Music Education and Performance, Choral and General Music, B.M.

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Students must complete the Oakland University General Education Requirements, General College of Arts and Sciences Requirements, College of Arts and Sciences College Exploratory Requirement, Major Requirements, and an appropriate number of free elective classes to meet the overall credit requirement for the degree (in most cases a minimum of 124; some degrees may require a greater number).

As a general rule, no more than eight credits of coursework used to satisfy one major, minor or concentration may be applied toward another, but exceptions to this rule may be allowed with the written approval of the program coordinators.

Schedule of Classes

Specific offerings for each semester may be found in the Schedule of Classes.

General Education Requirements

In order to graduate on-schedule without taking additional courses, it is highly recommended that students meet with an Undergraduate Academic Adviser concerning the selection of all of their general education courses.

Each candidate for an Oakland University baccalaureate will need to satisfactorily complete approved courses in each of the following areas: Foundation, Exploration, Integration, Writing, U.S. Diversity and Capstone. For details, refer to the General Education Requirements section of the catalog.

Requirements for the major in music education and performance, B.M., specialization in choral and general music

Admission to Music degree programs

Admission to the music degree programs at Oakland University (OU) is a two-tiered process, except for the B.A. in Music. The first step in the process for all students is the entrance audition. These auditions are held several times a year and determine whether or not a student will be admitted to OU in any of these degree programs. For all B.M. programs, the second step is the major standing audition, which determines whether students may continue in the program, and if they can be admitted into a professional program in the school.

Entrance auditions

Entrance audition days are held several times each year. The audition schedule and downloadable application are available on the school website. Please submit application to the department office. Students should be prepared to demonstrate proficiency in their proposed area of specialization.

Students seeking admission to Oakland University as music majors or auditioned music minors must audition for the music faculty.
Students who audition and do not enroll within two semesters must re-audition.
Students who enroll and leave school for at least two semesters must re-audition. Music students who enroll and leave school must re-audition and also retake the theory placement exam.

The Bachelor of Music degree is intended for students who wish pre-professional and professional preparation in music education and/or performance. Students should consult the Student Resources link for degree plans and should also consult with the departmental adviser in the College of Arts and Sciences Advising Office to plan their degree program. See: Student Resources

Only major courses in which a grade of at least C has been earned will count toward the major. A minimum grade of B is required in all professional courses, marked with an asterisk (*) in the list below. Application for music education major standing takes place upon completion of all freshman and sophomore coursework.

For this program, MUS 1331 satisfies the general education arts requirement, MUS 3211, 3212, 4210, 4320, 4323, 4330 and 4431 count as writing intensive in the major; and MUA 4998 and MUS 4431 count as the general education capstone.

Degree requirements are as follows:

Requirements specific to the voice major - 48 credits (or placement)

MUS 1160 - Vocal Techniques (2)
MUA 1000 - Voice
(1 credit first semester, 2 credits second semester, 3 credits total)
MUA 2000 - Voice
(2 credits per semester, 4 credits total)
MUA 3000 - Voice
(4 credits per semester, 8 credits total)
MUA 4000 - Voice
(1 semester, 4 credits total)
MUS 1171 - Keyboard Technique I (2)
MUS 1172 - Keyboard Technique II (2)
MUS 2420 - Instrumental Techniques for Choral Majors (2) *
MUS 2171 - Keyboard Technique III (2)
MUS 2172 - Keyboard Technique IV (2)
MUS 3171 - Accompanying for the Non-pianist I (2)
MUS 3172 - Accompanying for the Non-pianist II (2)
MUA 4998 - Senior Recital (4)
MUE 4050 - Opera Workshop (1)
MUS 2163 - Diction for Singers I (2)
MUS 2164 - Diction for Singers II (2)
MUS 4561 - Vocal Repertoire I (2)
MUS 4562 - Vocal Repertoire II (2)

Requirements specific to the piano major - 52 credits (or placement)

MUA 1002 - Piano
(2 credits per semester, 4 credits total)
MUA 2002 - Piano
(2 credits per semester, 4 credits total)
MUA 3002 - Piano
(4 credits per semester, 8 credits total)
MUA 4002 - Piano
(one semester, 4 credits)
MUS 1175 - Piano Technique Seminar (1)
MUA 4998 - Senior Recital (4)
MUS 4555 - Piano Repertoire I (2)
MUS 4556 - Piano Repertoire II (2)
MUS 4541 - Piano Pedagogy I (2)
MUS 4542 - Piano Pedagogy II (2)
MUS 2420 - Instrumental Techniques for Choral Majors (2) *
MUS 1161 - Vocal Techniques for Instrumentalists I (1)
MUS 1162 - Vocal Techniques for Instrumentalists II (2)
MUA 1000 - Voice (4) or MUA 2000 - Voice (by audition) (4)
MUS 2163 - Diction for Singers I (2)
MUS 2164 - Diction for Singers II (2)
MUS 3173 - Keyboard Skills for the Piano Major I (2)
MUS 3174 - Keyboard Skills for the Piano Major II (2)
MUS 3175 - Accompanying for Piano Majors (2)

Required courses for both voice and piano majors

Language - 4 credits

Must choose a foreign language (Italian, French, or German required for voice performance) to fulfill general education foreign language requirement (not ALS or ML).

Ensembles - 8 credits

Must enroll in ensemble that uses primary performance area every semester of major until graduation (except when enrolled in MUS 4952). Voice majors must choose a vocal ensemble. Pianists may choose any major ensemble.

MUE 4001 - University Chorus (0 OR 1)
MUE 4004 - Oakland Chorale (0 OR 1)
MUE 4019 - Chamber Orchestra (0 OR 1)
MUE 4020 - Oakland Symphony (0 OR 1)
MUE 4029 - Symphonic Band (0 OR 1)
MUE 4031 - Wind Symphony (0 OR 1)

Professional music education courses and requirements - 41 credits (or placement)

MUS 2440 - Learning and Teaching Music (1) *
MUS 2441 - Educational Psychology and Music Learning (3) *
MUS 3441 - Elementary General Music Methods (3) *
MUS 4408 - Choral Methods (3) *
MUS 3581 - Conducting I (2) *
MUS 3582 - Conducting II (2) *
MUS 4401 - Instrumental Methods for Choral Majors (1) *
MUS 4431 - Teaching Music in the 21st Century I (3) *
MUS 4432 - Teaching Music in the 21st Century II (3) *
RDG 4238 - Disciplinary Literacies (4) *
MUS 4434 - Teaching Music to Learners with Exceptionalities (3)
MUS 4952 - Internship in K-12 Music Education (12)
Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) for Music Education

* A minimum grade of B is required in all professional courses.

Note

For piano majors, enrollment in MUS 1160 or MUS 1161 is by placement audition. Students placing into MUS 1160 take the following 8 credits sequence: MUS 1160 , MUA 1000 and two semesters of MUA 2000 . Students placing into MUS 1161 take the following 7-credit sequence: MUS 1161 , MUS 1162 and two semesters of MUA 1000 .

All students, including guitar and piano students, must register for the appropriate choral/instrumental large ensemble to align with their choral/instrumental music education track and to align with their future internship placement.

Non-credit requirements

Events attendance requirement: Students must complete four attendance cards (ten events each year for four years). May include up to 4 pre-approved music service learning events in underserved communities per year.
One events attendance card must be submitted by the time of major standing.
Major standing

Application for music education major standing takes place upon completion of all freshman and sophomore coursework including a successful performance portion of the major standing requirement. Students who are deferred may not continue in the music education course sequence until the performance portion is successfully completed. Students who are denied may not continue in the music education course sequence.