Certificates
Certificates are being developed in specific areas in the School of Music. They are optional and offer undergraduate students the opportunity to choose from a select group of courses focused on helping develop a particular skill or area of expertise. Twelve hours minimum are required. A minimum of nine advanced hours are required. Students must have a grade point average minimum of 2.00 ("C") on all courses in the certificate taken at Baylor. Certificates appear on a student's transcript and a hard copy is given to the student signed by the Dean or President. Students interested in pursuing one of the Certificates listed below should contact the School of Music Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Responsibility for curriculum and degree planning lies with the student, whose advisor, in conjunction with the Dean's Office, will provide guidance and advice.
Advanced Performers Certificate
Available for piano or organ only.
The Advanced Performers Certificate is intended for students who demonstrate the potential to establish a career as a performing artist. Accordingly, the goals of this non-degree program are more narrowly focused than traditional graduate performance degrees. The requirements for the Advanced Performers Certificate Program are designed for students who have demonstrated the ability to perform advanced repertoire and whose artistic communication and technical mastery of major repertoire for the instrument are unusually strong.
It is expected that the student applying for admission to the program will have completed a Bachelor of Music degree or its equivalent from a recognized institution. Those applying for admission to the Advanced Performers Certificate Program must follow the procedures and regulations of other students applying for acceptance to the Graduate Division of the School of Music. (GRE not required)
Detailed Application Steps: Piano
Detailed Application Steps: Organ
Students who have been admitted to the Advanced Performers Certificate Program will be advised on course content by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in Music in consultation with the major teacher and the Director of Keyboard Studies. Assessment of Progress in the Program Students will be required to maintain a 3.0 GPA to remain in the program. Recitals must receive a grade of A- to be passed. A committee consisting of four Keyboard Division faculty, one faculty member from another applied division, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in Music will grade the required recitals. A probationary semester will be granted when a student’s GPA falls below the required GPA. Students placed on probationary status will be evaluated yearly by the Dean of the School of Music, the major teacher involved, and any members of the Keyboard Division faculty assigned by the Dean.
Residency Requirements
All course requirements for the Advanced Performers Certificate Program must be completed in residence at Baylor University. The student may complete the credit requirements in four regular Fall-Spring semesters or may distribute the semester hours over four regular Fall-Spring semesters and two summer terms. The minimum time allowed to complete the requirements is two years and the maximum is three years.
Language Requirement
All international students whose first language is not English must achieve a TOEFL score of 550 (213 computer based or 80 Internet based), IELTS score of 6.5 or DuoLingo score of 125 to be admitted to the Advanced Performers Certificate Program.
Course Requirements
20 Applied Major
4 Chamber Music*
6 Music Courses**
2 MUS 5170 Two solo recitals
32 TOTAL semester hours
*Select from MUS 5130, 5131, 5132, 5133, 5136. Note: this includes two full-length collaborative recitals.
**Select literature, pedagogy, music history or music theory courses appropriate to the area and for which the student is qualified.
Additional courses not included in the program curriculum may be added upon consultation with the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in Music, the major teacher, and the Director of Keyboard Studies. Added courses will not be counted toward the requirement.
If you have any questions about this program, contact the Director of the Keyboard Division.