Current Graduate Students Music Performance - The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

Graduate Student Conducting a Clarinet Concerto

As you progress through your programs, pause to explore the resources we’ve gathered to assist you in navigating your studies. This page contains program checklists, petitions and forms, exam details, enrollment requests, and recital information for all our graduate students in The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

We aim to support you in achieving your academic aspirations and succeeding in your educational journey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office with any questions you may have. Let’s work together to create a roadmap for your success and celebrate your achievements along the way!

Office of Student Affairs
1642 Schoenberg Music Building
UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
445 Charles E Young Drive E
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1616
Phone: 310-206-5802

Music Performance MM, Graduate Guide

Music DMA, Graduate Program Guide

Filing your thesis or dissertation

Division of Graduate Education

Graduate music performance in the UCLA Department of Music combines intensive individual applied study and ensemble collaboration with courses designed to illuminate musical context and stimulate creativity, curiosity, and interpretation. Students pursuing the Master of Music (M.M.) and Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degrees learn from master artist-teachers, dynamic ensemble directors and chamber music coaches, and scholars dedicated to informed and relevant performance of Western classical music. The D.M.A. program, in particular, is intentionally small and designed for students with outstanding performance ability, extraordinary intellectual curiosity, and a well-articulated musical research agenda. All this happens within the multi-disciplinary community of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the academic energy of America’s premier public research university, and the excitement of one of the world’s most vibrant and diverse cultural capitals.

Graduate Departmental Course Petition

This petition is used to substitute courses taken within the department or an outside department and have them count towards a degree required course. Students are only able to substitute courses taken at UCLA only. Students requesting transfer of credit from an outside institution must use Graduate Division’s Graduate Degree Petition.

Music Department 596 Request Form

This petition serves as a course proposal for enrollment into the 596 courses directed to individual studies. Prior to completing this petition, the student must contact the instructor they plan to complete their assignment with to confirm they will be available to work with the student in the requested quarter. This petition must be approved by relevant faculty and filed with the SAO prior to enrollment.

Music 401 Contract

This form will be used primarily by DMA students. The performer needs to submit the form two quarters prior to the performance date.

Once the performer and their composer have solidified the details of their proposal, the performer will complete the DocuSign and intend on enrolling in MUSC 401 - New Music Forum in the quarter they will hold their performance. The composing student will need to enroll as well. Once all signatures have been received the students will receive a follow up email from their SAO.

MM Recital Committee Request Form

Use this form to submit a MM Recital Committee request in Fall quarter of the students 2nd year. Note: HASOM regulations for master’s recital committee are at the bottom of the form.

MM/DMA Recital Review Form

Use this form to submit a recital program approval request in Fall quarter of the students 2nd year. Approval for graduate (MM and DMA) recital programs is granted by the principal supervising teacher and one other instructor in the area (area coordinator or other ladder faculty member)

DMA Doctoral Committee Request & Dissertation Approval, Department Form

This form is used to request the department approval of the student's doctoral committee and dissertation topic. This will be submit in conjunction with the Nomination of Doctoral Committee Form.

Doctoral Committee Nomination Form

This form is used to nominate your doctoral committee with the Division of Graduate Education. Once all signatures are completed, the SAO will submit the form to the Division of Graduate Education. Allow two weeks for processing after the nomination has been submitted by the SAO to the Graduate Division. The committee must be appointed prior to holding the University Oral Qualifying Examination.

Language Petition

*Not a DocuSign form* Once you have completed your language requirement, please complete this form, sign, and submit to Bria Russ

Master of Music (MM)

All voice, collaborative piano, and choral conducting students must have a reading knowledge of one foreign language. Students must select from French, German, Italian, or Spanish. The Language petition will need to be submitted to Bria Russ once you have completed one of the following:

Completed the third level of the regular undergraduate series or equivalent;
Passed the 1G language study course with a grade of B (3.0) or better;
Passed the UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test by being placed into level four or higher.

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

All students must demonstrate a reading knowledge of one foreign language. Students must select from French, German, Italian, or Spanish. Students in voice, collaborative piano, and choral conducting must demonstrate reading proficiency in a second language by one of the means listed above. The Language petition will need to be submitted to Bria Russ once you have completed one of the following:

Completed the third level of the regular undergraduate series or equivalent;
Passed the 1G language study course with a grade of B (3.0) or better;
Passed the UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test by being placed into level four or higher.

All MM final recitals will be held in Spring quarter, and it is important that students begin working on planning their programs and building their recital committees at least two quarters in advance to ensure that they have ample time to prepare. All recital programs and committee requests are due no later than the end of Fall quarter.

Fall Quarter of 2nd Year:

Step 1: Submit your MM Recital Committee Request Form

Step 2: Submit your program and MM/DMA Recital Program Approval Form

Spring Quarter of 2nd Year:

Once the student has completed their recital, they will need to send their recital committee the below form. This form is required for your committee to signify your passing of the recital and provide their own comments.

Step 3: Submit the MM Final Recital

DMA students are required to perform one recital each academic year.

Recitals:

1st Year – First Year Recital: By the Monday of 7th week in the fall quarter, first-year DMA students must submit the Recital Program
2nd Year – Entrepreneurial Recital: The Entrepreneurial Recital is a public concert showcasing the imagination, creativity and enterprise of the student –qualities which are increasingly crucial to a successful performance career. It is presented in a location other than the UCLA campus, and should have the potential to attract a sizeable audience. The Recital Program Approval Form for the Second-Year Entrepreneurial Recital is due at least two months before the student plans to perform the recital.
1. In this form, the student must include a detailed proposal, including:
  1. Description and rationale for the recital (two paragraphs minimum; one page maximum)
  2. Itemized budget
  3. Marketing plan for attracting attendance
  4. Repertoire, program order and names of collaborators (if applicable), in a similar format to that submitted for the First-Year DMA Recital
  5. Recital venue, date and time, with written confirmation from the sponsoring entity that the event is scheduled.
  6. The student must attach their First-Year recital program with this form.
3rd Year – Final DMA Recital: The Recital Program Approval Form for the Final DMA Recital. This form is due at least two months before the student plans on performing the recital, and must include a copy of the First-Year and Entrepreneurial Recital programs. Students must complete a full recital containing approximately 60 minutes of music, and should contain music related to the student’s dissertation topic. The

Recitals must take place during one of the three regular academic quarters, between the first day of classes and the last day of Exam Week. The second-year Entrepreneurial Recital, may occur during the summer.

Step 1: Submit the MM/DMA Recital Program Approval Form prior to the proposed date for each recital. For 2nd and 3rd Year DMA students, they must attach a copy of any previous degree recital programs. Recitals that are given out of sequence will not count toward the degree.

Step 2: Student will need to schedule their recital for the following Winter or Spring quarter.

Once a student has successfully completed their recital, it is incumbent on the student to send their invited faculty the correct review form to have your recital graded. Students will need to fill out one of the following three DocuSign forms to send to their invited faculty.

Step 3 (For 1st and 2nd Year Students): Submit the DMA Recital Review Form.

Step 3 (For 3rd Year Students): Submit the DMA Final Recital Review Form.

Step 1: Submit Century List to Student Affairs Officer (SAO) and the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS).

Step 2: Choose Written Qualifying Exam (WQE) Date

Once the DGS has approved of the student’s Century List, the student will need to contact the SAO to schedule their WQE date. The exam will need to take place on a weekday, Monday-Friday and will take nine hours to complete the exam.

Step 3: Receive WQE Information

The SAO will email the student with information on the WQE a week prior to the exam start date.

Step 4: Take the WQE and Submit to SAO

On the scheduled exam date, the student will be administered the exam at 9am via email and will be expected to complete the exam on or before 6pm the same day. The student will submit their responses via email to the SAO and DGS.

Step 5: Receive WQE Grade

The Graduate Curriculum Committee will review and determine the students WQE grade at most two weeks after submission. The decision will be delivered to the student by the DGS. The DGS may have requests for edits or suggest that the exam be retaken. The SAO will assist at this stage if needed.

Step 6: Nominate Doctoral Committee

Once WQE is deemed passed, the student will need to Nominate their Doctoral Committee by submitting the two DocuSign documents below.

DMA Doctoral Committee Request & Dissertation Approval, Department Form

Nomination Doctoral Committee Form, Graduate Division

All doctoral committees require a minimum of three faculty members, of whom a minimum of two members (including the Chair) must hold UCLA Academic Senate faculty appointments. The composition of the doctoral committee must adhere to the following rules:

The chair (or one of the co-chairs) must be a Music Department professor.
A minimum of two of the four members must be from one of the three UCLA School of Music departments. (Adjunct professors may serve as committee members if they are certified and approved by the university’s Committee on Degree Programs.)
A third member must be a UCLA faculty member, though need not be in the School of Music.
Two of the three UCLA-affiliated members must be at the Associate Professor rank or higher.
The fourth member may be either from another another accredited university or college which is UCLA’s academic equivalent. (Non-UCLA committee members must have the equivalent of UCLA Senate faculty appointments.)
At least one of the committee members must be from outside the Music Department, but with respect to this member’s departmental affiliation, anyone holding a “0% appointment” in the Music Department is considered an “outside” member.(Please consult the Staff Graduate Advisor about which non-Music-Department professors also hold “0% appointments” in the Music Department.)

Doctoral committees may also include lecturers, but lecturers may serve only in addition to the four required members

Step 7: Committee Appointed by the Division of Graduate Education (DGE)

Step 8: University Oral Qualifying Exam (OQE)

Once you have confirmed the structure of your committee and nominated the committee formally with the Division of Graduate Education, you may then hold your University Oral Qualifying Exam. Students should coordinate their University Oral Qualifying Exam date with their committee.

Step 9: Advance to Candidacy (ATC)

If you receive a pass on your University OQE from your committee, you will Advance to Candidacy (ATC). The student’s Committee Chair will need to contact the SAO to submit the Oral Qualifying Exam and ATC Request form for the Division of Graduate Education Approval.

Step 10: Dissertation Writing and Dissertation Year Award

After the student has formally advanced to candidacy (ATC), they begin work on their dissertation and enroll each quarter in MUSCLG 599 under the direction of their Committee Chair.

Helpful information: Students are encouraged to apply for external funding opportunities, such as the Dissertation Year Award, in Winter quarter when the application deadline is posted.

Step 11: Dissertation Defense and File

Students are required to schedule their dissertation defense with their committee and let the SAO know the scheduled date. Once passed, the student will File Your Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD)

Students who no longer plan to take courses, be employed by UCLA, receive financial support, or access certain campus services may submit the Filing Fee Application. Students may use the Filing Fee application only if they were registered for the previous academic term, and satisfy the eligibility criteria.

Music Performance

Graduate Student Resources

Program Information

Graduate Music Performance Petitions and Forms

Foreign Language Requirement and Petition

MM and DMA Recitals

DMA Qualifying Exams