Overview Applicants admitted with a Master's degree in
ethnomusicology must complete a minimum of three full courses.
The PhD Seminar (MUS1250H) is taken in the first term, and work on Research in Ethnomusicology (MUS1997H) is begun in the second. Coursework should be completed during the first year of study with an average grade of at least A-; the exception is MUS1997H, which lays the groundwork for the dissertation research and leads to a Major Field examination in the middle of year two. Students may be required to take additional courses or acquire other skills to meet the needs of their proposed subjects of study.
Students must demonstrate competence in a language other than English. The choice of language must be discussed as soon as possible with the Coordinator of Ethnomusicology, and it should one that relates directly to the student’s research interests. In certain cases, competence in additional languages may be required or strongly recommended. Where a student is working in an English-speaking research field, the second language must be one in which there are significant secondary sources.
All course and language requirements, including the Major Field exam, must be completed successfully by the end of year two.
The candidate will prepare a thesis under the direction of an Advisor and a Committee, and will defend the thesis at a final examination. The thesis, including bibliography and appendices, should ideally be between 75,000 and 80,000 words in length. The Department will not consider a thesis that exceeds 100,000 words.
In most cases, doctoral applicants will already have an MA. However, direct entry to the doctoral program is also possible in exceptional circumstances, although students will be required to complete more course work. Students who are admitted directly into the program with a Bachelor’s degree must complete three full courses at the graduate level in year one with a minimum average of A- before undertaking the requirements listed above.
There are five main requirements in the PhD in Ethnomusicology:
• Fulfillment of the residence requirement
• Fulfillment of course requirements
• Successful completion of the major field examination associated with MUS1997H
• Fulfillment of language requirements
• The writing and successful defense of a dissertation
Residence Requirement
PhD students are required to be in residence for four years – five in the case of direct entry – except for absences necessary for research. To fulfill this requirement a student must be in such geographical proximity as to be able to visit the campus regularly and participate fully in the university's activities associated with the program.
Course Requirements
Students are required to take three full-course equivalents. The Department may prescribe additional courses if it is felt they are necessary to develop the knowledge and skills required for a student’s proposed subject of study.
By the end of the first year of registration, two and a half full-course equivalents must be completed with an average grade of at least A-: the Ph.D. Seminar (MUS1250H) is compulsory and must be taken in the first term; other courses will be chosen from the Departmental list although, with Departmental approval, one half-course at the graduate level may be taken outside the Department. In addition, Research in Ethnomusicology (MUS1997H), which lays the groundwork for the dissertation, must be started at the beginning of the second term of the first year and must be completed by the end of the first term of year two.
During their first year, students are expected to discuss their interests, expectations and research objectives with faculty members. An appropriate supervisor for MUS1997H must then be agreed upon. The supervisor will be primarily responsible for determining the structure and content of MUS1997H, which will include a research paper.
In the case of direct entry to the PhD, students must take three full-course equivalents in their first year, exclusive of MUS1250H and MUS1997H. An average grade of at least A- must be maintained to continue with the doctorate; otherwise the student will instead be required to transfer into the Master’s program. Successful students go on to take three more full-course equivalents in the second year, inclusive of MUS1250H in the first term and MUS1997H from the beginning of the second term.
All course requirements must be completed by the end of year two (direct entry: year three).
Major Field Examination
The purpose of the Major Field Examination is to assess the student’s general knowledge of his or her chosen research field, to examine the theoretical premises and methodological approaches set out in the research paper, and to determine eligibility to continue to the research and writing stages of the dissertation. The Major Field Examination is associated with MUS1997H and is scheduled to take place no later than January of year two (or January of year three in the case of direct entry students).
By the beginning of year two (direct entry: year three) the student must submit an initial dissertation proposal of up to 2000 words for Departmental circulation. This proposal will derive from the research and writing being undertaken for MUS1997H, and its purpose is to elicit constructive advice from graduate faculty that may help both to direct the student’s study and prepare him or her for the Major Field Examination. Based on these responses, and on faculty members’ fields of expertise, the supervisor will appoint a Major Field Examination Committee comprising the supervisor plus at least two other members of the graduate faculty.
The supervisor will determine a grade for MUS1997H, and the Major Field Examination Committee will pass or fail the student’s performance in the oral examination. The student must attain at least an A- in MUS1997H and a pass on the oral examination in order to proceed with the PhD. In the event that these standards are not met, a second Major Field examination will be scheduled approximately two months later for the resubmission of the research paper and/or a second attempt at the oral examination. A failure to achieve the standards set for the written and/or oral examination at the second attempt results in the student being required to withdraw from the program. It is the responsibility of the Associate Dean, Graduate Education, to inform the student of the results of the Major Field examination as soon as possible. It is the responsibility of the Major Field Examination Committee to make a recommendation to the Associate Dean, Graduate Education, concerning the timing of the second examination if necessary. The committee appointed to conduct the second examination should as far as possible include the same members who examined the student in the first place. On successful completion of all course, language and Major Field exam requirements, a doctoral student becomes a doctoral candidate and embarks fully on dissertation research and writing.
Language RequirementsStudents must demonstrate competence in a language other than English. The choice of language must be discussed with the Coordinator of Ethnomusicology as soon as possible in the first year of the program, and it should be a language that relates directly to the student’s research interests. In certain cases, competence in additional languages may be required or strongly recommended, particularly if the field or its relevant literature is multilingual. Where a student is working in an English-speaking research field, the second language must be one in which it can be shown that there are significant secondary sources. In the case of direct entry students, an intermediate-level language examination must be taken in the first year of the program and then the doctoral language requirements outlined above must be completed by year three.
The Doctoral DissertationThe doctoral dissertation must be a piece of original scholarship based on primary materials and submitted in conformity with the guidelines stated below. In most cases, the doctoral candidate’s supervisor for MUS1997H will continue to act as supervisor for the rest of the doctorate. A Doctoral Advisory Committee will be struck on successful completion of MUS1997H and the Major Field examination: this committee must consist of at least three members of the University of Toronto’s graduate faculty, one of whom, if appropriate, may be from outside the Graduate Department of Music. In many cases, the Major Field Examination Committee will become the candidate’s Doctoral Advisory Committee.
Within a month of the successful completion of MUS1997H and the Major Field examination, a revised and more detailed dissertation proposal must be submitted that also outlines a tentative schedule for research and writing. The Doctoral Advisory Committee will meet with the candidate in order to approve the dissertation proposal and offer advice. Thereafter, the candidate will meet no less than twice a year with the Doctoral Advisory Committee. The candidate will prepare progress reports, including written work, to be circulated to committee members at least two weeks in advance of the meetings (or longer, in the event of a substantial body of written work). The Doctoral Advisory Committee will then prepare its own report of the meeting and will indicate whether or not satisfactory progress towards the doctorate has been made. In cases where progress is unsatisfactory, clear guidelines must be provided that set out expectations to be met at the next meeting. Two unsatisfactory assessments (consecutive or in total) will result in the candidate being required to withdraw from the program.
In most cases, fieldwork will be required as part of the doctoral study. Candidates planning to undertake fieldwork must apply to the Associate Dean, Graduate Education for off-campus status. All off-campus candidates must leave an official field address with the Graduate Office while they are away. Since it is each candidate’s responsibility to apply for off-campus status, failure to apply could result in forfeiture of registration, fellowships and awards, and loss of full-time graduate status.
University policy regarding “Safety in the Field” outlines a hierarchy of responsibility for safety starting with the candidate's academic supervisor. Before departing for the field, the candidate must file a letter with the Department that acknowledges awareness of any risks in the proposed fieldwork. In some instances, doctoral candidates may need to satisfy an ethics review, in which case research must be structured according to the University of Toronto’s guidelines on the use of human subjects.
When the Doctoral Advisory Committee is satisfied that the dissertation is ready to proceed to its oral defense, the candidate will prepare the work according to the formatting guidelines established by the University of Toronto’s School of Graduate Studies. The dissertation shall not exceed 80,000 words exclusive of notes and bibliography. Exceeding the prescribed length limit is a sufficient reason for a dissertation to be refused examination. Once the dissertation has been fully prepared for submission, a doctoral candidate becomes a doctoral author.
A date will be set for the Ph.D. defense roughly eight weeks after submission of the dissertation. The Doctoral Defense Committee will ordinarily consist of five or six voting members (there must be a quorum of four voting members) and will include the supervisor, other members the Doctoral Advisory Committee (only two of whom may be voting members), at least one internal reader who has not been closely involved in the supervision of the thesis, and an external examiner from another university who is an expert in the author’s field of study. The external examiner will provide a written report to the author and the other members of the Doctoral Defense Committee no less than two weeks prior to the defense.
Extensions, Lapsing, and ReinstatementIt is the Graduate Department of Music’s aim that doctoral candidates complete their degrees within four years (five in the case of direct entry). A candidate who has failed to complete all degree requirements within six years (direct entry: seven years) may be granted a one-year extension, if the Department approves. The Department is likely to approve such a request if the candidate can provide evidence that he or she has made substantial progress and is likely to finish within the one-year extension. Ph.D. candidates who fail to complete the program in that period may apply for a further extension of up to one year, but the Department scrutinizes such an applications very carefully and consents only if it is persuaded that the thesis will be completed within the period of further extension. Third extensions are decided by the School of Graduate Studies and are rarely granted.
A failure to complete the program after an extension, or the refusal of an extension by the School of Graduate Studies, results in the lapsing of the candidacy. Lapsing does not mean termination. The School of Graduate Studies thinks of the lapsed candidate as being "inactive." Lapsing has the effect of withdrawing the privileges that membership in the University brings – the right to a carrel in the library, to supervision, and so on. But those whose candidacy has lapsed are encouraged by the Department to finish their programs and are helped in every way possible while doing so. Dissertations must be complete before applying for reinstatement by the School of Graduate Studies. Candidates will be required to pay at least the equivalent of one term's full-time fee in order to be reinstated.
A request for reinstatement may be refused when, in the view of the Department Chair, the thesis or research paper is not sufficiently complete or of sufficiently high quality for the Department to support it.