Undergraduate Academic Advising

Undergraduate Academic Advising

Academic Advising
Each student is responsible for knowing university and college degree requirements. Because these can be complicated, the College of Music strongly encourages students to meet with their academic adviser at least once a semester. You can also check on your progress to your degree through Degree Navigator.

Advising Hours
Advising hours in the College of Music vary from semester to semester. In order to make an appointment please click here to use the Advisor Calendar. You will need to sign in with your MSU ID and password.

If you have a quick question please e-mail me at talithat@msu.edu from your *MSU e-mail account.

* sending an e-mail from a non-MSU email account may result in your e-mail getting lost and a delay in the response.

If only a short meeting is required, students can visit the advising office during the time set aside for walk-ins. Several hours each week are reserved for this purpose.

Information by E-mail
Notices about schedule changes, ensemble auditions, and advising issues are regularly emailed to College of Music students. Please check your MSU email account (or have mail sent there forwarded to an account you use frequently) to ensure that you receive this information.

Verify Enrollment
Students should double-check to make sure they are enrolled in the courses they believe 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 thought they were enrolled when in actuality they were not. They might have attended all sessions of a course, completed all assignments, and taken all exams. They are very surprised to find out at the end of the semester that 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 that after the final day of classes, no student can be added to a course. The university sees this as a student responsibility and is not obliged or inclined to allow exemptions except in the case of university error. Faculty error is not an acceptable reason. So please confirm your enrollment; there are many reasons a student may believe a course has been added to his or her schedule (most are computer related). Don’t trust this aspect of your college life to a computer.

Senior Recital
Students required to perform a senior recital must submit a program of their recital signed by their teacher to the Undergraduate Student Affairs Office. Certification for graduation cannot be granted until this requirement is completed and 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 the requirements for your degree program and 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.”

Piano Proficiency
All students seeking a degree in performance or composition/theory are considered piano minors. In order to complete the piano minor requirement, students must pass a piano proficiency exam that is offered only during finals week in fall and spring semesters. In order to be certified for graduation, students must successfully complete the piano proficiency exam no later than the semester prior to that in which they expect to graduate. Students should try to complete the piano proficiency exam by the end of their junior year if at all possible. For more information, please see your academic adviser.

Changing Majors
An undergraduate student who wishes to change majors must initiate the request in one of two places depending on how many credits have been earned. If a student 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 college. Students in non-music majors who wish to transfer into the College of Music must pass an audition and, in some cases, meet other criteria as well.

Degree Coding
Make sure your academic records are coded for the degree you are seeking. 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 a 0.0 at the middle of the following semester (except for summer). Students must be very diligent in completing work associated with a grade of incomplete and ensure that the teacher of record has submitted the revised grade by the required 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 keep track of the number of credits you have completed 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.

Admission to the College of Education
MSU undergraduate students who have reached sophomore status (28 credits) and wish to be considered for admission to the teacher education program in the College of Education must complete the electronic application by early October for admission to the program in the following year's fall semester. See the College of Education's website for further information.

Independent Study
Students who wish to enroll in an independent study course (MUS 290 or 490) must complete an “Application for Independent Study” form. The form must be signed by the instructor of the course and returned to the Undergraduate Student Affairs Office before the override will be entered. After the override is completed you must enroll online for the course.