Undergraduate Exam Results
This page includes results for the undergraduate music theory placement exam for exams taken after May 1, 2021.
Accessing Your Results
If you completed the submission form at the end of your exam, the results of the exam will be posted within two weeks to the spreadsheet below. Please be advised that this spreadsheet is only accessible to NYU email addresses. You'll need to sign in to your NYU account to access your results. Results will also be shared with your advisor and program of study.
Don't see your results? See here.
Interpreting your Results
Based on your exam, you will be placed into either:
Music Fundamentals (MPATC-UE 1300) OR
Music Theory & Practice I and Aural Skills I (MPATC-UE 1301 and 1302)
If you place into Music Fundamentals, you must complete this course before taking any other music theory or aural skills courses. If you place into Theory & Practice I/Aural Skills I, you are exempt from Fundamentals.
If you placed into Fundamentals with the note: "Accelerated Summer Fundamentals is not recommended"
Based on your results, we strongly recommend that you take the full-semester Fall or Spring Fundamentals course rather than the accelerated summer course. For more information, see here.
Please note: Your advisor also has access to your placement exam results. Please discuss these results with your advisor to ensure that you are on track with your degree and that your schedule is complete and correct.
When are these courses offered?
All courses above are offered in both the fall and spring semesters. Additionally, we also offer an accelerated 6-week online version of the Fundamentals course in the summer (more information is available here.)
If you place into Music Theory & Practice I/Aural Skills I, we strongly recommend that you take both of these courses within the same semester. Theory I is a required co-requisite for Aural Skills I.
Why can't I place out of Theory & Practice I and Aural Skills I?
Theory & Practice I: Global Approaches to Music is the highest level of the music theory curriculum that you can place into via the exam. Even if you are coming in with AP music theory credits or you are transferring in with credits from another institution, you will still be required to take both Music Theory & Practice I and Aural Skills I.
The reason we require all of our music majors and minors to take these courses is because these aren't diatonic harmony courses. These courses don't cover the same materials that are typically covered in an AP theory course or standard Theory I/Aural I course at another college. Our Theory and Aural I courses are "Global Approaches to Music" courses. They provide a broad introduction to a diverse range of music theory topics that cover melodic and harmonic syntax, rhythm and meter, timbre, texture, and instrumentation in a common-practice Western art music, non-Western musics, and popular music. These courses provide an essential introduction and set of tools that our students use throughout the rest of the theory and aural skills sequence. If you're interested in learning more about the new music theory curriculum at NYU, there's more information here about the curriculum and the courses.
If you are a transfer student who has taken a number of upper-level music theory or aural skills courses (specially those above Theory I or II), it may be possible to apply those credits toward upper-level theory courses here at NYU. If you believe this applies to you, please speak with your advisor.
Don't See Your Results?
1) Has it been over 2 weeks since you've taken the exam?
Yes: See question 2 below.
No: Please allow at least 2 weeks for your exam to be graded. If you don't see your results after two weeks, return to this page for further instructions.
2) Did you complete the submission form at the end of the exam?
No: You will need to complete the submission form before your exam will be graded. Please allow at least 2 weeks once the exam has been submitted. You may re-access the submission form here.
Yes: If you are certain that you completed the submission form and it's been over 2 weeks, please email the music theory program (smusic.theory@nyu.edu) directly to inquire. Include your full name, N number, and the name of the exam you completed (the Undergraduate Entrance Exam).