where legends are made

General School of Music Information for Graduate Students

Diagnostic Examinations

At matriculation for any graduate degree, prior to initial advising and registration, SOM graduate students are required to take diagnostic examinations in music history and theory; vocal performance and choral conducting majors also take diagnostic examinations in IPA transcription and song text translation in German, Italian, French, and, where appropriate, Latin and English. Diagnostic examinations are given on Monday and Tuesday before classes begin on Wednesday each fall and spring semester.

Required courses or other work specified as a result of deficiencies revealed in these examinations must be completed by the end of the first fall semester after matriculation, with the exception of language courses for vocal performance and choral conducting majors. A schedule of remediation may include enrollment in MUS 591 Readings in Music History (a graduate music history review), MUS 595 Graduate Theory Review (for MUS 595, a passing grade is C) and, for vocal performance and choral conducting majors, appropriate vocal diction classes in the SOM or foreign language courses in the appropriate department.

Students may not earn graduate credit in history or theory until all deficiencies in the respective area have been removed.

Students who fail to exhibit adequate writing skills may be required to enroll in other courses or tutorials designed for those with demonstrated deficiencies in English; these may include courses through the UA English Language Institute.

The Advisor and Advising

The advisor for all graduate students in music is the Director of Graduate Studies in Music (DGS); the Associate Director of Graduate Studies in Music (ADGS) may also serve in this capacity. Students should consult the DGS (or ADGS) regularly in all matters pertinent to their degrees.

Procedure for Advising

  1. Immediately following diagnostic examinations, each entering student will meet with the DGS or ADGS for preliminary advising for the first semester’s registration. If earlier registration is required for reasons such as military financial aid approval, students should contact the DGS for a set of appropriate courses for temporary registration. The student will then use online drop/add to change the registration schedule based on the results of the diagnostic examinations and the initial advising session.
  2. Near the mid-point of the first semester of registration, all entering graduate students will meet with the DGS or ADGS to draft plans of study based on appropriate curriculum outlines given in Sections 8 and 9. The plans of study will project schedules for all required courses and all degree requirements, semester by semester.
  3. Subsequent advising sessions are required for each student every semester. These monitor student progress toward the degree and allow refinement and further specificity in the plans of study based on student schedules, course availability, and the musical and academic needs of students as they mature and develop. At advising sessions, the DGS or ADGS will monitor each student’s progress through the required plan of study; verify course load requirements for GTAs, international students, and others receiving financial assistance; and review Graduate School deadlines and required forms.
  4. A student may be dismissed from any SOM graduate program for failure to make satisfactory progress toward degree completion. Lack of progress includes failure to follow the most recent SOM plan of study on file and failure to attend SOM advising sessions each semester. Following notification from the SOM Director of Graduate Studies, the appropriate MM or DMA Advisory Committee may move for dismissal.

The Major Professor

Each student has a major professor and consults the major professor in all areas concerning the degree.

  • For the MM and DMA in Performance, the major professor is the applied teacher for the major instrument.
  • For the MM in Arranging and Church Music, and for the MM and DMA in Choral Conducting and Wind Conducting, the major professor is the director of the degree program.
  • For Composition, Musicology, and Theory, the major professor is the faculty member who directs the MM thesis or DMA final project.

The major professor chairs the advisory committee if appropriate Graduate Faculty Status has been approved. The Graduate School stipulates that only full members of the Graduate Faculty may chair doctoral committees; only full and associate members may chair Master’s committees. For this reason, a committee member more senior than the major professor may be appointed to serve as chair of a committee. (The Graduate Catalog lists qualifications for Graduate Faculty status; the Graduate School website lists all faculty with temporary, associate, and full status.)

The Advisory Committee

The Director of the SOM with advice from the DGS appoints SOM advisory committees for all MM students in the third semester of enrollment, and all DMA students in the first semester of enrollment. The external member of the MM thesis or DMA committee will be appointed after preliminary approval of the thesis or final project prospectus.

Advisory Committees and Duties

The advisory committee for MM students in Arranging, Conducting, and Performance programs (Plan II nonthesis) will consist of at least four members from the Graduate Faculty of the SOM and must include:

  1. The student’s major professor (usually serving as chair);
  2. One other faculty member from the student’s major area or, when appropriate, from a related area;
  3. One member of the Theory/Composition faculty;
  4. One member of the Musicology faculty.
  5. One member of the Graduate Faculty of the SOM drawn from outside the student’s major area

Committee members grade the oral examination and recital.

The advisory committee for MM students in Composition, Musicology, and Theory (Plan I thesis) will consist of at least five members, four drawn from the Graduate Faculty of the SOM and one external member who holds appropriate graduate faculty status in another discipline. The membership must include:

  1. The student’s major professor (usually serving as chair);
  2. One other faculty member from the student’s major area or, when appropriate, from a related area;
  3. A member of the theory/composition faculty;
  4. A member of the music history faculty;
  5. An external member who holds UA graduate faculty status in an area other than the SOM.

SOM Committee members grade the musicology or theory lecture, comprehensive exam, and composition recital. All members evaluate the thesis prospectus and grade the thesis defense.

The advisory committee for all DMA students will consist of at least six members, five drawn from the graduate faculty of the SOM and an external member who must hold appropriate graduate faculty status in another discipline. The membership must include:

  1. The student’s major professor (usually serving as chair);
  2. One other faculty member from the student’s major area or, when appropriate, from a related area;
  3. A member of the theory/composition faculty;
  4. A member of the music history faculty;
  5. A member of the graduate faculty of the SOM drawn from outside the student’s major area;
  6. An external member who holds UA graduate faculty status in an area other than SOM.

SOM committee members grade all recitals, the lecture or lecture-recital, and comprehensive exam. All members, including the external member, evaluate the DMA final project prospectus and first draft, and grade the final project defense.

All grading is pass/fail. Grades for oral exams and thesis defenses will be agreed upon at the meeting; those for comprehensive examinations and recitals, lectures, etc., will be submitted by committee members through current official procedures. Recordings of recitals and lectures will be available for committee members who cannot attend performances.