Regulations and Procedures

Individual Studio Study and Performance-Related Policies  

Examinations and Goals in Performance 

Level of Acheivement

Each student taking performance courses must make satisfactory progress each semester as determined by the various examinations in performance.

Upper-Division Examination

The purpose of the upper-division examination is to assess the undergraduate student’s general progress and to determine continuation in the chosen curriculum. The examination is administered, usually in the last week of classes, at the end of the fourth semester of study or, for transfer students, at the end of a semester to be determined by the instructor/department. Students who have a valid reason to postpone the examination may petition the director of undergraduate studies of the Jacobs School of Music. The exam should not be postponed past the time when an estimated four semesters of degree work remain to be completed.

A committee composed of the student’s major department faculty members (in some cases including a Jacobs School of Music administrator) administers the examination and makes recommendations for the student’s junior and senior years of study. A written report of the committee’s comments is compiled in the Office of Undergraduate Studies and furnished to the student after the upper-division examination.

Bachelor of Music Education and Composition majors have a departmental examination in addition to the performance portion of the exam. Ballet and Recording Arts majors have only a departmental examination. Jazz Studies majors have a departmental examination, with the student’s performance instructor included as part of the examining committee.

Each student who is studying performance is graded on the upper-division examination, and this grade is the final grade for the semester’s work in the principal performance field. The student’s teacher gives two grades, one for the semester’s work and one for the performance at the examination; every other member of the committee gives one grade for the examination. The student’s final grade is the average of all these grades.

Other Examinations in Music Performance Courses

The student should consult the relevant performance faculty for specific information on the scheduling of exams, the constitution of the hearing committee, and grading procedures. Examinations by a committee composed of the student’s teacher and two other members usually are held as follows:

B.M. majors in performance: end of semester I for all performance areas except string and woodwind majors, who have examinations at the end of semester II. The upper-division examination and junior and senior recital hearings constitute examinations for second, third, and fourth years.

B.M.E. concentrations, B.S. concentrations, and B.M. composition and jazz studies majors: end of semester II. The upper-division examination and the senior recital constitute examinations for the second and fourth years.

Non-music majors in elective performance (undergraduates and graduates): each semester.

Music majors in secondary performance, master’s degree students with an outside area in performance, doctoral minors who have not completed qualifying examinations: semester II.

Master’s degree majors: no examinations (graduate recital only).

It is the prerogative of the teacher to ask for a committee examination of any student who is making doubtful progress in the curriculum.

Academic Bulletins

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Previous Bulletins

Students are ordinarily subject to the curricular requirements outlined in the Bulletin in effect at the start of their current degree. See below for links to previous Bulletins.