Entrance Requirements

In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission to the music departments, a student who desires to major in piano pedagogy must submit a summary of all teaching experience. All entering graduate students in the Master of Music degree program in piano pedagogy must take the Music Theory Placement Examination and the Music History Placement Examination. In addition, the student must take a placement test in functional keyboard skills. If necessary, prerequisites may be assigned by the adviser.

Graduation Requirements

  1. A 60-minute, memorized recital of music (MUS 936) that complements the candidate's previous repertory is to be performed in public, following successful completion of a private hearing before a committee of the music departments faculty. The recital must include a pre-Bach piece, a principal work of J.S. Bach, a classical sonata or set of variations, a romantic composition, a composition of French impressionism, and a contemporary work.
  2. The candidate shall present to a faculty committee a research paper (MUS 937) on an aspect of piano literature, pedagogy, pianism or the piano. The paper shall be written under the guidance of the graduate adviser in piano pedagogy and completed not later than four weeks before the end of the semester in which the student plans to graduate.
  3. Students must also successfully complete a final oral comprehensive examination (MUS 698A w/classes; MUS 698B w/o classes) in piano pedagogy integrating material covered in pedagogy courses taken during the degree program.

Minor in Latin American Music

Requirements listed above apply, with the following exceptions:

  1. The curriculum requires a total of 33 to 34 semester hours of credit.
  2. The six semester hours of piano pedagogy are replaced by six to seven semester hours of piano pedagogy.
  3. Six semester hours of Latin American music electives replace the three semester hours of seminar in piano technique or elective in music history.
  4. In most of the courses in the curriculum, the student will have opportunities to prepare special projects on topics related to the composition, performance, and teaching of piano music of Latin America.
  5. A significant portion of the student's performance repertoire for juries and the final recital must consist of music by Latin American composers, and the research paper should incorporate some aspect of piano literature, piano pedagogy, or pianism in Latin America.