Robert Prescott Stewart’s professional career as a music educator was greatly enhanced in 1862 when he was offered the music professorship at Trinity College Dublin.1 Nine years later his association with the Royal Irish Academy of Music commenced when he was appointed professor of piano and harmony and composition. This article will discuss contributions made by Stewart as professor of music at Trinity College to the area of the examination of the music degree candidates and will consider similar practices at Oxford and Cambridge in order to evaluate these contributions in a wider context. Accounts and opinions of Stewart as a teacher at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and as music professor at Trinity College will also be observed. Some of Stewart’s lectures will be discussed in relation to how they reflect Stewart’s awareness of and interest in current trends and opinions.