Degrees

Music students in the ISM are candidates for one of three degrees. See School of Music Bulletin for full descriptions.

  • A two-year post-baccalaureate degree in musical performance, the Master of Music program includes intensive study of a primary discipline (e.g., keyboard, conducting, composition), augmented by theoretical and historical studies. See the specific program for ISM expectations.
     

  • The Master of Musical Arts degree is conferred on candidates who successfully complete two years of study (at least 16 credit hours per term). Applicants must hold a Master of Music degree in the field in which they are planning to apply. The program provides intensive training in the student’s major field—performance, conducting, or composition—supported by studies in theoretical and historical subjects. Students who hold an M.M. degree from the School of Music are expected to complete the program in one year. Those who hold a D.M.A. degree or are currently enrolled in a D.M.A. program are not eligible to apply for the Master of Musical Arts program. In addition to private lessons and chamber music, students take part in relevant ensembles such as Yale Schola Cantorum. M.M.A. candidates will perform a recital in each year of study.

  • The Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Yale is a distinctive program comprised of a two-year residential component on campus followed by a three-year dissertation period during which candidates develop and demonstrate professional and artistic excellence. The degree provides intensive training in the student’s major field—performance, conducting, or composition—augmented by studies in theoretical and historical subjects. Yale University confers the Doctor of Musical Arts degree on those candidates who have successfully completed four terms of residential requirements, demonstrated expertise in the major field through artistic excellence and distinguished achievements in the dissertation period, and concluded the program requirements by passing the final D.M.A. recital and oral examination.

Church Music Studies

The Institute offers a curriculum for any ISM performance major wishing to specialize in Church Music Studies. For this certificate, some candidates may require a fifth semester of study.