Honors (BA Degree)
To register for a senior honors project (MUS 499, maximum total of four credits) a student must have declared a music major or music minor, have a 3.5 grade-point average in music courses and be recommended by the person who agrees to serve as the faculty advisor (studio teacher, history/theory teacher or composition teacher). The recommendation must include evidence of appropriate accomplishment in the field of the proposed project: in performance, an evaluation by the prospective advisor and one other faculty member of a performance by the student in a Thursday department recital in the semester preceding that of the proposed project; in research and composition, an evaluation and/or an example of written work from a previous or current course. With the supporting documentation, a petition to register for honors, including the specific proposal, must be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies during the semester preceding that of the initiation of the proposed project, and is subject to approval by the Undergraduate Committee.
When the final performance has been given or the written project completed, a committee consisting of the advisor and two other full-time faculty members decide if the project meets expected standards. If so, a grade of A is assigned with honors, high honors or highest honors designated; if not, the course registration reverts to independent study and the course grade is given by the advisor. Faculty committee members are selected by the student.
A checklist for the student considering an honors recital and the appropriate forms for the submission of the program to the Undergraduate Committee for approval, as well as for the evaluation of both the mid-day recital and the final performance, are available from the undergraduate director.
Honors (BMus)
The BMus student may use the senior recital as a senior honors project under the following conditions:
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The student must have a 3.5 average in music courses
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The student must be recommended by the primary concentration faculty member
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The repertoire to be performed must be of sufficient difficulty to merit the honors designation. The program requires the approval of the Undergraduate Committee at least two months preceding the performance. Any changes in the program, once approved, also require approval by the committee
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The performance is held to an extremely high standard, with at least two members of the Undergraduate Committee serving on the jury (in addition to the student's principal advisor)
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Recitals in voice and keyboard instruments, in which the custom is to perform from memory, must be memorized. Recitalists on other instruments, whose tradition may not include memorization, are required to perform at least one quarter of the program from memory
The BMus student pursuing honors should register for MUSP 498 for four credits rather than MUSP 494. The grade of A must be received to qualify for honors; if not, the registration reverts to MUSP 494, Senior Recital.
A checklist for the student considering an honors recital and the appropriate forms for the submission of the program to the Undergraduate Committee for approval, as well as for the evaluation of the final performance, are available from the undergraduate director.
