During their final semester, all students in the Master of Arts in Music degree program must complete the Comprehensive Examination, which consists of Part I, a written General Knowledge Exam, and Part II, an oral Recital/Thesis Exam.
Part I: General Knowledge Exam Students are tested in Music Theory and Music History/Literature, with additional questions from their individual areas of specialty. This monitored written exam takes two hours or less. Each of the three segments (theory, history, and specialty) is graded on a pass/fail basis, and students must pass all three. If a student fails any of the segments, he or she is given the opportunity to retake those segments in an equivalent exam with different questions. In case of a second failure, the student must wait until the next semester to re-take failed portions.
Part II: Recital or Thesis Exam All students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Music program must choose either the Recital Track or the Thesis Track.
Recital Track The student’s applied professor appoints a committee of three faculty members: the applied professor (who serves as chair), the student’s academic advisor, and a third faculty member familiar with the student’s work. Should the applied professor also be the student’s academic advisor, another faculty member familiar with the student’s work is added.
- The student and applied professor select the graduate recital program.
- The student writes a program-note analysis of the graduate recital, including footnotes and bibliography. Scope and length are determined by the applied professor.
- A copy of the program-note analysis is distributed to the committee two weeks prior to the recital hearing.
- The recital hearing takes place four weeks prior to the recital, with the committee members in attendance. Additional faculty may be requested for the hearing if deemed appropriate. The student makes a brief oral presentation based on the program notes prior to each selection. The committee may ask questions. Committee members each grade the recital hearing on a pass/fail basis.
Thesis Track Full details are provided in Guidelines for Writing Master’s Theses, which can be found at the School of Music website under “Current Students.”
Evaluation The chairman determines an overall letter grade for the recital or thesis experience.