Admission Interview and Interview Essay
Students are admitted conditionally until successful completion of an admission interview and extemporaneous essay, which are scheduled with the program director at least one month prior to the first semester of degree coursework. The individualized degree plan is prepared at this time with the program director. Non-local students complete these requirements during their first summer term.
Writing is a significant component of graduate studies, particularly the culminating requirement, the thesis. Therefore, the writing portion of admission to the Master of Arts degree in Music Education at the University of St. Thomas is intended to determine the nature of your writing ability. Specifically, the committee will be looking for depth of thinking, organization of ideas, logical flow of syntax, spelling skills, and application of the conventional rules of grammar. You will choose one topic (topics provided during interview) and you will be given one hour to write an essay-type response. There is no right or expected answer. Rather, the quality of your writing is the paramount criterion.
Performance Assessment Hearing
Candidates for the Master of Arts degree must demonstrate music performance ability in piano, voice, or other classical instrumental performance. The performance assessment hearing is approximately 10 minutes long. Students perform two different compositions, showing contrasting styles in historical periods, technical demands, and tempi. At least one piece must be in the art music genre. Students provide their own accompanists. Taped accompaniments are not acceptable unless the piece being performed was composed for taped accompaniment. Although not required, students are encouraged to perform pieces from memory. Instrumentalists, regardless of concentration, will be asked to sing either "My Country 'Tis of Thee," or "America, the Beautiful" or another familiar song, a cappella.
Live performance is required. Local students must complete the hearing assessment in the semester prior to the first semester of coursework. Non-local students perform during the first term in which they are enrolled as a degree-seeking student, and are admitted conditionally until successful completion of the performance assessment hearing.
Performance Assessment Hearings are evaluated on technical competence (at the level of a senior recital) and musical expression, including stylistic understanding of the music presented. The emphasis in the Performance Assessment Hearing is on meaningful musical performance that demonstrates the student's ability to expressively convey music convincingly in a formal setting.
Performance assessment hearings are scheduled once each term - in early April, mid-July, and early December. Contact the GPME office for specific dates and scheduling.
Entrance Examination
After acceptance into the master's degree program, all students are required to take a diagnostic examination in the areas of music history and theory prior to enrolling in GMUS 611, Persepectives in Music Theory or GMUS 612, Topics in Music History, Theory, and Literature. Review may be necessary for students who do not pass the examination; a minimum of 60 days is required prior to scheduling a second test. Students who do not pass the examination after two attempts will be dropped from the program. Contact the GPME office to receive a practice exam.
DVD of Teaching
A distincitve feature of the St. Thomas Master of Arts in Music Education degree program is the emphasis placed on the classroom teaching practices of our students. The entrance teaching DVD provides an invaluable opportunity for assessment and growth of artistic, reflective teaching practice. DVDs of teaching are intended to be a demonstration of pedagogic practice, not performance.
The student's DVD is submitted as part of the application materials and becomes the property of the university. The DVD should document the student's choice of one class or rehearsal of typical length, usually 30 minutes. The camera should focus on the students and the teacher.
This DVD is diagnostic and provides a framework for objective analysis of teaching practice. A field of concentration faculty member critiques the DVD with the student and identifies demonstrated expertise and strategies for improvement. Toward the conclusion of the student's coursework, the faculty member and student review a second DVD, submitted near the end of the student's coursework to review outcomes of the recommended strategies.
