Curriculum

NYU Steinhardt’s DMA prepares musicians to pursue careers in performance, scholarship, and teaching. Mentored by internationally acclaimed artist faculty, you’ll refine your knowledge of music literature and history, theory, pedagogy, performance practice, and repertoire, with an eye towards technique and interpretation. Focusing on a secondary area of study will further expand your knowledge base, enhancing your leadership skills  and preparing you for professional success in the music industry. Collaborating with peers and faculty, you’ll access a powerful professional network of active musicians, entrepreneurs, and composers, opening career opportunities that extend beyond graduation.  

Core Course Sequence

The DMA in Music Performance consists of a minimum of 36 credits of graduate-level coursework focused on performance practices, including two years of private lessons and three public, adjudicated recitals. In NYU’s unparalleled facilities, you’ll find myriad  solo and ensemble performance opportunities. Performance electives are complemented by research courses and studies in an area of sub-specialization: Music Business, Music Composition, Music Education, Music Technology, Music Theory, or Performing Arts Administration.  This multi-faceted approach will prepare you holistically for today's careers in the arts, qualifying you for valuable national and international roles as a teaching artist, entrepreneur, and cultural ambassador.

Culminating Experience 

Guided by faculty mentors, doctoral students engage in innovative, practice-based research, culminating in a capstone project that is context-bound and driven by a practitioner’s questions and problem posing. Examples of capstones include a methods book or collections of essays,, a performance study score, a premiere performance and recording, or a research paper evidencing the historiographical or analytic examination of a piece or collection of music.