The purpose of this study was to examine music education faculty members’ perceptions of admissions and selection criteria for students entering doctoral music education degree programs. We distributed a questionnaire to music education faculty at 60 institutions in the United States that offered music education doctoral degrees. Resumes/curriculum vitae, writing samples, academic transcripts, recommendation letters, and an interview with faculty were the admissions requirements most frequently reported by participants. Results indicated that participants perceived interviews and writing samples/ability to be of the highest importance when making admissions decisions. In addition to required materials, five characteristics including teaching experience/ability, disposition, research interest, writing skills, and curiosity emerged as desirable when making admissions decisions. Our findings provide music education faculty and potential doctoral students a better understanding of what skills and characteristics are considered important at this crucial transition point that frequently results in becoming a music teacher educator.
AlbertD. J.HeiderscheitA. (2023). Reconceptualizing the audition for the 21st century music student. Arts Education Policy Review, 124(3), 135–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2021.1937761
2.
AltbachP. G. (2004). The United States: Present realities and future trends. In SadlakJ. (Ed.), Doctoral studies and qualifications in Europe and the United States: Status and prospectus (pp. 259–277). UNESCO.
Graduate Study in Music Education. (1954). A report of the committee on graduate study in music education. Journal of Research in Music Education, 2(2), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.2307/3343697
8.
HansonJ.RobertsJ. (2023). Perspectives of black students in music education doctoral programs; Motivations, experiences, and information literacy. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 33(1), 69–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837231177988
9.
HarringtonA.McGuaryK. (2023, October). Beliefs of music education faculty on desirable traits of incoming music education majors [Poster presentation]. Symposium on Music Teacher Education. https://smte.us/wp-content/uploads/Poster-Session-2-Final.pdf
10.
HimeL. J.MikszaP.HunsuckerA. (2014). Admissions criteria and upper-divisional ratings as predictors of student teaching achievement in music education. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 200, 7–22. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.200.0007
11.
KellyS. N.VanWeeldenK. (2017). Teaching teachers: Methods and experiences used in educating doctoral students to prepare preservice music educators. International Journal of Music Education, 35(4), 490–499. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761416667469
12.
KentJ. D.McCarthyM. T. (2016). Holistic review in graduate admissions. Council of Graduate Schools.
13.
MadsenC. K. (1988). Senior researcher award acceptance address. Journal of Research in Music Education, 36(3), 133–139. https://doi.org/10.2307/3344635
14.
MadsenC. K. (2003). Instruction and supervision of graduate students in music education. Research Studies in Music Education, 21(1), 72–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X030210010601
15.
MichelR. S.BelurV.NaemiB.KellH. J. (2019). Graduate admissions practices: A targeted review of the literature. ETS Research Report Series, 2019(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ets2.12271
16.
MohanR. (2016). Measurement, evaluation, and assessment in education. PHI Learning.
NyeC. D.RyanA. M. (2023). Improving graduate-school admissions by expanding rather than eliminating predictors. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(1), 54–60.
PayneP.WardJ. (2020). Admission and assessment of music degree candidates. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 29(2), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083719878388
PosseltJ. R. (2015). Disciplinary logics in doctoral admissions: Understanding patterns of faculty evaluation. Journal of Higher Education, 86(6), 807–833. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2015.11777385
23.
BallC.RossJ.MamlinH. R.MartinG.BrookhartD. E.CoxD. E. (1980). Report of the MENC commission on Graduate Music Teacher Education. Music Educators Journal, 67(2), 46–68. https://doi.org/10.2307/3400579
24.
RobertsS. F.PyfromE.HoffmanJ. A.PaiC.ReaganE. K.LightA. E. (2021). Review of racially equitable admissions practices in STEM doctoral programs. Education Sciences, 11(6), Article 270. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11060270
25.
RossR. D. (1997). The status of graduate music studies in the United States. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 134, 43–60. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40318879
26.
RoystonN. S.SpringerD. G. (2015). Beliefs of applied studio faculty on desirable traits of prospective music education majors: A pilot study. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 25(1), 78–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083714549467
27.
RoystonN. S.SpringerD. G. (2017). Beliefs of applied studio faculty on desirable traits of prospective music education majors. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65(2), 219–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429417714470
28.
RutkowskiJ.WebsterP. (2011). Doctoral programs in music education: An examination of degrees, curricula, and qualifying examinations [Conference session]. Symposium on Music Teacher Education. https://smte.us/conferences-symposia/2011-symposium/
29.
SaldañaJ. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
30.
ShellahamerB. R. (1984). Selection and retention criteria in undergraduate music teacher education programs: Survey, analysis, and implications (admission, audition) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487254797383345
31.
ShoemakerJ. R. (1970). Is the price tag on the doctorate too high?Music Educators Journal, 57(4), 61–92. https://doi.org/10.2307/3392936
32.
SimsW. L. (2016). 2016 Senior research award acceptance address: Developing productive researchers through mentoring, rethinking doctoral dissertations, and facilitating positive publishing experiences. Journal of Research in Music Education, 64(3), 262–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429416667507
33.
Society for Music Teacher Education. (n.d.). Areas of strategic planning and action. https://smte.us/aspas/
34.
SpringerD. G.RoystonN. S.AllenA. D. (2023). Admissions and selection criteria for master’s students in music education degree programs. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 32(2), 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837221120761
35.
TeachoutD. (2004a). Factors affecting individuals’ decisions to enter music teacher education doctoral programs. Action, Criticism, & Theory for Music Education, 3(3), 1–26.
36.
TeachoutD. (2004b). Incentives and barriers for potential music teacher education doctoral students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 52(3), 234–247. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345857
37.
TeachoutD. (2005). How are we preparing the next generation of music teacher educators?Journal of Music Teacher Education, 15(1), 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837050150010101
38.
TeachoutD. (2008). Incentives and barriers for completing music teacher education doctoral programs. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 178, 7–20. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40319335
39.
The Council of Graduate Schools. (1990). The Doctor of Philosophy degree: A policy statement. Educational Resources Information Center (ED331420), ERIC.
40.
ThurgoodL.GolladayM. J.HillS. T. (2006). U.S. doctorates in the 20th century. National Science Foundation.
41.
VasilM.McCallJ. M. (2018). The perspectives of two first-generation college students pursuing doctoral degrees in music education. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 27(2), 67–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083717717464
42.
WooS. E.LeBretonJ. M.KeithM. G.TayL. (2023). Bias, fairness, and validity in graduate-school admissions: A psychometric perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(1), 3–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211055374
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
