Student Handbook
Dissertation [part I] click here to go to
Dissertation part II
The dissertation is at once both the culmination of one's work as a student and the
certificate of entrance into the scholarly community. Ideally, the dissertation represents
a substantial piece of cutting-edge research, marked by originality with respect to
subject matter and/or methodology, and constitutes a real contribution to--at the risk of
sounding optimistically lyrical--humanistic learning.
For both composers (Ph.D. and DMA) and performers, the dissertation is a double-barreled
affair: composition students must write both a written dissertation and a substantial
composition, while performance students must complement their written dissertation
with a full-length recital (on the nature of the recital, DMA-Performance students should
see section VII). In both cases, the written dissertation may be related to the
composition/recital in one way or another. To compensate for the composers'-performers'
two-part dissertation requirement, there is a general understanding that their written
dissertations are usually a good deal shorter than those written by students in the areas
of musicology, theory/analysis, and ethnomusicology.
What follows is the step-by-step procedure that students follow from one end of the
dissertation process to the other:
(1) Choosing a topic: The best thing students can do is to begin mulling
over possible dissertation topics early in their graduate work, not with the idea of
closing doors to certain topics but, rather, with the intent of exploring the widest array
of topics with as much breadth, in as much detail, and as early on as possible. Students
should use the "pre-dissertation" Independent Study as a way of digging around.
If this paragraph has a moral, it is this: do not find yourself in the position of having
completed both course work and exams and then wander and wonder for two years trying to
decide on a dissertation topic. It is not easy to regain one's momentum. Finally, having
settled--if even tentatively--on a topic, burrow into it and discuss it with a prospective
advisor. Don't wait until it's time to submit a formal dissertation proposal.
(2) Choosing an advisor and readers:
There are two things to look for here: (a) choose someone who
him/herself works in the subject area in question (or at least
feels comfortable and capable of advising a dissertation in that
area), and--just as important--(b) choose someone with whom you
can "get along" on a close personal basis for what will be a
two-, three-, or more-year relationship. The student-adviser
relationship should be one in which both student and adviser
learn from each other and come to think of one another not as
student and teacher, but as colleagues.
In addition to working with an advisor, students
work with another faculty member who serves as a reader. In cases where special expertise is
required there may be a second reader.
(3) The Dissertation Proposal: Once a student has completed both
course work and the Second Examination, has chosen and precisely defined
the dissertation topic, and has settled upon an adviser and a reader. it
is time to submit a formal dissertation proposal--one that has been
developed together with at least the adviser and the reader--to the
Faculty Membership and Dissertation Proposal Committee. To maintain
Satisfactory Progress toward the degree, the dissertation proposal
should be submitted no later than one year after completion of the
Second Examination.
The proposal should, at the very least, cover the following points: the nature of the topic
should be clearly defined, as should its relevance/importance to present-day scholarship; the
methodology should be explained; and there should be some discussion of past scholarship on
the topic (supported by an annotated bibliography). In writing the proposal, students should
remember that a good dissertation--and therefore a good dissertation proposal--has both a point
to make and a point of view with which to make it; that is, the dissertation should have an
"argument." One way of arriving at that sense of "focus" might be to include a chapter-by-chapter
outline (no matter how tentative) in the proposal. Click
here for dissertation proposal guidelines.
A FEW OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
(a) The Faculty Membership and Dissertation Proposal Committee, which consists of five faculty members
and one student representative, meets three times each year, generally
in September,
February, and May (precise dates are announced well in advance).
Proposals must reach the members of the committee (and a copy to the Music
program office) at least two weeks before the meeting. The chairman of the committee will then
set up an appointment at which the student meets with the committee to discuss the proposal.
Letters from faculty advisors and readers are due to the committee a few
days before the meeting to the chair of the committee and can be by
e-mail. The letters should indicate willingness to serve as advisor or
reader, and may include any other comments.
Human Subjects Research: Any research that involves human subjects must be approved by the Human
Subjects Committee prior to starting the research. The approval form, signed on behalf of the
Human Subjects Committee, must be included with the dissertation when it is deposited. If no
research on human subjects was conducted for the dissertation, a form indicating that must be
included when the dissertation is deposited. No dissertation will be accepted without one of
these forms. Please contact Ms. Hilary Fisher, Director of Sponsored Research, 212 817-7523,
for information.
Dissertation Proposal Clearance: Human Participants Form
All students, who have advanced to Level 3 after September 1, 1999, must submit a
Dissertation Proposal Clearance: Human Participants Form to Hilry Fisher in the Office for
Research and Sponsored Programs. This requirement includes students from all programs, whether or
not their research involves human participants. The form becomes part of the student’s file in
Registrar’s Office. A student will not be able to deposit the dissertation unless this form is on
file in the Registrar’s Office. The form requires that any research including human participants
(even informal interviews or reviews of preexisting data) be reviewed and approved by the IRB
before research commences. Approval cannot be given retroactively. Doctoral students and their
advisers must work together to ensure that these requirements are met.
(b) Neither the proposal nor the meeting with the committee should be thought of as constituting
an examination. The proposals are not graded; rather, the committee seeks to determine--and the
committee can sometimes be more objective than either the student or the prospective adviser--that
the dissertation topic is truly viable and that the student has the "smarts" to carry it out.
If the topic is approved, the student registers it with the American Musicological Society's
Doctoral
Dissertations in Musicology. Though topics are never dismissed outright, the committee may
conclude that the proposal, as submitted, has problems, suggest that certain aspects of it be
reconsidered, and ask that the proposal be resubmitted at its (the committee's) next meeting.
This does not mean that the student should not get to work on the dissertation; on the contrary,
it usually means that the student should define things more precisely or limit the scope of the
dissertation or turn certain of its aspects one way or the other. Even if the committee "turns
down" the proposal, get to work!
(c) The proposal is not a binding contract. Students can--short of submitting a proposal
for a dissertation on Wagner and then writing one on Leonin--turn the
dissertation in this or that direction.
(d) At the outset the student, the adviser and reader(s) should work
out a process by which chapters will be disseminated and commented upon
and revised. Many advisers prefer to read and comment on a chapter and
return it to the student who makes changes and then sends it on to the
reader.
click here to go to Dissertation
part II
