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School of Music Graduate Study PDFDownload to print

Theory Placement Examination

All entering graduate students (except those in the online music education degree program) take a placement examination in music theory at the beginning of enrollment in a graduate degree program. Graduate theory coursework required as a result of this examination will be counted toward the degree requirements. Students who are not fully prepared for graduate-level work may be required to take the undergraduate Music Theory Practicmn course (MUS 41111). Students may retake the examination once.

Program Requirements
Each student will be accepted as a major in a specific curricular area. It may be necessary for the student to complete Kent State University requirements for the appropriate undergraduate degree. Each student's academic requirements are based on the catalog in force during his/her first semester at Kent State University. Students may elect to complete their degrees under the most recent catalog but must comply with all of the new requirements relevant to their program under the new catalog.

Master's Thesis, Essay, Recital and Final Oral Examination
All Master of Arts candidates must write a thesis. All Master of Music candidates in Performance and Conducting must perform two recitals or one recital and write an essay depending on their specific degree requirements. Final Oral Examinations are required in all masters programs and this exam will include thesis defense for the Master of Arts candidates. The final oral examination may be attempted two times.

Research Tool Requirement
Candidates for the Master of Arts degree program in Ethnomusicology must demonstrate a reading and understanding knowledge of one foreign language. Credit hours earned in meeting this requirement are not applied toward the credit-hour requirement in the degree program.

For candidates for the Music Theory-Composition Ph.D. program, this requirement may be either a readingtranslating knowledge of one foreign language or a demonstrated competence in an area of research specified by the doctoral advisory committee and approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. Credit hours earned in meeting this requirement are not applied toward the credit-hour requirement in the degree program. For candidates for the Music Education Ph.D. program, this requirement is MUS 73283 and related research methods courses in the College of Education. These courses are applied toward the credit-hour requirement for the degree.

PhD. Candldacy Exams, Dissertation and Dissertation Defense
Doctoral candidates will take a comprehensive examination upon completion of their coursework.and research tool requirement. This candidacy exam normally takes place within four years of beginning coursework. All doctoral candidates write a dissertation and defend this dissertation in a Final Oral Examination. The dissertation phase nonnally is completed within five years of passing the candidacy exams.

Time Limits
Master of Arts and Master of Music students must complete their degree within six calendar years after their first graduate registration at Kent State University. Any credit transferred for meeting degree requirements must also have been earned within the six-year period.

Ph.D. students must complete their degree within nine calendar years after their first doctoral registration at Kent State University. Any credit transferred for meeting degree requirements must also have been earned within the nine-year period.

Workshop Credit
A maximum of 4 semester hours of workshop credit may be applied to certain graduate degrees. The hours must pertain to the degree emphasis. Only workshop credits with grades of A or B may be transferred into a degree program.