Music

Music, M.M.

The expansion of professional education in the arts is paramount for the growth and development of a rich and vital cultural community and a supporting network of individual artists. The dynamics of contemporary society suggest that the impact of the arts on public life will continue to expand well into the 21st century. Each year, opportunities increase for creative work by performers, composers, sculptors, painters, dancers, actors, historians, theoreticians, and musicologists.

The Master of Music is offered as an educational channel to meet the intellectual and career needs of qualified students. It is a comprehensive and advanced program of study with a choice of concentrations in performance (single or multiple instruments), music education, composition, and conducting. The M.M. with a concentration in music education does not provide licensure to teach music in public or private schools.

Admission Requirements

In addition to fulfilling the admission requirements for graduate study, the applicant is expected to hold a baccalaureate degree in music or in another discipline with courses equaling the music requirements (minus the seven- to eight-credit teaching sequence) for the Bachelor of Arts in Music offered at George Mason.

The following admission requirements must also be met:

1. Performance: Audition (single or multiple instruments)

2. Conducting: Audition

3. Composition: Submission of a portfolio of compositions

4. Music Education: Submission of a two- to three-page paper on the applicant's philosophy of music education

Diagnostic Entrance Examination

All new graduate students are required to take an entrance examination to demonstrate competence in music history, music theory, and general musicianship. The examination is offered during a three-hour period normally on the Saturday before the first day of classes of the fall and spring semesters. All sections of the examination must be passed prior to graduation.

Foreign Language Examinations (Vocal Performance Emphasis)

Students in the M.M. degree program (emphasis in vocal performance) must take proficiency exams in French, German, Italian, and English to prove diction competency. Students who do not pass the Italian or English diction test are required to take MUSI 525 Performance Seminar for Singers and Accompanists I. Students who do not pass the French or German diction test are required to take MUSI 526 Performance Seminar for Singers and Accompanists II.

Comprehensive Exit Examination

All students completing the M.M. in Music are required to pass a comprehensive exit examination administered during the graduation semester or, in the case of students selecting the thesis option in the music education concentration, upon completion of 24 credits of course work and immediately before beginning work on the thesis. August graduates must take this examination during the preceding spring term. This exam normally consists of a one-hour oral examination, and the questions are based primarily on the courses the student has taken at George Mason University.

Degree Requirements

A student must successfully complete 30 credits in graduate music courses. With the approval of the department, 3 nonmusic graduate credits may be taken.

The student must satisfy the following requirements: