05.03 Orientation, Placement Examinations, and Remediation
Orientation
Orientation is mandatory for all new graduate students. Should you choose not to attend, please be aware that there are serious consequences that may affect your ability to complete your degree in a timely manner. For graduate students, the main purpose of orientation is to provide a time and place for you to take a variety of placement exams, and if you miss these exams you will not be allowed to register for classes until you successfully complete them.
Students who do not attend orientation must make their own arrangements to make up their placement exams by contacting the relevant department chairs and scheduling mutually agreeable times to take them. Since you are not allowed to register for classes until you successfully complete all of your placement exams, and you cannot take make-up placement exams until AFTER orientation, it is likely that you will not be able to register for classes until the first or second week of the fall semester. At this point, many courses are at capacity and it is possible that you will be forced to delay some of your required academic coursework.
In addition, it is extremely important that international students attend orientation, as the staff of the International Services Office will be at Eastman to perform your immigration check-in. Should you miss your immigration check-in at Eastman, you will be responsible for completing it on your own. This requires a trip to the ISO office on the River Campus and a potentially long wait for a walk-in appointment.
Placement examinations
All entering graduate students are required to take placement examinations in music theory and music history before registering for any course. Students majoring in jazz and contemporary media should also refer to their individual degree requirements for information regarding additional placement exams within their department.
Details about content of the music history and music theory placement exams, and suggestions about how to prepare for them will be made available to new students by the admissions office once the student’s enrollment deposit has been received. These exams are normally given during the week preceding the start of fall, spring and summer terms. Faculty members of the music theory and musicology departments grade the exams, and the results are made available to the students prior to course registration. Students are urged to carefully note their placement exam results, and to take any required remedial courses as early in their degree program as possible.
Students who are unable to take the placement examinations on the prescribed date due to a documented emergency may, with the permission of the chairs of the music theory and musicology departments, be able to take them after classes have begun. Those who follow this procedure will, as a result, register late, miss class sessions, and may find that space is no longer available in some classes.
Remedial coursework
Students whose background in music theory is found to be deficient will be required to take one or both of the remedial music theory courses: TH 117 and TH 118: Theory, Analysis and Musicianship Review I and II (1.5 credits each). These courses will not count toward the total credits of any degree program nor fulfill any degree requirement, and they may not be used as electives. However, credits earned in these courses will count toward the student’s credit load during the semester that they are taken.
Masters students who must take TH 117 and/or 118 may not enroll for any 400- or 500-level music theory courses until TH 118 has been satisfactorily completed.
Masters students whose BM degrees were earned at Eastman are advised to take TH 401 rather than 400 for their masters’ theory requirement unless they place into the 117-118 sequence. If they are required to take TH 117-118, then they should take TH 400 after successful completion of TH 118.
If a doctoral student receives a grade of “B+” or better in TH 118 s/he will have met the DMA Theory Skills Exam requirement. Should a doctoral student fail to pass the Theory Skills Exam upon matriculation, and should s/he not attain at least a grade of “B+” in TH 118, s/he will be required to retake TH 118 (preferably in the subsequent summer session) before s/he is allowed to register for any theory courses at the 400 or 500 level.
MM and MA degree students who continue on to a DMA or PhD program will be required to take only Part 3 of the Graduate Placement Exam in Theory (Counterpoint/Style Composition), as distinct from Parts 1-2, which they previously took when entering the masters degree.
Students whose music history background is found to be deficient will be required to make up for this in a manner which may vary from individual to individual. Some may be required to take MHS 119 Music History Review (1.5 credits), a review course that does not count toward the total required credits for any degree, and may not be used as elective credit. However, the course will count toward the student’s credit load during the semester that it is taken. Students who are required to take MHS 119 (Music History Review) may not enroll for any 400- or 500-level music history or musicology courses until MHS 119 has been satisfactorily completed. The only exception to this is MHS 480: Bibliography, which may be taken at the same time as MHS 119. MHS 480: Bibliography is commonly taken by Masters students for degree credit. However, it is considered remedial for Doctoral students and if required, must be taken above and beyond the Doctoral degree credits.
Other students may be required to take one or more of the music history courses numbered MHS 421 through MHS 426, each of which concentrates on a specific historical period. Master’s students may use these courses to satisfy their required courses in music history, or as elective credit. Based on placement test results, if doctoral students are required to take two such MHS courses, one will count toward elective credits in the degree (and may be covered by a tuition scholarship); the other will be considered remedial and will not count toward the total required credits for the degree. Students are strongly encouraged to take any required courses as soon as possible.
Those entering the DMA or PhD program with a previous master’s degree from Eastman are not required to take the music history placement exams for a second time, unless they did not receive passing scores on the Medieval and Renaissance portions of the exam (the first 32 questions of the exam). Students in this situation should plan to retake this portion of the placement exam and achieve passing scores; if not, they will be required to take MHS 421 and/or MHS 422 to make up the deficiencies.
English-language proficiency of international students will be evaluated during the admissions process and in individual interviews during orientation. Based on the interview and review of each international student’s file, some students may be required to take EAP 101G and 102G: Graduate English for Academic Purposes I and II (3.0 credits each, billed as 1.5 credits each). These courses are review courses that do not count toward the total required credits for any degree, and may not be used as elective credit. However, the course will count toward the student’s credit load during the semester in which it is taken. Other students may be required to take EAP 201G and 202G: The Versatile Musician I and II (3.0 credits each, billed as 3.0 credits each). These courses may be used towards elective credit for a master’s or doctoral degree. If the number of required credits of course work in music history and electives is fewer than the number of credits of EAP courses required of a student (following the individual language interviews), the courses must be taken above and beyond the degree requirements. If a student does not attend the individual interview, assessment will be based solely on review of the student’s admissions file. Students who are required to take EAP 101G and/or 102G may not enroll for 200-level EAP courses until EAP 102G has been satisfactorily completed.
In addition to the courses mentioned above, please check your specific degree and major requirements for any additional remedial courses that may be required. Remedial courses do not count toward the total required credits for any graduate degree, and may not be used as elective credit. However, they will count toward the student’s credit load during the semester that they are taken. Courses at the 100 level may not be used as elective credit and are not covered by tuition scholarships.
The music theory department does not allow a student to retake any portion of the music theory placement exam. In rare cases, the musicology department will allow a student to retake a portion of the music history placement exam, but only with permission of the department chair.
