Curricula
The state does not control the universities’ curricula. The universities have the autonomy for designing their courses and they only have to comply with the general guidelines offered by the Ministry of Education. These guidelines are established by a committee formed by specialists in each field of knowledge, and may “be a reference for the institutions as regards the organization of their education programs, allowing flexibility and prioritization of the fields of knowledge for the development of the curricula12”.
2-cycle system
Undergraduate music education (similarly to all other undergraduate courses in Brazil) is developed in a single cycle lasting from 4 to 5 years, which eventually grants the title (degree) of bachelor of music or a music teaching credential. Undergraduate education lasts 4 years for the music teacher education (teaching credential) and bachelor of music performance, and 4 to 5 years for the degree in composition and conducting. Undergraduate degree programs may lead to a Master degree or a Doctor Degree, which are equivalent to the 2nd and 3rd European cycles, respectively. The Master's of Arts degree programs take a maximum of three years. In addition to the theoretical credit courses, a dissertation is required. The Doctorate degree, which is a maximum of five years in length, requires a thesis incorporating original research in addition to the theoretical credit-courses and the qualifying examination.
Qualifications
All conservatoires offer a Bachelors degree at the end of the 1st cycle. The Bachelors degree offered by conservatoires is called a Bachelor of Music (BMus), rather than the generic Bachelor of Arts (BA) offered by most universities, although the music degrees offered by some of these also carry the title BMus. BMus degrees usually offer some opportunities to specialise during the later years of study but this does not normally inflect the title of the award offered. As already indicated, the most common titles for the 2nd cycle are Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) and Masters. The latter, like its 1st-cycle equivalent in conservatoires, is usually a Master of Music (MMus), rather than a Master of Arts (MA). At postgraduate level, most award titles refer to the specialism studied. For example, performance is differentiated from composition, vocal performance from other performance and opera training from vocal performance.
Entry requirements for the 2nd cycle
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In order to begin the Master’s degree program in music, equivalent to the 2nd cycle in Brazil, it is necessary to have an undergraduate degree in music. Additionally, the institutions administer an entrance examination
Guidelines offered by Ministry of Education (No. CES/CNE 0146/2002).
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