Degree Requirements for Music Majors and Minors
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR OR MINOR
General university degree requirements stipulate that 1) at least four units of the major or three units of the minor be taken in residence at Puget Sound; 2) students earn at least a cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken for the major or the minor; and 3) all courses taken for a major or minor must be taken for graded credit. Any exceptions to these stipulations are indicated in the major and minor degree requirements listed below.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR
- Entrance audition to demonstrate appropriate background and potential for formal acceptance into the School of Music.
- Completion of 32 units for the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Music degree.
- Music majors must attain, maintain membership in, attend, and be registered for credit in the appropriate large university ensemble (band, orchestra, choir or Accompanying Ensemble; Jazz Orchestra is a qualifying option for pianists and guitarists) during all semesters in which they are enrolled. Music majors electing a wind or percussion instrument as their principal performing medium are required to participate in the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, or Symphony Orchestra, as assigned; string instruments in the Symphony Orchestra; voice students in the Adelphian Concert Choir, Chorale, or the Dorian Singers, as assigned; keyboard majors in a minimum of the first four semesters in Accompanying Ensemble; and guitar students in any of the above ensembles. Students may elect to perform in additional ensembles if they desire and are qualified.
- Each major must pass the Keyboard Musicianship Examination, preferably during the sophomore year. Typically, this requirement is completed in the two-year music theory sequence.
- Music majors are required to be registered for applied music every semester with the exception of students in the Bachelor of Music with Elective Studies in Business track, who are required to be registered for applied music through the junior year, and students in the Bachelor of Music Composition track, who are required to be registered for applied music through the sophomore year.
- Recital requirements for Bachelor of Music candidates majoring in Performance are a minimum of one-half of a formal recital or three noon recital appearances in the principal performing medium in the junior year and a full recital demonstrating a high level of musicianship in performance in the principal performing medium in the senior year. Other majors must perform in one noon recital at a minimum during both their junior and senior years.
- Continuation in all music major degrees is based on ongoing assessment by the faculty of a student’s progress in music theory, musicology and ethnomusicology, ensembles, music education methods, and applied music. To advance to the junior year as well as to graduate in the major, students must have a 2.3 overall grade point average and a 2.5 music grade point average. Students also must demonstrate excellence in the jury of their major performance instrument in the spring of the sophomore year. Students who are music education majors and/or transfer students will also have a review of their academic performance progress in the junior year.
- Upon transcript review, transfer students may be required to take placement examinations in music theory and musicology prior to registration; Music Education transfer students are required to complete MUS 393 or an equivalent one-semester, in-school teaching experience.
- Each semester in residence all music majors register for Recital Attendance (109/309), a non-credit course. All music majors are expected to fulfill the recital attendance requirement by attending a prescribed number of concerts and recitals.
Music majors and minors must receive a grade of C- or better in all courses required by the School of Music. A course in which the student receives less than a C- will not satisfy the graduation requirements of the School of Music. Music Education majors must receive a grade of C or better in all required courses to fulfill Washington State teacher certification requirements. For transfer students, courses more than 10 years old on their transcripts cannot be included toward a major or minor offered by the School of Music.
Bachelors of Music in Music Education
Graduates will be able to achieve Washington State teacher certification by completing the Master of Arts in Teaching degree. (The M.A.T. program is described in the Education section of the Graduate Bulletin.) Within a five-year program, students earn both a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching. The Bachelor of Music in Music Education is a prerequisite in the Master of Arts in Teaching degree with certification in music. Application to the M.A.T. takes place in the senior year. Details are available from the School of Education.
An endorsement in music requires completion of the major. Licensed, practicing teachers who wish to apply for completion of music certification, which includes completion of all music education major courses, should send a letter of application outlining previous certification, experience and goals, all transcripts, and a copy of their Washington teaching license. All unlicensed teacher applicants will be expected to complete the music education major and the fifth-year M.A.T. program for teacher certification in music