Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
CHAPTER VII
pp. 478–481
DEGREES, DIPLOMAS, AND OTHER QUALIFICATIONS

The provisions contained in this Chapter are Regulations of the General Board

In this section

DEGREES IN MUSIC

Bachelor of Music27

1. The examination for the degree of Bachelor of Music shall consist of two sections, as follows:

Section I.

An instrumental or vocal recital lasting not less than forty minutes.

Section II.

  1. (a)A dissertation of not less than 10,000 words and not more than 15,000 words (excluding appendices) on a subject proposed by the candidate and approved by the Faculty Board of Music.
  2. (b)A paper of three hours’ duration on the background of the subject of the candidate's dissertation.

A candidate may be examined orally on questions arising from the recital or the dissertation.

2. The Faculty Board of Music shall have power to define or limit by supplementary regulations all or any of the subjects of the examination; to determine the credit that shall be assigned to such subjects respectively; and to make, amend, or withdraw any such supplementary regulation as occasion may require; provided that the Faculty Board shall give public notice of any new supplementary regulation or alteration of the supplementary regulations not later than the Easter Term next but one before the term in which the first examination to be affected is to be held.

3. Any student may be a candidate for the Mus.B. Examination who at the time of the examination (a) has kept seven terms and (b) has obtained honours, or attained the honours standard, in any Part of the Music Tripos; provided that no student shall in the same term be a candidate for the Mus.B. Examination and for any other University examination.

4. No student shall be a candidate for the Mus.B. Examination on more than one occasion except as provided in Regulation 5.

5. The two sections of the examination shall be taken together, except that a candidate who has satisfied the Examiners at the first attempt in only one section may be re-examined in the other section alone on not more than one occasion.

6. A candidate shall send to the Secretary of the Faculty Board of Music, not later than the division of the Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination,

  1. (a)a list of the works that he or she proposes to perform, and
  2. (b)the proposed subject of his or her dissertation.

Candidates must obtain the approval of their proposed subjects by the Faculty Board not later than the last day of Full Michaelmas Term. Dissertations shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Faculty Board not later than the eighth day of Full Easter Term.

7. The names of the candidates who have satisfied the Examiners in one or both sections of the examination shall be arranged in alphabetical order in a single class. The class-list shall indicate the section or sections of the examination in which each candidate has satisfied the Examiners. A mark of distinction may be attached to the name of any candidate whose work in either section of the examination is of special merit provided that he or she has satisfied the Examiners in both sections on the same occasion.

8. A student who has satisfied the Examiners in both sections of the examination, whether taken together or on different occasions, shall be qualified to proceed to the degree of Bachelor of Music as soon as he or she has kept nine terms, provided that a student who has thus satisfied the Examiners before completing nine terms’ residence, and who elects to proceed to the B.A. Degree, shall not also be entitled to proceed to the Mus.B. Degree.

9. The Faculty Board shall nominate not more than three Examiners for the Mus.B. Examination. In addition the Faculty Board may nominate such number of Assessors as they shall deem sufficient.

10. A student who takes the Mus.B. Examination after having been admitted to the B.A. Degree, but who has not paid a University Composition Fee for any term since completing the requirements for that degree, shall pay a fee of £60 on first taking the Mus.B. Examination; no further fee shall be payable by such a candidate on re-examination under Regulation 5 or on admission to the Mus.B. Degree.

SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATION

Section I

Candidates shall submit a programme lasting approximately ninety minutes of instrumental or vocal music. From this the Examiners will hear a recital of at least forty minutes’ music. Each candidate shall be responsible for providing an accompanist and a page turner, where required, and shall provide an additional copy of the works for the Examiners.

Master of Music

1. A candidate for the M.Mus. Examination must be approved by the Degree Committee for the Faculty of Music.

2. The Degree Committee may approve as a candidate for the M.Mus. Examination any candidate who has satisfied the Committee that by reason of previous study he or she is qualified to engage in postgraduate work in Choral Studies.

3. Applications for approval under Regulation 2 shall be sent to the Secretary of the Degree Committee so as to arrive not later than 31 March next preceding the date on which the applicant wishes her or his candidature to begin, provided that the Committee shall have power to consider applications submitted after that date.

4. No student shall be a candidate for the M.Mus. Examination, or for any part thereof, on more than one occasion, or for the M.Mus. Examination and another University examination in the same term.

5. A candidate for the M.Mus. Examination shall pursue in the University, under the direction of a Supervisor appointed by the Degree Committee, a course of study extending over three terms.

6. The Faculty Board of Music shall announce not later than the end of the Easter Term each year the list of variable topics and set works to be covered in the course during the following academical year.

7. The M.Mus. Examination shall consist of four elements, divided into four sections as follows:

Section 1: Choral conducting

The examination shall consist of the rehearsal and direction, over a period of thirty minutes, of performances of two pieces chosen by the Examiners on the day of the examination from a list of five announced by the Faculty Board.

Section 2: Seminar course

Each candidate shall write two essays of not more than 3,500 words, on topics agreed between the candidates and the Supervisor.

Section 3: Choral project

Each candidate will form an ensemble with which to offer a choral recital of thirty minutes, of which not more than five minutes will be devoted to the presentation of oral programme notes. The programme for the recital will reflect scholarly research undertaken by the candidate into repertoire and/or performance practice; and is expected to form the basis for an extended essay or editorial submission (see Section 4 below).

Section 4: Options

Each candidate shall choose one option from three: (i) an extended essay of not more than 7,000 words, including notes but excluding appendices; (ii) a critical edition of a single choral work or group of choral works unavailable in a modern scholarly edition, or a comparative study of particular editions of a single choral work or group of choral works, or a study of editorial practice in relation to choral music; (iii) either an organ recital of thirty minutes in length, for which a set work will be announced by the Faculty Board, or a performance as continuo accompanist, for which scores will be provided for the candidates in advance of the examination.

The Examiners shall have power to examine a candidate viva voce on any or all of the elements contained within Sections 1–4 of the examination.

8. In order to satisfy the Examiners, candidates must achieve a pass mark in all three sections of the Examination.

9. The Faculty Board shall have power to issue supplementary regulations determining the scope and manner of assessment of the examination, and shall be empowered to amend such supplementary regulations from time to time as they may think fit, due care being taken that sufficient notice is given of any change.

10. The Faculty Board shall nominate for each academical year such number of Examiners and Assessors as they may deem sufficient, including a resident member of the Senate as Chair of Examiners, and a Specialist External Examiner.

11. The names of the candidates who have satisfied the Examiners shall be arranged in alphabetical order in a single class. A mark of distinction shall be affixed to the names of those students whose work is considered by the Examiners to be of special merit. The Chair of Examiners shall communicate the marks of all candidates to the Registrary.

12. While studying in the University for the M.Mus. Examination, a candidate shall pay the appropriate University Composition Fee for each term of such study.

13. A student who has satisfactorily completed the course and has satisfied the Examiners in the M.Mus. Examination shall be entitled to proceed to the degree of M.Mus.

14. A student who has taken the M.Mus. Examination shall not be entitled to count any part of the period during which he or she has been a candidate for that examination towards a course of research for the degree of Ph.D., or M.Litt.

Doctor of Music

Amended by Notice (Reporter, 2015–16, p. 450)

1. A student proceeding to the degree of Doctor of Music shall be required to give proof of distinction in musical composition.

2. Any person may be a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Music who is a graduate of the University and who

  1. either(a)is of not less than eight years’ standing from admission to his or her first degree of the University,
  2. or(b)is of not less than eight years’ standing from admission to his or her first degree of some other university and has been admitted (i) to some office in the University or to a Headship or a Fellowship of a College, and (ii) to the degree of Master of Arts under Statute B II 2 or to a degree of the University by incorporation.

3. Such candidate shall apply in writing to the Secretary of the Board of Graduate Studies and shall send with the application:

  1. (a)not more than three works composed by the candidate (printed or otherwise) upon which his or her claim to the degree is based, such works to include either an oratorio, an opera, a cantata, a symphony for orchestra, a concerto, or an extended piece of chamber music;
  2. (b)a summary of not more than 500 words relating to the candidate's style and ideology as a composer;
  3. (c)a fee of £582 for the Chest, which must be paid at each application made by a candidate.

4. Such applications shall be referred to the Degree Committee for the Faculty of Music.

5. If such Committee shall be of opinion that these compositions constitute prima facie a qualification for the degree, they shall obtain separate reports upon them from the Professor of Music, or a person nominated by the Professor of Music, and from not less than two additional persons, who may be members of the Committee or not. These reports shall be treated as confidential documents. If referees are not appointed, £510 out of the fee of £582 paid by the applicant under Regulation 3 shall be returned.

6. Each referee shall receive a fee of £175 from the Chest. A fee of £42 may be paid to an Assessor appointed by the Degree Committee to establish whether an application under Regulation 3 constitutes prima facie a qualification for the degree. If an Assessor is subsequently appointed a referee the fee of £42 shall form part of the fee of £175 due to him or her as a referee. The Board of Graduate Studies may approve the payment of reasonable expenses incurred by referees in connection with the execution of their duties.

7. If it be decided to grant the degree, a resolution of the Degree Committee to that effect, with the names of those present and voting on either side, shall be communicated to the Board of Graduate Studies together with the reports of the referees.

If the Board of Graduate Studies after receiving such a communication resolve that the degree should be conferred, the Secretary of the Board of Graduate Studies shall publish the name of the candidate as approved for the degree of Doctor of Music. Such a resolution shall not be valid unless passed with the concurrence of the votes, cast at a meeting, of five members of the Board.

8. If the Degree Committee, either without obtaining a report or after receiving the reports of the referees, are of the opinion that the work submitted by the candidate is not of the requisite standard for the degree, a resolution to that effect shall be passed, and a copy of the resolution, with the numbers of those present and voting on either side, shall be sent to the Secretary of the Board of Graduate Studies, together with the reports of the referees if these have been obtained. The Secretary of the Board of Graduate Studies shall communicate this decision of the Degree Committee to the candidate. This information shall not be communicated to the Board of Graduate Studies except with the approval of the Chair.

9. No candidate for a degree shall be present at the deliberations either of the Committee or of the Board of Graduate Studies respecting his or her own case.

10. Should none of the works approved have been published, the Committee may require the candidate either to publish, or to deposit in the University Library, one of them, before being admitted to the degree.

11. No fee shall be payable on admission to the degree.

Footnotes

  1. 27. This degree is suspended from 1 October 2011 (Reporter, 2010–11, p. 468)a