Is a Masters degree still sufficient?

[kbryson]

I'm nearing the end of a mid-career masters degree. I had started this degree in the hopes of getting the right paper work to qualify for college level teaching positions. Not looking for anything full time, I figured the two extra years of study would be enough to land me an adjunct position teaching an ensemble or a few private lessons at a community college. Now that I'm near the end of the degree, the faculty at my institution have advised me to continue on and get my DMA.

For those of you who are already working in higher education (or pursuing that kind of work) is a DMA really necessary for any college level teaching position? Has it gotten that competitive out there?

[cmcslide]

I followed that path, getting my masters degree about 8 years ago after 22 years away from school. I fell into a teaching gig back home because I knew people... but this is a very competitive field, schools are cranking out newly minted DMA's and most universities are looking for teachers with doctorates. Community college level is easier to get into. Also, my job started as an adjunct position, then became full time; not having a doctorate means I will not be able to advance to a tenure track position. I know that you might not be looking for that kind of job, but it gives you an idea of what it's like in this field.

[Burgerbob]

Not usually, no. Unless you're at the community college level, the doctorate is the going standard now.

[ChadA]

I agree that an MM isn't sufficient for most full-time positions. That's why I got my DMA. I had an MM from a respected school, a small professional orchestra position, lost of chamber experience, 2 adjunct college jobs, and a healthy amount of major symphony orchestra sub experience and that wasn't getting me anywhere with full-time college gigs. I went back to school and added a DMA and I'm going up for tenure next year. In my experience, it's hard to get in the door for a full-time college job without a DMA unless you're retiring from a big orchestra gig to take up teaching.

[sungfw]

A Masters may get you in the door as an adjunct at the community college level or a smaller college (the music equivalent of an NAIA or NCAA Div III school) if you're a known quantity to the right people in the music department, but it's highly unlikely to get you a sniff at a "Div I/II" school unless you're a renowned player whose name on the faculty roster will: a) elevate the profile of the school by association; and b) attract students who otherwise would not even give the school a second look.

Around here, at least, it's difficult to establish a foothold in the private lessons world. With four major universities and half dozen or so small colleges within a 30 mile radius, there are more teachers than there are students. As a rule, tenured faculty tend to refer prospective students to their grad students (so they can "gain experience") and adjunct faculty, who are themselves scrambling to eke out a living, tend to keep prospective students for themselves.

[Gary]

In my experience the only thing that trumps a Doctorate is the right kind on success for the right kind of school (Berklee for example). Otherwise, gotta get a Doctorate.

Just as an aside, when I started university, plenty of positions were filled by Master-level people. But during the Viet Nam War, many extended their time in university to, at least in part, continue their draft exemption. When I went in the service, you could get a university position with a Master. In four short years, when I came out of the service, the "market" was glutted by candidates with a Doctorate.

[WilliamLang]

as schools and universities become more and more business oriented in this late-capitalism world, they need to promote their end product, or capstone degree, in order to attract students to pay for those options. as such most places want to see a DMA or the equivalent

[tbonesullivan]

Depends on what level you want to teach at, what you want to teach, and whether you want tenure or not.

But these days even many adjunct positions are filled with people that have DMA degrees, as many get them as a matter of course. With so many getting them, unless you are an incredible player with a major orchestra gig, you're not going to get a full time job at a major university.

[Wilktone]

Getting a doctorate strictly in order to teach as an adjunct is probably not worth the time and expense. If you get a free ride and love academia, then it might be worth it to you. Unless you have aspirations to teach full time in higher education, you might reconsider doing a doctorate.

In my experience, getting an adjunct teaching gig in applied music is usually more about being in the right place at the right time than having a specific degree. My first college teaching gig as an adjunct was at a small school where I happened to do an internship while working on my doctorate the semester before. In my first full time teaching job we hired a recent alumni to teach private lessons because his former teacher had left and our alumni was the most qualified in the area. I picked up some adjunct work a while back by mentioning to the department chair that I was interested and coincidentally he had just learned he needed someone to cover some classes the next semester. Another adjunct gig I picked up because someone I performed with recommended me.

I have seen some adjunct teaching positions lead to full time positions at the same school before, but that's relatively rare. Some adjuncts I know don't have doctorates in music, but they drive all over the region each week to teach at 2-4 different schools, sometimes very far for just an hour or so of teaching. As a rule, adjunct teaching positions are not very stable. When I was hired as a jazz studies director the trombone studio switched to me and the adjunct instructor lost his gig. That sort of thing happens frequently to adjuncts.

Personally, I wouldn't move to a new area for an adjunct teaching position, although I know at least one person who did. If you are not willing to relocate for an adjunct gig, then you should look at the schools in your region and find out whether or not those colleges and university music programs hire adjuncts to cover applied lessons or ensembles in the first place. If so, do their current teachers have masters or doctorates? Do you have commensurate experience as their current teachers so that if something were to open up at one of those schools you'd match or exceed their standards?

Hope that helps.

Dave