7. Administration of Graduate Student’s Program

7.1 Diagnostic Examinations for M.M. and Doctoral Degree Programs

Following acceptance to a graduate degree program in music, the student must take diagnostic tests in (1) music theory and (2) music history, and, where applicable to the degree program, proficiency examinations in (3) keyboard and diction. The results of these tests are employed to formulate a plan of study in accordance with the student’s background and needs. The examinations are scheduled during the week before the first day of classes for the fall semester, and the Saturday preceding the first week of the spring semester.

Music Theory Diagnostic

The graduate music theory diagnostic examination covers knowledge of concepts relative to traditional harmonic procedures and analysis of form in music (see Appendix A). Students who do not pass this exam may retake it one additional time the following semester or take and pass the course MUS 5100 Music Theory Review. If a student fails the Theory exam twice, then they must enroll in and successfully complete MUS 5100 prior to registering for Analytical Techniques (MUS 5302).

Music History Diagnostic Exam

The music history diagnostic exam assesses a student’s knowledge of European and American music history. If a student passes all areas of the diagnostic exam, they will be able to enroll in any graduate-level music history course (5000-level or above). If the diagnostic exam reveals weaknesses in three or more eras of music history the student will be required to enroll in and successfully complete Graduate Music History Review (MUS 5011); this course serves as the prerequisite for the graduate music history seminars. If the diagnostic test reveals a weakness in one or two eras, students must take a graduate-level seminar in each era not passed, take and pass a separate period exam over each era not passed during the regularly scheduled time for diagnostic testing immediately prior to the next non-summer semester of study, or some combination of these; students may also elect to take MUS 5011 (Graduate Music History Review) to satisfy this leveling.

Students may take the complete music history diagnostic exam only once. Students who do not pass or take the period exam during the regularly scheduled diagnostic testing time for the next non-summer semester will be required to enroll in Graduate Music History Review or the appropriate seminar. If students wish to take a period exam, they must contact the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies ten (10) days prior to the beginning of the very next non-summer semester following their taking of the diagnostic exam. Both the diagnostic and period exams may include listening, essay, short-answer, matching, and identification questions. See Appendix B for more information.

Diction Diagnostic Exam

The diction examination, required of Vocal Performance, Collaborative Piano, Choral Conducting, and Church Music with vocal performance emphasis majors, examines knowledge of the rules for pronunciation of Italian, German, and French. It is a written examination. Knowledge of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is required to pass this examination. Spelling rules for each language will be tested and then applied in word and phrase examples by transcribing these examples into the IPA. Some questions deal with articulation specific to each language.

To prepare for the diction examinations, the following textbooks would be helpful:

Colorni, Evalina. Singer’s Italian. New York: Schirmer Books, 1970.
Grubb, Thomas. Singing in French. New York: Schirmer Books, 1979.
Odom, William. German for Singers. New York: Schirmer Books, 1981.

Choral Conducting Majors must also demonstrate knowledge of the rules for proper pronunciation of Latin. This exam is administered by the Director of Choral Activities.

Conducting Diagnostic Exam (Doctoral Students Only)

The Conducting Diagnostic Exam ensures that all doctoral students have basic conducting skills, whatever their concentration. The Conducting exam has three components.

(1) The student will be asked to conduct several measures of the following patterns: 2-beat, 3-beat, 4-beat, 5-beat (both simple and compound), 7-beat (both simple and compound), 9-beat (simple only), and 12-beat (simple only).

(2) The student will conduct a short melody that uses mixed meters. The student will not see the example until the time of the exam, but will be given an opportunity to peruse it before they are asked to conduct it.

(3) The student will conduct an extract (approximately 25 measures) from one of the following pieces: Palestrina, “Sicut cervus”; Hassler, “Cantate Domino”; Tallis, “If Ye Love Me.” The choice of which piece is up to the student. This portion of the exam will be prepared in advance and will assess the student’s ability to give cues, indicate cut-offs, tempo changes, etc.

All remedial work must be completed before the final comprehensive oral examination or doctoral preliminary examinations can be scheduled.

7.2 Piano Proficiency

The graduate piano proficiency examination for majors in Church Music and Composition consists of an audition to establish a competency in piano at a minimum of Level IVs (Appendices C and D). Students in Musicology must demonstrate competency in piano at a minimum of Level VIs (Appendix E) and those in Music Theory at a minimum of Level VIIIs (Appendix F). Students whose major instrument is piano or organ are exempt from this examination. The proficiency examination will call for a sampling from the requirements; for example, the Music Theory examination will not call for the student to play all four prepared pieces, but for a sampling of the four pieces. The piano proficiency requirement may be fulfilled by completing two semesters (two consecutive summer terms equal one semester) of Applied Piano with a minimum grade of “B.”

7.3 Voice Proficiency (Doctoral Students only)

As all church musicians will be called upon to model singing regardless of their primary instrument, church music students are expected to show a basic proficiency in singing.

Students will have fulfilled the proficiency if they:

have passed two semesters of applied voice during prior collegiate study.
earn a passing grade in one semester of MUS 51V1 or 52V1 (Applied Voice)
earn a passing grade in MUS 5150 (Seminar in Performance & Pedagogy)
pass a proficiency exam by singing one of the following hymns with piano accompaniment before a faculty committee: “My country ’tis of thee,” “Amazing grace,” “Were you there when they crucified my Lord,” or “Come, thou fount of every blessing.” Competency will primarily be based upon intonation, tone quality, and diction.

7.4 Advisement and Plan of Study

The School of Music’s Graduate Academic Advisor serves as the official Graduate Student Advisor for all graduate students in music. The student will meet with the Graduate Academic Advisor to design a tentative Plan of Study. The Graduate Academic Advisor and the student, who together formulate a program that is appropriate for the particular degree and the student’s individual goals, interests, and capabilities, draft the Plan of Study. The Plan of Study will include provisions to remove any deficiencies that have surfaced through the diagnostic entrance examinations. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they fulfill all the School of Music and Graduate School requirements for their degree program.

7.5 The Graduate Student’s Committee

A graduate student’s committee approves the student’s recital or thesis and conducts and assesses their comprehensive oral exam (see 7.10 and 7.11 below).

The specific functions for the committee in each degree program include:

Approval of recital programs
Approval and grading of recitals
Approval of the thesis prospectus (if applicable)
Guidance of thesis or dissertation or practicum (if applicable)
Administration of the oral examination
Assessment of the oral examination
Counsel and advice

The Graduate School vests control of a graduate student’s program with their committee. The School of Music’s Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and the graduate student’s committee are the final arbiters of the curriculum of study and the satisfactory completion of particular requirements, such as recitals and theses, within the guidelines established by the graduate faculty of the School of Music and the Graduate School.

7.6 Membership of the Graduate Committee for Master of Music Programs

The graduate committee for most majors shall consist of at least three (3) faculty members (Church Music, Conducting, Piano Pedagogy and Performance, and double majors require more; see the explanations below). The committee will consist minimally of two faculty members from the student’s principal or major area and one from another division of the School of Music. At least two (2) committee members must be members of the graduate faculty; preferably all three persons will be. The chair of the committee must be a member of the graduate faculty. For a list of graduate faculty, see Appendix N. For Performance majors, typically the student’s applied teacher serves as chair. For example, a viola performance major’s typical graduate committee would consist of (1) the viola professor, (2) another string faculty member, and (3) a member of the academic faculty.

Additional members may be added to the committee at the request of the student or committee chair with the approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies. Ultimately, the membership of all committees must be approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

Double Majors: The committee for students who are double majors shall consist of at least four members of the graduate faculty, two from each of the student’s majors.

Church Music: Church Music requires three Church Music professors plus one other music professor who is not in Church Music.

Conducting: Conducting requires the participation of the Directors of Orchestral, Band, and Choral Activities, plus one other music professor who is not on the conducting faculty.

Piano Pedagogy and Performance: Piano Pedagogy and Performance requires the Piano Pedagogy professor, the student’s applied teacher, one other piano faculty member, plus one other music professor who is not in the Keyboard Division.

Oral Exam Committee: The student’s graduate committee plus a graduate faculty member from outside the School of Music administers the oral comprehensive examination. At the time the date of the final oral examination is established the student will select a graduate faculty member from outside the School of Music who will serve as the Graduate School representative at the examination. See the Graduate Catalog or check with the Graduate Academic Advisor for a list of graduate faculty members, or consult the Graduate School’s website: https://www.baylor.edu/graduate/index.php?id=959408

For more details about the oral exam, see sections 7.10 and 7.11

7.7 Membership of the Ph.D. Dissertation Committee

The dissertation committee will consist of five members of the graduate faculty, at least one of whom must be external to the School of Music. Upon approval of the prospectus, first and second readers will be assigned by the Graduate Program Director in consultation with the Church Music faculty. The readers will be chosen based on the unique scope and subject of the dissertation. The first reader will be from the Church Music faculty, while the second may be from outside the Church Music area.

7.8 Membership of the D.M.A. Graduate Committee

The D.M.A. committee will consist of at least five members of the graduate faculty. For the first recital, it will include the student’s applied teacher, another professor from the same division, and three Church Music faculty. For the second recital, accompanying document, and final oral examination, the committee must additionally include a member of the graduate faculty external to the School of Music. Additional members may be added to the committee at the request of the student or committee chair with the approval of the Graduate Program Director.

7.9 Time for Committee Formation

The graduate student’s committee for Performance and Thesis majors shall be established at the beginning of the second semester of the student’s graduate program to provide sufficient time for evaluation of the recital program or thesis prospectus. The graduate committee for all other students shall be established by the conclusion of the second semester of the student’s program.

7.10 Final Oral Examination: Master of Music

Preparation for the Exam

All students should be prepared to answer questions concerning musical repertoire, music history, music theory, and pedagogical and philosophical issues, particularly how these areas intersect with their area of specialization. To be successful in the exam, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge:

basic facts of music history—period names and their dates, significant composers, major forms, important works, and more in-depth information about the period covered by their music history seminar
general music theory—melodic/rhythmic/chordal/structural analysis and contemporary analytical techniques
in-depth information about their major area—e.g., repertory, pedagogy, and technique for Performance and Conducting majors; philosophy, choral and vocal repertory, worship studies for Church Music majors; deeper knowledge of Musicology, Music Theory, or Composition, for majors in those areas. Conducting majors may also be asked to assess and/or identify scores

Assessment

The exam is Pass/Fail. Exceptionally strong exams may be awarded the honor of Pass With Distinction.

If a candidate fails the oral examination, a second examination may be taken contingent upon the approval of the graduate committee, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, and the Graduate School. No reexamination may be conducted until at least four months has elapsed. The student must be registered for at least one hour of graduate credit during the term that they retake the exam and must reapply for graduation. After two failures, no further examination is permitted.

7.11 Final Oral Examination: Ph.D. and D.M.A.

Assessment

The exam is Pass/Fail. Exceptionally strong exams may be awarded the honor of Pass With Distinction.

If a student fails the final exam they may take a second one only upon the recommendation of the Committee Chair and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and the approval of the Graduate School. The student must wait at least four months to retake the exam (Baylor University policy). After two failures, no further examination is permitted.