In the first three years students should earn the 60 credits required for the degree, and all course requirements. In the first two years they should also complete the First Examination and their language requirement. By the middle of the third year students should be contemplating possible dissertation topics and are encouraged to undertake at least one independent study with a potential dissertation adviser.
In the fourth year students take the Second Examination and, once they have passed it, prepare and submit their dissertation proposal.
The fifth and sixth years should be spent researching and writing the dissertation (essay and composition) so that the student is ready to defend at the end of the fifth year.
Academic Year 1
Fall
- Composers Seminar (3 credits)
- Composition Tutorial (2-3 credits)
- Introduction to Musicology (4 credits)
- Introduction to Post-Tonal or Schenkerian Analysis (4 credits)
- Take at least first language examination or prepare to take it in second semester
Spring
- Composers Forum (1 credit)
- Composition Tutorial (2-3 credits)
- Teaching Proseminar (1 credit) required of all Fellowship Students
- 1 or 2 Research Seminars or Electives (3 credits each) or
Academic Year 2
Fall
- Composers Seminar (3 credits)
- Composition Tutorial (2-3 credits)
- 1 or 2 Research Seminars or electives (3 credits each) or Introduction to Post-Tonal or Schenkerian Analysis (4 credits)
- Complete language requirement
- Begin researching possible dissertation topics, including independent study in fall or spring of second year.
Spring
- Composers Forum (1 credit)
- Composition Tutorial (2-3 credits)
- 1 or 2 Research Seminars or Electives (3 credits each)
- Take First Examination
Academic Year 3
Fall
- 1-2 Research Seminars (3 credits each)
- Composition Tutorial (2-3 credits)
- Begin preparing for Second Examination
Spring
- 1-2 Research Seminars (3 credits each)
- Composition Tutorial (2-3 credits)
Academic Year 4
Fall or Spring
- Take Second Examination
- Prepare and submit dissertation proposal
Academic Years 5 and 6
- Research and write dissertation essay and composition
- Defend dissertation.