<p>I realize that these are graduate courses of study and I'm still in high school and haven't even made an official college decision yet, but I like to have goals well ahead of time/actually know what I'm talking about, so can anyone clarify the differences between these three diplomas (or certificates, depending on the institution) for me?</p>
<p>This varies somewhat from school to school. In very general terms, a masters or doctors degree program will contain an academic component that is not present in a certificate or diploma program. The certificate or diploma programs are most often designed to allow a student to focus on lessons and performance, and they may not take as long to complete as a degree program. Many times, the audition standards for a graduate diploma or artist diploma will be somewhat more stringent than those for the masters degree. A DMA or PhD in music will normally have a strong research component involved.</p>
<p>The graduate performance degrees will have a music theory component whereas the Prof Studies or Artist Diploma tracks usually do not.</p>