The Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus., D.M., Mus.D. or Mus.Doc.) is a higher doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions and/or scholarly publications on music. Like other higher doctorates, it is granted by universities in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries. Most universities restrict candidature to their own graduates or staff, which is a reversal of the practice in former times, when (unlike higher degrees in other faculties) candidates for the degree were not required to be a Master of Arts.