Master of Music
Admission Requirements
In addition to meeting college graduate admission requirements applicants must have completed:
- A minimum of 60 semester hours in music at either the undergraduate or the postbaccalaureate level with a grade point average of at least 3.0 (=4.00). These 60 hours should include the basic music undergraduate courses in theory and history.
- Satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination General Test. (minimum: 300 verbal)
- An audition before appropriate members of the music faculty (performance and conducting majors); evidence of a successful senior performance recital; submission of scores and tapes of three original compositions for varying media for evaluation by the composition faculty (composition majors). For applicants in music education, evidence of successful professional experience in a field of music teaching.
- Three letters of recommendation for graduate study, with one letter from an academic professor.
- Satisfactory results on placement examinations in musicology and music theory; deficiencies in either of these areas (a maximum of six semester hours in each area) must be made up in the first year of graduate studies; remedial courses do not count toward the degree requirements.
Applicants who do not meet these requirements will be required to make up undergraduate deficiencies. Conditional admission may be granted to students whose overall grade point average in the last 60 hours of course credit is at least 3.0 (A=4.00), whose grade point average in the discipline is at least 3.00 (A=4.00), and whose scores on the Graduate Record Examination are high enough to indicate probable success in the program. Consult the Moores School of Music website for additional information and more specific requirements.
Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination is designed to measure the student’s knowledge of the various materials covered in the master’s program. The examination consists of a written component, with an oral portion included if the student’s committee feels this is necessary.
The committee will consist of the student’s major instructor, a representative from the musicology faculty, and a representative from the music theory faculty.
The examination is typically taken toward the end of the semester of graduation. If it is not passed, it must be retaken the following semester of the regular academic year. If the examination is failed twice, the student will not be allowed to graduate.
Degree Requirements
Students must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours in advanced and graduate courses in music.
Music Theory
Music theory majors must pass a major entrance examination in addition to the theory placement examination and must have a grade point average of at least 3.25 (A=4.00) in all undergraduate theory courses. Students must also complete sophomore-level French or German, courses equivalent to sophomore-level French or German, or six hours of intensive graduate reading courses in French or German as soon as possible after enrollment.