Entering+the+TTU+Musicology+Program

=Entering the TTU Musicology Program=

Allow me to encourage you to get your registration for Musicology seminars done as early as possible. This helps both yourselves (as it helps ensure you will have a space in a given seminar) and also we faculty (as it helps us estimate numbers and shape course content & calendar.

New folks: if you have questions about selecting suitable courses, allow me to suggest a few considerations:


 * As with all entering SOM grad students, you will sit two placement exams, one in Music History and one in Music Theory. These are purely diagnostic: a means for us to assess your basic skills in these topics preparatory to entering our program. The "worst-case" scenario is that you will be requested or required to enroll in MUHL5300, Graduate Music History Review. This is so that we can ensure that you begin finalizing the skills you will need to successfully pass the MM or doctoral *exit* exams.


 * Certain courses are required for Musicology candidates, whether MM or PhD. Pay particular attention to the *new* "Introduction to Musicology" course offered by Dr Jocoy in Spring 2013: this new course is *required* of all Musicology grad students. You will want to plan for it.


 * All Musicology grad students are required to demonstrate research competence in a foreign language. It is assessed through a written translation examination in the research language, administered and assessed by Musicology staff. We encourage that you select a research language (whether for study or, if you already have the language, simple assessment) which is directly and demonstrably relevant to your projected thesis topic.


 * As a new student, it is neither too early, NOR mandatory, for you to consider eventual thesis topic at this time. If you know that you are interested in writing a thesis on a given topic, composer, genre, phenomenon, location, or time period, then you should consider, from your first semester onward, about the particular skills you will need, and try to select seminar topics which directly speak to those skill-sets. If you do not yet know your thesis topic-area, that is fine: in this case it will be important for you to think about the *kind* of research that seems appealing.


 * In either case, we particularly encourage new and returning students to make direct contact with Musicology faculty members who are specialists in the student's area of interest. Those individual faculty members can provide the most direct, immediate, and cogent advice about course selections.


 * Remember that the Musicology wiki (http://ttumusicology.wikispaces.com) contains a great deal of material, in reference-article format, which can help you make informed and efficient decisions. And, of course, you can always query myself, or any Musicology faculty member, for more specific responses.

We are glad that you are here!

CJS