The Music Education PhD Program with a Music Therapy Focus is designed for music therapy clinicians who wish to develop research skills and enhanced theory knowledge as a preparation for an academic career or as an aid in pursuing research projects as part of a clinical career. This 45-credit degree includes a minimum of 18 credits in research coursework, 24 credits of electives, and a 3-credit dissertation proposal seminar. Graduates of the program will be able to design and implement studies using multiple approaches, such as quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods, as well as arts-based and community- based participatory research methods. Emphasis is placed on studies of contemporary clinical and professional relevance that also reflect the individual student’s areas of clinical expertise. Students will also critically engage with multiple theoretical and philosophical frameworks prevalent in music education/therapy settings. And last, students will develop skills to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, about their own and others’ research and contemporary educational/clinical practice in music education/therapy settings.
The degree can be completed on either a full-time or part-time basis and is only open to credentialed music therapists with a master’s degree and 3-5 years of clinical experience.
Course Sequence
This degree is unique in allowing each student to craft an individualized course of study, choosing the research and content courses that meet the student’s personal interests. Elective courses are drawn from a variety of areas including music therapy, applied psychology, musicology, and other related arts and health areas. Students take a combination of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research courses, although the program is weighted towards the qualitative approach as many students find that these methods are better suited to their research interests. All students are strongly encouraged to take at least two semesters of quantitative research courses—whether or not they are using these methods in their own studies—in order to be able to teach this content as part of an academic career. Doctoral level music therapy courses include “Contemporary Music Therapy Theory” and “Developing Presentations and Publications in Music Therapy.”
Specialization
While the degree does not have discrete specialization tracks, students will pursue a course of study based upon their prior academic experience and future goals. In some ways, the degree offers as many specializations as there are students, something that reflects the individualized nature of the degree. Students who completed their master’s degree at schools other than NYU can take existing graduate music therapy courses in areas such as theory development, technology, and verbal methods. Students who wish to develop or broaden their clinical skills have available to them courses in the areas of counseling and psychotherapy. In addition to basic courses in gathering and analyzing qualitative data, a number of specialized qualitative research courses are offered in the following areas: Historical Research, Case Study/Ethnographic Inquiry, Interview & Observation, Participatory Action Research, The Listening Guide Method of Psychological Inquiry, Mixed-Methods, and Arts-Based Research.
Sample Elective Courses
With 24 credits of electives, this typically comes out to eight 3-credit courses. Students can take elective courses in the Steinhardt School, and also the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Silver School of Social Work. So there are too many potential elective courses to list them all. However, many students opt for courses in the department of Applied Psychology, such as the following: Grant Writing and Grant Management for the Social Sciences; Issues in Counseling People With Disabilities; Culture, Context, and Psychology; Cross-Cultural Research Methods: An Introduction; Trauma: Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives; Cross-Cultural Counseling; Grief and Bereavement Counseling; Marriage, Couple & Family Counseling.
Culminating Experience
Each student will complete a doctoral dissertation under the direction of a chair and two additional faculty members constituting a three-person doctoral committee. The study must be successfully defended in an oral examination led by two outside readers. The study can be empirical, historical, or philosophical but must represent a significant original contribution to knowledge in the field.