The option is valuable to students who wish to augment undergraduate degrees in performance and/or music education with more intensive academic studies. The Department of Music has maintained a long history of excellence in music historical study and performance.

Completion of the program requires a written research project of substantive nature on a topic of the candidate's special interest. An alternative for some students will be a lecture-recital and written essay. Students emphasizing performance are encouraged to present public recitals in addition to the above. A final oral examination assesses the ability to apply critical thinking to music literature and to describe personal advanced independent work of particular interest.