Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) Degree in the field of Piano Performance

DMA Degree

Upon completing the DMA degree, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate technical and musical competence in performance or composition at a professional level.
2. Develop highly developed analytical skills in advanced music theory and a profound understanding of how those skills inform music performance.
3. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the relationship between music history and music performance with greater familiarity of a wide variety of historical and contemporary performance practices.
4. Develop career development skills that complement their professional-level performance skills.
5. Develop working knowledge of and have experience with both classroom teaching and studio teaching methods at the conservatory and university levels.

DMA Degree 

For general university requirements, see Doctoral Degrees. regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Students pursuing DMA degree in all fields of study must complete:

• A minimum of 90 credit hours beyond bachelor's degree to satisfy degree requirements.   

DMA Degree in field of Piano Performance

The English Language Proficiency Requirement may be waived for an international student who received a degree from an institution in which English is the official language of communication. Contact the admitting program for more information.

The following language proficiency tests are accepted by Rice graduate programs and will be used to assess English language proficiency. Please note the below scores are the minimum requirement, though some program requirements will be higher.

• The TOEFL IBT Home. A minimum score of 90 is required
• IELTS Indicator. A minimum score of 7 is required.
• Duolingo. A minimum score of 115 is required.

1. Find your graduate program(s) of interest and submit an interest form. Click here for a listing of schools and departments.
2. Research the cost of study and available financial support. Qualified doctoral students often receive tuition waivers and a generous stipend.
3. Look at our facts and stats on admissions, enrollment and degrees awarded.
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