Doctor of Music

In some institutions, the award is a higher doctorate, granted by universities in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries.

However, elsewhere (especially in UK conservatoires[1][2][3]), the award is a standard PhD-level research doctoral degree in fields such as performance (including conducting) and musical composition, equivalent to the U.S.

[4] The Doctor of Music degree has also been awarded honoris causa when presented to musicians and composers such as: Joseph Haydn,[5] Richard Strauss, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, Sir Simon Rattle in classical music, and Joan Baez, Matthew Bellamy, David Bowie, Phil Collins, Bruce Dickinson,[6] Celine Dion, Irene Dunne,[7] Bob Dylan, Kenny Garrett, Sir Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, David Gilmour, Barbara Hendrix, Milt Hinton, Billy Joel, Nik Kershaw, Sir Elton John, B.B.

King, Mark Knopfler, Annie Lennox, Jon Lord, Sir Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Sir Van Morrison, Jimmy Page, Paul Simon, Joe Walsh, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, and Taylor Swift in popular music.

It has also been awarded as an honorary degree to musical artists who were not composers, including the ballet dancers Dame Alicia Markova and Dame Beryl Grey, as well as female royalty regardless of their experience in music[citation needed].