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• Submit your research proposal to the committee no later than the first week of the Fall term in the second year of the student’s enrolment in the program (Term 3).
• At least three weeks before lecture-recital or presentation: Submit your presentation/lecture-recital draft (text and handout materials) to your advisory committee.
• Email the final draft of your research paper to graduatestudies.music [at] mcgill.ca (Graduate Studies, your whole advisory committee and the D.Mus. Performance Coordinator )for committee review and comments by the deadline above at the latest. Committee review will take about one month, after which you will make revisions as indicated.
• Submit the final version of your research paper via email to graduatestudies.music [at] mcgill.ca (Graduate Studies) including revisions proposed by the committee, by the deadline above. Print, scan and attach the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ Thesis Non-Exclusive License (MNL) Form. Indicate the number of your ethics approval document (if applicable), in your abstract.

Using the tools acquired in MUPD 650 Research Methods in Music, students choose a doctoral project option and begin work on their research proposal in MUGS 711 Performance Doctoral Colloquium, in the winter term of their first year of enrollment (Term 2).

The research proposal is to be submitted to the committee no later than the first week of the fall term in the second year of the student’s enrolment in the program (Term 3). It is accompanied by a bibliography of sources related to the research topic. The committee may suggest revisions and clarifications. The research proposal must receive final approval by the committee by the end of Term 3 for the student to be approved to sit the comprehensive exam in Term 4. A copy of the approved research proposal must be sent to the Graduate Studies office. The proposal will be forwarded to the Graduate Performance Sub-Committee for feedback.

The research proposal includes:

• A 2-4 -page project description
• a 12-item annotated bibliography, including material on the topic and on the methodology (model articles or books could be included)
• A copy of the complete concert program. Include: Title, opus number, key, movements, composer and dates, duration of piece, duration of program (Indicate intermission where applicable). A list of all other performers involved in program, if applicable, should be included (name and instrument).
• Details regarding special technology requirements should be included in the document.
• A signed cover sheet  Doctoral Project Proposal Form - Program start as of Fall 2024
• Ethics Committee Approval, if applicable.

A passing grade is dependent on passing all components of the Doctoral Project.

Project description tips

An effective project description (2-4 pages) builds a clear vision of the artistic, historical or analytical framework guiding the work by:

• Citing sources, performance practices and other artistic/scientific initiatives that have inspired the project
• Identifying a gap that your work will fill; and
• Explicating the methodological choices, musical repertoire, scores, performers, composers, archives, historical instruments, rehearsal or creative strategies, and/or scholarly and analytical approaches that will be used.

The artistic research option consists in a wholistically conceived performance project that integrates two recitals, performance events or interdisciplinary projects (60-70 minutes of music (40-45 for conducting) of comparable scope, and a 25-30-page paper that offers a critical reflection on issues explored through the programming of the performances, or on the performance process itself.

Artistic research is a field of study which has gained prominence over the last decades. The Association of European Conservatories, along with several other leading cultural and research organizations, has provided through the a helpful context for understanding the place of artistic research within higher music education. Examples of artistic research can be found in several sources, such as:

Lecture-Recital (Research Paper option)

The lecture-recital includes 35 minutes of music followed by a 35-minute presentation defending your ideas and artistic/scientific approaches. Afterwards, there is a short question/answer period with committee members and then the audience.

The format is flexible, but there should be a handout or power point presentation (as with an academic paper). Identify musical examples or quotations with captions indicating source and page or measure numbers.

Research Presentation (Artistic Research option)

The research presentation will normally follow the second performance and can be open to the public. It is followed by a period of questions from committee members and, if applicable, audience members.

The paper is typically 50-100 pages plus bibliography and appendices for the Research Paper option, or 25-30 pages plus bibliography and appendices for the Artistic Research option. The paper should include:

1. A title page (the title of the thesis; the name of the author and department followed by "Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾, Montreal"; the month and year the paper was submitted; the following statement "A paper submitted to Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of D.Mus. Performance Studies"; the universal copyright notice followed by the author's name and the year the paper was submitted);
2. a detailed table of contents
3. a brief abstract in English and French
4. an introduction that clearly states the rationale, objectives and originality of the research
5. chapters presenting different aspects of the topic as appropriate (for the research paper option)
6. a final conclusion and summary
7. a bibliography or reference list
8. a copy of the program or other supporting documents for the lecture-recital, or for the performances associated with the Artistic Research option.

An electronic copy must be submitted to the University, through graduatestudies.music [at] mcgill.ca, to be published in eScholarship @ Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ and registered with Library and Archives Canada. The eScholarship office requests that papers be in PDF/A format, an archival version of the PDF format. Instructions on creating PDF/A files can be found at
(Microsoft Office 2010 and 2013)
(Mac Users and Latex)

The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ Thesis Non-Exclusive License (MNL) Form must be signed, scanned, and submitted to with your final submission.

Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ Library and Archives Canada (LAC) consider graduate theses important sources of original research and make theses available in electronic form. As a thesis student you hold the copyright of your thesis. With your final submission, you are required to sign the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ Non-Exclusive License MNL (English) form. The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ license permits Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ to make your thesis available in electronic form through Â鶹´«Ã½Íøվ’s repository eScholarship @ Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ and the website.

• Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ Non-Exclusive License MNL (English) (fillable PDF form)

Please forward the final copy and library waiver form to Graduatestudies.music [at] mcgill.ca.

Evaluation Criteria

The doctoral project is evaluated by the supervisory committee plus an external member for the final performance project. For option 1, the external examiner will be present at the lecture-recital. The external examiner will receive a copy of the doctoral paper for context but will evaluate the lecture-recital only. For option 2, an external examiner will evaluate the final performance event only.

The doctoral project is evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Clarity of expression and the development of ideas
• Grasp of subject matter, awareness of previous work in the field, and critical thinking
• Contribution of research and its implications for performance practice
• Artistic quality and expression of musical performance.

A passing grade is dependent on completion of all components of the Doctoral Project. All supervisory committee members and external examiner (if applicable) must deem the project passable for it to receive approval.

Supervisory Committee

The project supervisor is normally the practical instructor and is assigned in the first term of enrolment in the program. The rest of the supervisory committee should be assigned by the end of term 2. For students who choose the research paper option, a co-supervisory relationship with a member of the Music Research department is usually advised. Otherwise, the committee normally includes another member from the student’s area, and a third member (at large).