Research Areas
As noted in the previous section, each program within MPAP has a unique set of primary research areas which operate as guiding frameworks for intellectual inquiry.
Educational Theatre
Doctoral students develop authority in one or more of the following areas of specialization through coursework and independent research. These areas of research are often overlapping and interrelated, and students are encouraged to take coursework in all three areas.
Drama in Education (i.e., studies in drama/theatre curriculum, special education, integrated arts, assessment and evaluation)
Applied Theatre (i.e., studies in community-based theatre, theatre of the oppressed, the teaching artist, diversity and inclusion)
Theatre for Young Audiences and Play Production (i.e., studies in acting, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting, dramatic literature, arts-based research methodologies)
Music Education
Music Education PhD: Music Therapy Specialization
Research in this degree program can take place using a wide variety of methods including qualitative, mixed-method, quantitative, musicological, historical, and philosophical approaches. The determination of method is a consequence of the student’s interests and fundamental research questions. Students should come to the program with some general ideas about potential areas for doctoral research so that a suitable sequence of research methods courses can be taken in a way that provides the foundations needed for independent scholarly research. Students wishing to study clinical processes can do so at their own place of employment, through projects implemented at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy or through other cooperating clinical facilities. This means that a wide variety of clinical approaches and areas of practice can serves as the context for doctoral research studies.
Music Composition and Performance
PhD in Music Composition
At the center of the PhD program in Music Composition is the creation of new compositions. Research can relate to the composer’s compositions in a variety of ways. It can support explorations into orchestration, structure, pitch, tuning, use of electronics, interdisciplinary work, scoring for screens, theoretical interests, and studies of various musical aesthetics. Research should support both the compositional process as well as in-depth study leading to a dissertation. Dissertation topics reflect the individual interest of the composer in the 21st century. The PhD composer should address how this study relates to their own creative work. Requirements include creation of a significant composition and public presentation of that work, as well as an in-depth study and dissertation of no less than 100 pages.
PhD in Music Performance
Doctoral students develop authority in specific areas of specialization through coursework and independent research. These areas of research, which often overlap, relate closely to the repertoire and practices that distinguish their performing careers.
Theory and Analysis (i.e., studies of aesthetics, compositional methods, and analytical methods, and their relationships to performance practice, perception, and reception)
Musicology and Ethnography (i.e., studies and documentation of performance traditions in relation to specific historical eras, cultures, and socio-political contexts)
DMA in Music Performance
Students in the DMA program conduct innovative practice-based research culminating in a capstone project that is context-bound and driven by a practitioner’s questions and problem posing. The final product may take a variety of forms, but must include a substantial written document of publishable quality, approximately 20,000 words. Accompanying content on relevant projects (i.e. professional recording, performance study score) may count as 5,000 words towards the total length.
Examples of possible capstone projects include, but are not limited to:
Method Book
A textbook which demonstrates repertoire or techniques for the candidate’s instrument. Possible topics of the text could include: extended techniques, fingerings, reed making; or cover a group of topics such as repertoire, accompanying, improvisation. Historical context, along with the strengths and weaknesses of prior research in this and similar areas, should be included.
Essay Collection
A collection of essays solely focused on the repertoire performed by the student throughout their DMA recital performances. These essays should address major performance-based topics, including: programming approaches, repertoire context, and/or interpretation methodologies which directly correlate to the works presented by the candidate in their recital and/or recording project. An extended written essay on the student’s lecture-recital may also be included. This paper should be an in-depth realization of the student’s research with accompanying illustrations and examples. The entire collection should be presented as a single body of work with a clearly structured, consistent format.
Professional Recording with Analysis
Professional recording of a new edition or important work by a major living composer, with comprehensive annotations and commentary on historical context, musical analysis, performance techniques, interpretation, and/or editorial method. Students in need of recording facilities/services as part of their Capstone project can request studio time in Dolan. These arrangements must be coordinated well in advance with the student's Program Director and designated Dolan booking liaison, listed here.
Performance Study Score
An annotated score of a new edition or important work by a major living composer, with commentary on historical context, musical analysis, performance techniques, interpretation and/or editorial method. The annotated score is submitted in addition to the accompanying text.
Research Paper
A historiographical and/or analytic examination of a piece or collection of music contributing significantly to the student’s primary field of music performance or area of sub-specialization.
Music Technology
The primary research areas of the Music Technology PhD program include computer music, immersive audio, music psychology and neuroscience, sound and music computing and data science, as well as technologies for music experiences, interaction, education, creation, production, and accessibility. We work closely with our sister research center, the Music & Audio Research Lab (MARL) and collaborate with individuals and groups across the university and around the world. Two of our faculty are affiliated with the NYU-Max Planck Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME). Doctoral candidates engage in creative as well as data-driven approaches to the application of technology to music—our research methods emerge from the development and adaptation of new and existing technologies to create, study, perform, analyze, or disseminate music.