Major in Music

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Minor in Music
Certificates

The Petrie School of Music offers numerous curricular programs leading toward various majors in the Bachelor of Music degree, the Bachelor of Musical Arts, and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. This provides the student with specific programs to realize their best talents and abilities. 

Declaration of Major 

Students matriculating in the Petrie School of Music will be asked to submit a formal Declaration of Major no later than the end of January Term of the freshman year. The Declaration of Major form is online or available in the Music Office and requires the signature of the student’s Freshman Mentor. Subsequent changes of major must be accomplished by the submission of a new Declaration of Major form, so that appropriate changes in advisor and student records can be made. 

Students wishing to change majors to an area in the School of Humanities, Sciences, and Business or the School of Education and Graduate Studies, must also submit a form indicating their desire to make this change. They will be referred to the Director of Advising and Student Success for initial advisement. Their advisement materials will be forwarded to the Director of Advising and Student Success once student records in the Petrie School of Music office have been updated. 

Permission to Major 

Performance 

Any Student, with the recommendation of the major professor, must declare their intention to be examined as a performance major. If the area faculty jury passes the Applied jury examination at the end of their freshman year as a Performance major, the student may continue in their chosen program. The definitive full faculty examination confirming a Performance major will take place at the Applied Gateway examination. This examination will be before the full music faculty. (See Section IV, Performance Studies Policies and Procedures, for further details about Performance Studies and Recital policies). 

Music Education 

The music education major is administered jointly by the School of Education and the Petrie School of Music. Students should apply to the Teacher Education Admissions Committee for admission into an education degree immediately upon the completion of General Music K-12, MUE 311, which includes the Clinical 1 experience. The application must be approved by the Teacher Education Admissions Committee no later than six months prior to student teaching, and the student will not be allowed to take Benchmark II courses until they have been admitted by the Teacher Education Admissions Committee. The following requirements must be satisfied in order to be officially admitted to a music education program: 

  1. Complete at least 45 hours of course work 
  2. Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 
  3. A passing score on all parts of the Core Praxis Examination 
  4. Completion of Introduction to Education, EDU 360 and PSY 380 
  5. Completion of Clinical I experience 
  6. A passing grade on the Applied Gateway jury 
  7. A successful professional skills and dispositions review with music education faculty, following the Applied 203 jury. 

PRAXIS I Test:

During the freshman year, during the Introduction to Music Education, MUE 221 course, all potential music education majors should attempt all parts of the Core Praxis Exam administered by the Educational Testing Service. A passing score on this test is required for entrance into General Music K-12, MUE 311 and for acceptance into any education degree program in South Carolina. Any person having attained the SAT or ACT score set by the State Board of Education shall be exempt from the Praxis I requirement. (ACT= 24, 2-Part SAT= 1100, or 3-Part SAT= 1650). If these admissions requirements are not met, the Teacher Education Admissions Committee may reject the applicant. A student who is rejected is advised to declare another major. The student must be admitted to the teacher education program before being allowed to enroll in Instrumental Methods, MUE 421, or Choral Methods, MUE 423 and Directed Student Teaching, MUE 460. 

Student Teaching:

Applications to student teach must be submitted no later than February 15th of junior year for Fall Term placement or June 15th of junior year for Spring Term placement. There is a limitation on the time which may transpire between the final Music Education methods course and the Student Teaching course. If the interval between the final Music Education methods course and Student Teaching is greater than one academic year, the student is required to confer with the Program Director for Music Education. The Program Director may then approve the application, require a proficiency test, or require remedial course work prior to Student Teaching. 

Praxis II Test:

Beginning Fall 2020, in order to be placed for student teaching, teacher candidates must pass the state required PRAXIS II Specialty Area Test entitled Music: Content and Instruction (0114). This test score, in addition to a score on the PRAXIS II Principles of Learning and Teaching Exam, are graduation requirements and must be submitted to the Director of the Professional Education Unit no later than the Spring of the academic year in which student teaching is completed. 

Music Therapy 

Students who complete a Bachelor of Music degree or Equivalency in Music Therapy must meet all academic and clinical competencies mandated by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). The Converse University Music Therapy Program is a professional program designated to address the competency-based education of the professional must therapist and prepare students to pass the national board certification examination administered by the Certification Board of Music Therapists in order to become a Board-Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC). 

Admission to Converse Music Therapy Program 

Students are admitted to the program based on: 

  • Successful completion of Petrie School of Music audition requirements; 
  • Personal interview and audition with the music therapy faculty, during which applicants will sing and self-accompany on piano or guitar a memorized song of their choice that they feel is appropriate for clinical use; and 
  • Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 

Retention in the Program 

AMTA requires that all music therapy students earn a C- or better in all music courses. If a student’s final grade is below a C- they must retake a course in the next semester if it is offered. Most music and music therapy classes are sequential in nature and students need to successfully pass all courses that serve as prerequisites for upper-division courses. Students can only retake a course one time and must earn a passing grade in order to continue in the music therapy program. This ensures students can complete their undergraduate degree in a timely manner and be accepted into an AMTA-approved internship. 

Functional Music Skills Examinations 

Music Therapy majors must pass two Functional Music Skills Examinations (Level I and Level II). The purpose of these exams is to ensure that the student possesses basic competencies in voice, guitar, and piano required by AMTA. Passing the Level I exam is a prerequisite for admission into the student’s clinical practicum. Passing the Level II exam is a prerequisite for admission into the student’s internship. It is the student’s responsibility to schedule their functional Music Exams with the music therapy faculty during the posted exam times. 

Level 1 Examination 

The level 1 Examination consists of the following: 

  1. The student will sing and self-accompany 40 songs (20 on guitar and 20 on piano) in multiple genres assigned by the faculty. 
  2. The student will submit a preliminary song list for approval to the faculty at the beginning of the semester they intend to take the exam, and the list will be finalized by week 4 of the semester. Once the list is finalized, faculty may identify songs that the student will need to provide copies of the lead sheets for them at the exam 
  3. At the exam, the student will provide the faculty with their final song list (including planned keys for each song) and a copy of the lead sheet for songs requested in advance by the faculty. 
  4. Songs should be chosen with clinical intent and the student should be prepared to describe how the song might be used in therapy and with whom (e.g., children, adolescents, adults, older adults), and in what setting (e.g., school, hospital, day program, hospice). 
  5. The student must perform four of the songs in two different keys (identified in advance), appropriate to the student’s vocal range. 
  6. Areas of Evaluation: 
    Voice: Vocal projection, intonation, range appropriateness (for client population), articulation and musical expression. 
    Guitar: Guitar properly tuned, appropriate strumming tempo, smoothness of accompaniment, accuracy of chord changes, demonstration of multiple strumming techniques and styles and a minimum of five songs using finger picking. 
    Piano: Smoothness of accompaniment, demonstration of accompaniment styles appropriate to song genre (e.g., alternating bass/block chords, arpeggio, rocker patter), accuracy of chord changes and use of inversions.

Music Therapy majors entering the program during their freshman year must perform the Level I exam at the end of the spring term of their sophomore year. Transfer and equivalency students must take the exam before beginning clinical practicum. All students may not begin the clinical practicum sequence without passing the exam. Students who do not pass the exam will be placed on provisional status and will be expected to retake the Level I exam at the beginning of the next semester. 

Level II Examination 

  1. Students will provide a list of repertoire that includes: 
    1. 12 new self-accompanied songs, six on guitar and six on piano that are memorized and demonstrate the student’s highest-level skills, and 
    2. 12 songs from the FMSE I that use at least four chords, various accompaniment styles and equally distributed between guitar and piano that can be requested by the faculty in this exam. 
    3. 1 original opening song and 1 original closing song for the use un a clinical setting. One song will be performed on the guitar and the other on the piano. 
      These should be memorized. 
  2. The student must perform six of the songs in two different keys, appropriate to the student’s vocal range and intended clinical population use. 
  3. The student must perform four songs (two on piano and two on guitar) in two styles: the original clinical intent practiced for the exam and a change in clinical intent/population chosen by the faculty at the exam. 
  4. The student will be prepared to sight read on guitar and piano simple lead sheets with lyrics, melody and chord symbols, using either letter names of numbers to identify chords. 

Music therapy majors must pass the Level II examination prior to beginning their internship, typically the final exam period in the final on-campus-semester. Students who do not pass the exam must retake it on a date agreed upon with the faculty prior to beginning their internship. 

Music Therapy Internship Requirements 

The music therapy internship serves as the capstone course for the degree. AMTA requires that all music therapy students complete a total of 1200 clinical hours, with a minimum of 180 in clinical practicum and minimum of 900 at an internship that takes place after coursework is completed. This internship is typically completed at an AMTA- approved or university-affiliated internship site. AMTA allows students to have up to four active applications at internships sites at any given time, and students can apply to internships up to one year in advance of their desired start date. 

The music therapy faculty will advise each student about the application process and provide recommendations and documentations to each clinical site. The program director is required to provide verification of the student’s eligibility to begin the internship. After acceptance into an internship program, an individual assessment of the student’s competencies and an internship plan will be developed in collaboration with the Program Director, internship director, and students. After successful completion of the internship, the internship director will document that AMTA Professional Competencies have been met and the academic advisor will verify that the student has met graduation requirements and is eligible to sit for the Board Certification exam. Students are advised that additional licensure is required to practice music therapy in some states. 

Composition & BMA: Contemporary Music (Media Applications) 

Near the end of the sophomore year, students will submit a portfolio of their works for review by the Musicology & Composition faculty for the purpose of determining permission to major. Area course taken in the junior and senior years must result in a grade no lower than C. If a grade lower than C is earned in any course in the major area, the grade will be reviewed by area faculty. If a course is repeated and the student does not receive the minimum grade of C, the student may not continue in the major.