Funding a DMA

[kbryson]

A little bit of research on the internet shows that it is fairly common for PhDs and Doctorates in the STEM and humanities fields to get their school funded through teaching or research assistantships. The prevailing wisdom in these fields seems to be that if you can’t get your studies funded somehow best not to do it, work on your materials and reapply the next year. I don’t get the sense that the same is true about a DMA in music (I would be surprised if it was!). To those of you who are getting or have gotten your DMA how did you fund your position? Would you advise against taking out loans for a DMA that is only partially funded by the institution?

[harrisonreed]

STEM degrees can be funded because those schools can and do produce research that is tremendously more valuable than the stipends the student researchers receive. The students are in a way being taken advantage of, but wouldn't have access to the equipment or materials they use to do their research otherwise. They get a degree out of the deal too that helps them continue to benefit humanity, or militaries, or companies in a full paid position for the rest of their useful career.

Other fields, not just music, are not profitable like this -- there is nothing new coming out of the study of music or literature that would make sense to give a stipend to pay for research on. People pay for music they like to listen to or want to perform, and short of winning the Pulitzer prize in composition (not sure if you even get a cash award for that...) the only way to get paid for this pursuit is to have people directly consume your music or your teaching. You are being taken advantage of the entire time, in a more visible way than STEM grad students who are getting free-ish education and a stipend.

From a simple economic standpoint, I wouldn't take on debt for a DMA or any soft degree unless you could be guaranteed to pay the debt off with your career earnings and create a sustainable income stream. That's something you have to be honest with yourself about. Can I make this work? Am I pursuing a piece of paper just for the credential so I'm qualified to teach higher education, and if so, does that reasonably guarantee me employment? What will my income be and how long will it take to pay off the debt?

If you are honest with yourself about those things, then you'll make the best decision for you.

[andym]

Even in STEM, part of the funding may be from teaching assistantships. I was low on research funding in my STEM field due to striking off in a new direction. So I TA’d 7 quarters out of 4 years. That source could be available in music. But be aware that teaching can slow down your research and graduating.

[Burgerbob]

Usually a DMA is funded with a teaching assistantship.

[kbryson]

Usually a DMA is funded with a teaching assistantship.

I am aware that this is typically how a DMA is funded in music, I think my question was stated clumsily. It seems like the overwhelming consensus in STEM and humanities fields is that if you can’t get a funded position you should not take it and apply again next year. I get the sense that its less common in music to have a DMA position that is fully funded (There are a couple of schools I’ve talked to recently who said only a third or less of their total DMA population have a TA position that covers all of the tuition + stipend). If that’s the case I’m looking for some information or experience people have had funding their DMA with other methods.

[harrisonreed]

The advice you're getting on not taking on debt, and avoiding a graduate level education in music if it isn't funded is sound. It isn't just music -- doctorate degrees aren't what they used to be. People have sunk in a decade of their working years into an education and are left with little to show for it. No children where their peers might already have kids, lots of debt, no retirement savings, and outside of STEM no true guaranteed job.

Out of desperation to make ends meet at the end of it, applying to a job outside of their field that would pay well, they are told they are overqualified.

[Dennis]

A little bit of research on the internet shows that it is fairly common for PhDs and Doctorates in the STEM and humanities fields to get their school funded through teaching or research assistantships.

Would you advise against taking out loans for a DMA that is only partially funded by the institution?

For STEM fields, the advice is sound: if the department isn't offering you support of some type, they aren't that into you. Additional seats in classes you're going to teach anyway are cheap. If the student is paying to occupy the seat, it's even profitable. (To my mind, it's highly questionable morally, but that's a different question.)

Every doctorate that I know of is in its essence an apprenticeship. Would you take on substantial debt to finance an apprenticeship?

Even in STEM a lot of people with terminal degrees do not end up in the academy. I did, but I got my PhD 35 years ago. Just now there is a pretty sizeable surplus of people with terminal degrees in almost every field, or maybe it is a shortage of tenure-track positions. In either case, supply and demand are seriously mismatched.

With a terminal degree in a STEM field, there are quite a few things you can do that require a doctorate (or the equivalent experience) that are not being a teacher/professor. I'm not sure what you can with a DMA that requires a DMA (or equivalent experience) that isn't teaching (or performing). In the case of performing, it isn't clear to me that the degree is all that helpful: can you get the offer at the end of the audition rainbow? Maybe the DMA helps you get into the preliminary round, I don't know.

I guess in the end my advice would be to carefully evaluate three things:

0. What is your current debt load?

1. How much can you supplement the teaching assistantship stipend with studio teaching and performing? This question could be rephrased, "How much are you going to have to take out in loans to keep body and soul together?"

2. What is the placement record of the program you're going to attend? The placement record of the particular professor's studio?

3. Do you have to do music, meaning, will you be bitterly unhappy if you are not being a college-level music teacher?

[PaulTdot]

My experience is this:

Funding for DMA programs is really inconsistent across North America. It can vary from being fully funded to nothing at all, and each school seems to have its own priorities, so look into it carefully. Talk to current students and ask them how it's going.

At many schools, a DMA is considered a "professional" degree, and therefore doesn't qualify for funding, even if similar studies ARE funded. For example, it's possible that a DMA in Composition will receive little or no funding, but doing a degree in Theory will receive full funding. It's a bit silly; a DMA doesn't guarantee you any kind of work (the normal rationale behind unfunded grad studies), but that's how it's done, because of tradition.

I would not recommend going into debt for a DMA, especially given the state of the performing arts right now. Look carefully and plan ahead - I know many DMAs in horrible debt to a University due to a misguided desire to "get that degree". However, that said, many universities offer interesting options to make it more affordable. I've survived some periods in my life as a student by working as a TA and working in Residence Life at the same time - that left me very little time for school, but covered all my expenses and allowed me to save a lot of money.