Chapter III.1
Academic Policies for all Graduate Degrees

Mission

The School of Music offers comprehensive graduate education in music performance, conducting, education, theory, composition, musicology, and ethnomusicology. It awards four graduate degrees. The curriculum leading to the degree Master of Arts (MA) is designed for qualified graduate students who desire a focused study in Music Education, Ethnomusicology, Musicology, or Music Theory within the context of a major research university. The curriculum leading to the degree Master of Music (MM) is designed for qualified graduate students who desire a focused study in Music Education, Composition, Conducting, or Performance. The curriculum leading to the degree Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is designed for qualified graduate students who desire highly advanced study in Music Education, Ethnomusicology, Musicology, or Music Theory. The curriculum leading to the degree Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) is designed for qualified graduate students who desire highly advanced study in Composition, Conducting, or Performance along with a deep understanding of research and pedagogy.

Advising

Advising is one of the most important elements in a graduate student’s career. Each student, in consultation with their division coordinator, shall secure an advisor before the end of the first year of graduate studies. Should a student be unable to secure an advisor, they should consult first with their division coordinator and then with the Associate Director for Graduate Studies. The advisor must be a member of the student’s division and must be a tenured or tenure-track member of the faculty. After securing the consent of the selected faculty member, the selection must be approved by the division coordinator, and the student must submit the advisor’s name, in writing, to the Office of Student Services. A student who wishes to change advisors must request the change in writing. The request must then be co-signed by the division coordinator and submitted to the Office of Student Services.

It is the student’s responsibility to consult regularly with their advisor during the entire period of their graduate studies. Each semester students must present a completed registration form (listing all courses for which they intend to register) to their advisor. This form must be signed by the advisor prior to each semester’s registration (the advisor’s signature is also necessary on all official student communication with both the School of Music and the Graduate School). Once advising is complete, the completed and signed advising form should be submitted to the Office of Student Services for the removal of the advising block and the individual course blocks. All graduate-level music courses are blocked by default to ensure that School of Music students have first access to these courses, meaning that any change to a student’s schedule will require the advisor’s permission, as well as the removal of the block for that particular course.

Graduate students are able to track their degree progress online through uachieve. While this resource is very helpful, it often does not accurately reflect all requirements. If you see any errors in your uachieve record, please email or visit the Student Services Office to request correction. The School of Music does not consider uachieve an official advising tool.

Common Advising Questions

Theory/Analysis: Many degree programs require a three-credit course in music theory/analysis. Each semester, a list of approved courses will be distributed. As a general rule, courses taught by the music theory or composition faculty may be used to satisfy this requirement. MUSC 463 may not be used to complete this requirement.
History/Lit.: Many degree programs require a three-credit course in music history/literature. Each semester, a list of approved courses will be distributed. As a general rule, courses taught by the musicology or ethnomusicology faculty may be used to satisfy this requirement. MUSC 436 may be used to satisfy this requirement.
Outside the Major Area: A number of degree programs require a course “outside the major area” or “outside the major instrument.” Only courses that require students to undertake work unrelated to the major (i.e., not playing or studying the major instrument) may be used to satisfy this requirement.

Common Registration Blocks

Immunization forms: new graduate students are required to submit a completed immunization form before the first day of classes; failure to do so may result in assessment of a late fee. Graduate students are not able to register for a second semester of coursework until this form is submitted.
Academic ineligibility: for a new graduate student, this block usually means that we need one or more of the final, official transcripts from a previous institution. Information about where to submit your transcript is available here.
Financial ineligibility: all outstanding bills must be paid before registration.

Graduate Assistantship Advising

Graduate assistants are an important part of the School of Music community and are governed by the policies of the Graduate School. All Graduate Assistants will have an assigned mentor (either a member of the faculty or the staff). Prior to the start of the assistantship, the supervising faculty or staff member and the Graduate Assistant must meet to review and confirm expectations, including a summary of the nature of the required duties. To facilitate these discussions, sample Statements of Mutual Expectations can be found on the Graduate School website.

Placement Examinations

The School of Music requires that most incoming graduate students complete a diagnostic placement examination prior to matriculation. The results of this examination are used to guide students in planning their programs of study and in preparing for their preliminary examinations. Results of the placement examinations (and any courses used to fulfill deficiencies) hold for five years, regardless of degree program.

Most new graduate students must take the music theory placement examination (students who earned a graduate degree at the University of Maryland School of Music within the past five years and those majoring in ethnomusicology or jazz performance are exempt from this requirement). Most of the questions on the exam relate to basic music theory normally covered in the first two years of an undergraduate music program. There are also a few questions related to counterpoint, chromatic harmony, instrumentation, and early twentieth-century compositional techniques. Students are advised to prepare for this exam by reviewing one or more of the following texts:

Stefan Kostka and Dorothy Payne, Tonal Harmony (McGraw-Hill).
Edward Aldwell and Carl Schachter, Harmony and Voice Leading (Cengage).
Steven G. Laitz, Graduate Review of Tonal Theory (Oxford University Press).

Students who fail the music theory examination must register for MUSC 550: Theory Review (please note: although 500-level courses carry graduate credit, they may not be used to satisfy degree requirements).

Several degree programs require additional, specialized placement examinations.

Minimum Grade for Courses Needed for Graduation

Only courses completed with a grade of B- or better can be used to satisfy degree requirements.

Dismissal

In accordance with the dismissal policy of the University of Maryland Graduate School, a student is subject to dismissal if their grade point average (GPA) falls below 3.0 for three consecutive semesters. The School of Music has an additional dismissal policy applicable to performance students: upon receiving a grade of C+ or lower in applied music, the student will be placed on probation for the following semester. If a grade of C+ or lower is received at the subsequent jury, the student will be dismissed from the School of Music and the University of Maryland.

Continuous Registration

All students must register for courses and pay the associated tuition and fees each semester (not including summer and winter sessions) until the degree is awarded. In special cases, limited-term waivers of tuition and fees may be granted. Waiver requests must be made at least thirty days before the beginning of the semester or year for which the waiver is sought, and must be approved by the Associate Director for Graduate Studies and by the Graduate School. Failure to maintain continuous registration is grounds for termination from the program. Under special circumstances, such as childbearing, adoption, illness, and dependent care, students may apply for a leave of absence.

Once admitted to candidacy, a doctoral student will automatically be registered every semester for six credits of MUSC or MUSP 899: Doctoral Dissertation Research and will be assessed a flat candidacy tuition charge. MUSC/MUSP 899 is not available for variable credit during the fall and spring semesters. MUSP 899 carries the applied music fee. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the Student Services Office each semester if they plan to change from MUSP to MUSC or vice versa by the end of the drop/add period.

Written Thesis/Dissertation Preparation

For more information on the preparation of the thesis or dissertation consult with the Graduate School.

Human Subject Research

In some degree programs (especially in Ethnomusicology and Music Education) students may conduct research involving human subjects. Everyone who does so must obtain approval in advance from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is charged with approving the initiation of research involving human subjects and conducting periodic reviews of that research to ensure that all projects comply with federal regulations. These regulations are strict, and the Graduate School urges all graduate students to consult with the IRB before beginning any research involving living subjects. Any research conducted prior to receiving IRB approval will be considered invalid and cannot be used as part of a dissertation. For application forms and guidelines on such issues as research involving minors or prisoners, surveys, and the use of audio or visual recordings and photographs, please consult with the Institutional Review Board.

Application for Diploma

Students are responsible for completing an application for a diploma with the Office of Admission and Registration in the Graduate School during the first two weeks of the semester in which they intend to graduate (failure to do so may result in delayed graduation). If for any reason the requirements for graduation are not met in that semester, the application for a diploma will be valid for subsequent semesters within five years of admission.

Travel and Research Funding

The funds available from the School of Music, Graduate School, and College of Arts and Humanities for student travel, research, and other projects vary from year to year. This section of the handbook is for informational purposes only, and students should watch for opportunities to apply for several kinds of funding. Typically, notice of all funding opportunities will be sent by email from the Student Services Office or Associate Director for Graduate Studies:

Travel Funding: limited funds are available to support students who are presenting, performing, conducting, or otherwise taking part in programmed events at competitive conferences, festivals, and workshops (simply attending events is generally not sufficient to be awarded travel funds). In all cases, one must be a student at the time of the proposed travel. Students should watch the School of Music graduate email list for specific opportunities and deadlines.

Research and Creative Funding: The School of Music and the Graduate School have programs to assist with research and other creative activities:

Graduate School Research Awards (Ph.D. students only): The Graduate School’s Summer Research Fellowship is designed for mid-career doctoral students (defined as that period approximately before, during, or after advancement to candidacy). The fellowship is designed to provide doctoral students with the opportunity to concentrate fully on their own scholarly activities and research.

School of Music Research Award (MA and Ph.D. students only): These School of Music fellowships are designed to support research projects and travel that will lead to the completion of a major degree benchmark (usually a thesis or dissertation).

Dissertation Fellowships and Awards: The Graduate School has several awards to support various stages of doctoral dissertation writing (for Ph.D. students only). These awards usually have School of Music deadlines early in the spring semester.

The opportunities described above are only the most common forms of academic funding. Students are advised to consult the Graduate School website and the website of the College of Arts and Humanities for additional detail sand opportunities.