Hattiesburg
The Doctor of Arts in Music (DA) degree is designed to prepare musicians for careers in collegiate teaching as well as help prepare them to become leaders in their current positions as educators and worship leaders.
The philosophy of the program is to integrate in-depth preparation in a primary emphasis, either Music Education or Worship Ministry, with general studies in an interest area. The interest areas include, but are not limited to, Conducting/Performance Pedagogy, Leadership, Theology, and the Marching Arts; these interest areas are required to accommodate the diverse teaching responsibilities found in university instruction today. The School of Music core includes foundational course work in music history, music theory, and music performance.
Program Objectives
The D.A. at William Carey University will seek to enhance the fields of music education or worship ministry by preparing students to meet the following objectives:
- Demonstrate advanced musicianship from theoretical, historical, and performance perspectives
- Demonstrate an understanding of the history and progression of practices in a chosen emphasis area
- Demonstrate the ability to identify and locate relevant topics for research and inquiry and utilize these resources to enhance professional practice
- Exercise critical judgement and the ability to engage in scholarly writing when synthesizing methodological and theoretical perspectives for research purposes
- Demonstrate the ability to plan, implement, and evaluate college-level teaching
- Demonstrate knowledge of contemporary issues in a chosen emphasis area, and the ability to apply that knowledge when making professional decisions
