008 Media Studies - inactive course.
• Music 7800 Expressive Culture, Music, and the Politics of Performance
• Music 7803 Radio Documentary Production (credit may be received for only one of the previous Music 6807, 7003, or 7803)
• Music 8001 Theoretical Issues in the Study of Music
• Folklore 6020 Field and Research Methods
• Folklore 6030 Folklore Theories
• Folklore 6050 Issues in Folkloristics
• Folklore 6060 Foundations of Performance Studies
• Folklore 6240 Folklore and Nationalism
• Folklore 6740 Public Sector Folklore
• Folklore 6750 Popular Culture: Theory and Debate
• Folklore 6760 Archiving
• Folklore 6790 Museums: Perspectives and Practices
• Folklore 6800 Applied Folklore
• Folklore 7000 Advanced Folkloristics I
• Folklore 7100 Advanced Folkloristics II: Research and Ethnography

Genres and Cultural Practices:

• Music 7005 Performance Option
• Folklore 6010 Survey of Folklore Genres and Processes
• Folklore 6070 Issues in Folklife
• Folklore 6100 Song and Music
• Folklore 6120 Ballad
• Folklore 6130 Folk Music Canons and Documentary Sound Recordings
• Folklore 6200 Folktale
• Folklore 6210 Legend
• Folklore 6220 Personal Narrative
• Folklore 6300 Ethnography of Belief
• Folklore 6310 Health Systems
• Folklore 6350 Custom
• Folklore 6400 Material Culture
• Folklore 6410 Vernacular Architecture
• Folklore 6420 Art and the Artifact
• Folklore 6430 Food and Culture
• Folklore 6510 Occupational Folklife
• Folklore 6710 Oral Tradition and Oral History
• Folklore 6720 Folklore and Literature

Sites of Music Making and Social Identities:

• Music 7006 Urban Ethnomusicology
• Music 7007 Music in the Study of Gender, Race and Class
• Music 7009 Music and Place - inactive course.
• Music 7800 Expressive Culture, Music, and the Politics of Performance
• Music 7802 Music and Intercultural Processes
• Folklore 6730 Folklore and Gender
• Folklore 6770 The Global and the Local
• Folklore 6780 Ethnicities

Independent Study:

• Music 7026-29 Directed Reading in Ethnomusicology
• Folklore 6570-79 Reading Course in Folklore

Special Topics:

• Music 6800-09 Special Topics in Music (excluding Music 6807)
• Music 7800-09 Special Topics in Music (excluding Music 7800, 7802, and 7803)
• Folklore 6511-29 Special Topics in Folklore