Academic and Performance Areas: Undergraduate Studies
Undergraduate Academic Advising
This information is provided to assist undergraduate students in their pursuit
to obtain a music degree from Michigan State University. Our goal is to
make clear all requirements of each degree in a concise, accurate manner.
As the University progresses to electronic submission of all academic
data, retroactive changes to academic records are no longer allowed or
approved. This is an important change in the manner in which the University
conducts business as it puts the responsibility of maintaining and verifying
accurate enrollment solely upon the student. It is important to seek the
advice of the undergraduate adviser as he/she will help you to ascertain
what courses you need to satisfy specific requirements of all College of Music degrees. You should be in regular contact with that person, at least
yearly.
ACADEMIC ADVISING (from Academic Programs)
Each student is responsible for knowing University, college, and department
or school requirements as stated in the catalog and in college and department
or school printed materials. To assist the student in interpreting policies
and requirements,
academic advisement is provided through the colleges and the Undergraduate
University Division. Each college will provide students with information
about its advising system. Students are strongly encouraged to consult
regularly with an adviser. Students may also check progress to their degree
by using Degree Navigator, available at http://www.degnav.msu.edu.
ADVISING HOURS
Advising hours in the College of Music will vary from semester to semester.
Contact Bonnie Stewart in 153 MB to schedule an appointment. If an appointment
is not fully needed, but a short meeting is required, students can visit
the advising office during time set aside for walk-ins. Several hours
each week will be reserved for this purpose.
INFORMATION BY EMAIL
Information will regularly be sent out by email to College of Music majors
regarding scheduling changes, audition schedules, advising issues, and
other information pertinent to music majors. It is very important for
all students to check their university account regularly in order to receive
this information. The email list is updated each semester through the
Registrar’s Office.
VERIFY ENROLLMENT
Students must check their enrollment often to be sure they are enrolled
in the courses they think they are enrolled in. Each semester, after classes
have ended, a number of students request that a course be added to their
transcript because they were not enrolled in it, but thought they were.
They attended all sessions of the course, completed all assignments, and
took all exams and quizzes. They are very surprised to find out they were
never enrolled in that particular course and are now unable to enroll.
The University has explicitly stated and affirmed the policy of “no
retroactive adds.” This means after the final day of classes, no
student can be added to the course. We have made many requests to add
these students to various courses, but with mixed success. The University
sees this as a student responsibility and, therefore, is not obliged nor
inclined to allow exemption except in the case of “university error.”
Faculty error is also not an acceptable reason. So, please check your
enrollment; there are many reasons a student may believe a course has
been added to his/her schedule, most are computer-related. Don’t
trust this aspect of your college life to a computer.
SENIOR RECITAL
Students with the requirement of a senior recital as part of their degree
program must submit to the undergraduate office a program of their recital
signed by their teacher. Certification cannot be granted until completion
of this requirement is verified.
MAJOR ENSEMBLE PARTICIPATION
All undergraduate students in the College of Music are required to participate
in a major ensemble. Each degree program carries specific major ensemble
requirements. Be sure to follow requirements for your degree program.
See your adviser if you have any questions. Do not make the mistake of
seeking advice from other students or friends. Many have received incorrect
information from the “grapevine.”
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PIANO PROFICIENCY
All students seeking a degree in performance or composition/theory are
considered piano minors. In order to complete the piano minor requirement
the student must successfully perform a piano proficiency exam, graded
on a pass/fail basis. The proficiency exam will be offered only during
exam week in fall and spring semesters. In order to be certified for graduation,
the student must successfully complete the piano proficiency exam in the
semester prior to that in which they expect to graduate. It is recommended
that the piano proficiency exam be completed by the end of the junior
year. For further information about the piano proficiency exam, please
see the academic adviser.
CHANGING MAJORS
An undergraduate student who wishes to change majors must initiate the
request from one of two sources. If he/she has completed less than 60
credits, the request is made to the University Undergraduate Division.
If more than 60 credits have been completed, the request is made to the
particular school or department. To change to any music-related degree
program, an audition must be successfully performed and, in some cases,
other criteria must also be met (see Academic Programs).
DEGREE CODING
Make sure you are actually coded for the degree program you seek. Many
students are coded incorrectly for their entire undergraduate career.
A student must be coded correctly at the time of application for graduation
or graduation may be delayed a semester.
INCOMPLETES
With electronic grading, an incomplete grade automatically turns to 0.0
at the middle of the following semester (summer excepted). Students must
be very diligent in completing work associated with a grade of incomplete
and ensure the teacher of record has submitted the grade by the appointed
date. Retroactive changes to the academic record are not allowed by the
university.
LESSON ENROLLMENT
Private lessons on a specific instrument or voice are required of all
students seeking a degree in music. Each degree program requires a set
number of credits in each level of private study. There are two levels,
lower division (100 level) and upper division (300 level). Be sure you
monitor the number of credits at each level.
BARRIER AND EXIT JURY
All students in the College of Music must successfully perform a barrier jury in order to advance from 100-level to 300-level lessons, and an exit jury to complete applied music requirements (Music Therapy majors are required to complete only a barrier jury).
ADMISSION TO COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Enrolled MSU undergraduates who have reached sophomore status (28 credits)
by Fall Semester and wish to be considered for admission to the Teacher
Education the following year must complete the electronic application
by early October for admission to the program in the subsequent Fall semester.
See the College of Education website (http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/infostu/)
for further information.
INDEPENDENT STUDY
Each student who wishes to enroll in an independent study course (MUS
290 or 490) must complete an “Application for Independent Study,”
(Independent Study form (PDF)); available from Bonnie Stewart in 153 MB.
The form must be signed by the instructor of the course and returned to
the undergraduate office before the override will be entered. After the
override is complete you must enroll online for the course.
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