[Smt-talk] Princeton and Theory

[Dunsby, Jonathan]

As so often, I urge American colleagues to bear in mind the rest of the world; and that doesn't just mean Canada. In the UK where I come from, there is no such designation as a doctorate in music theory. As Chris mentions of some US institutions, over there you get a PhD or DPhil in 'music'. I've listed my PhD sometimes as in 'music theory', for American consumption, because it's true, and my published dissertation would seem to prove the point: it could be something of a misrepresentation NOT to describe it so, lest anybody thought I were a, um, musicologist or something like that. In fact, I just looked at my mini c.v. that somebody wrote for the hallowed Eastman site, and have experienced one of those OMG moments http://www.esm.rochester.edu/theory/jonathan_dunsby.php. Do I need to call my attorney, even on a Sunday? :-) 
 
Jonathan
______________
Jonathan Dunsby
Chair, Music Theory Department
Professor of Music Theory
Eastman School of Music
 
 
http://www.ithaca.edu/music/mtsnys/officers.html <https://webmail.ur.rochester.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.ithaca.edu/music/mtsnys/officers.html>  

________________________________

From: smt-talk-bounces at lists.societymusictheory.org on behalf of Christopher Doll
Sent: Sat 11/20/2010 20:00
To: smt-talk at societymusictheory.org
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] Princeton and Theory


All,

Jane's e-mail about listing degrees accurately on CVs prompts me to mention a problem I myself have encountered regarding the official name of my PhD. My degree is from Columbia, where my primary area was theory. The music department always referred to their PhD major as "Musicology," under which students were admitted to separate streams: theory, historical musicology, and ethnomusicology. Thus I thought a PhD in Musicology was what I was technically pursuing. However, when I finally earned my degree I noticed my university transcript said "Music," with no mention of Musicology. Since it is the trustees of the university, not the department, who confer degrees, I have tended (since graduation) to say that I have a PhD in Music, but I can honestly say that I'm not sure what the official title is, or if there even is such a thing. The paper document of my degree offers no mention whatsoever of Music, Musicology, or Music Theory. I'm all for accuracy; I just don't know who's the final authority.

At Rutgers, where I now teach, we have a similar situation--the department currently offers majors in composition/theory and musicology, but my understanding is that the graduate school and the university only recognize "Music."


Perhaps these are oddities specific to Columbia and Rutgers, but my hunch is that they are not. Many job offers list a "PhD in Music Theory" as a requirement, and I've often wondered how many programs officially offer such a degree--or if they even know for certain.

Best,
Chris


--
Christopher Doll
Assistant Professor
Department of Music
Mason Gross School of the Arts
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 


________________________________

From: Jane Clendinning <jclendinning at fsu.edu>
To: Leslie Kinton <lkinton at primus.ca>; SMT Talk <smt-talk at societymusictheory.org>
Sent: Fri, November 19, 2010 8:53:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] Princeton and Theory

Colleagues,

Listing the type and area of a doctoral degree inaccurately on a CV or
position application is "falsifying credentials", which is quite a serious
matter.  This type of intentional inaccuracy could be grounds for getting
fired (because you were hired under false pretenses) or could get an
applicant removed from a job application pool if the falsehood is noted by a
committee member ( . . . if someone would lie about that type of
information, which can easily be verified by checking to see which degrees a
university grants or by calling references, how can the person be trusted on
anything else?).

...

Jane Clendinning



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