Editing Doctor of Musical Arts (section)

{{Short description|Doctoral academic degree in music}}
[[File:Giorgi Latsabidze, University of Southern California, Doctor of Musical Arts.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A graduate student from the [[University of Southern California]] receiving his doctor of musical arts degree in 2011.]]

The '''doctor of musical arts''' ('''DMA''') is a [[doctorate|doctoral]] [[academic degree]] in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually [[Performance|music performance]], [[music composition]], or [[conducting]]) with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as [[music history]], [[music theory]], or [[music education]]. The DMA degree usually takes about three to four years of full-time study to complete (in addition to the master's and bachelor's degrees), preparing students to be professional performers, conductors, and composers. As a [[terminal degree]], the DMA qualifies its recipient to work in university, college, and [[Music school|conservatory]] teaching/research positions. Students seeking doctoral training in [[musicology]], teaching, leadership, music administration or music theory typically enter a [[Doctor of Music Education|doctor of music education]] (DME) or [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] program, rather than a DMA program.