Mar 19, 2024  
2015-2016 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2015-2016 Undergraduate Catalog This is not the most recent catalog version; be sure you are viewing the appropriate catalog year.

Music Therapy Major


Successful completion of the requirements for the Bachelor of Music Therapy degree makes students eligible to sit for the Certification Examination given by the Certification Board for Music Therapists.™

The Bachelor of Music Therapy degree is awarded on completion of this curriculum. The degree program is approved by the American Music Therapy Association.

Certification in Music Therapy

The Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) mandates that candidates for board certification must have successfully completed the academic and clinical training requirements for music therapy, or their equivalent, as established by the American Music Therapy Association. Candidates who pass the CBMT examination are allowed to use the credential “Music Therapist-Board Certified” (MT-BC).

Admission

Students must submit a 3-page double-spaced essay on the topic of “Why I wish to pursue a degree in music therapy.” Include personal perspectives and motivations as well as current understanding of the field of music therapy and how you see yourself within the field. All essays are to be saved as a Word (.doc or .docx) document and sent as an attachment to Dr. Theresa Merrill, Director of Music Therapy at tmerril1@emich.edu.

Department Information:


Music & Dance - College of Arts & Sciences

Diane L. Winder, D.M.
Department Head

354 Alexander Building
(734) 487-1421
diane.winder@emich.edu

Department Website

All prospective students (including transfers) must apply to the Department of Music and Dance and complete an entrance audition. Admissions information and access to the department’s online application are available here. Applications must be submitted at least seven days in advance of the requested audition day.

In addition to the degree requirements stated below, students must learn and abide by additional department polices posted on the department’s website.

Advisor Information:


Theresa Merrill
Assistant Professor

N101 Alexander
(734) 487-4380
tmerril1@emich.edu

General Education Requirements:


For specific requirements refer to the General Education Program .

Major Requirements: 56 hours


Improvisation Requirement: 0-2 hours


Students in this degree must meet an improvisation requirement. This requirement may be met in one of the following ways:

  • 1 hr
  • 1 hr
  • 2 hrs
  • Other approved improvisation course (see an advisor for details)
  • Contract in Applied Music for at least one Fall or Winter semester. An improvisation Contract must be completed by the student and approved by the applied music instructor and department head at the beginning of the semester. A written evaluation of the student’s improvisation work must be provided by the applied music instructor and approved by the department head at the completion of the semester. Applied music improvisation projects can be in any style (jazz, classical, world music, etc.) and should be equivalent to one credit of independent study.

Minor Requirements:


This program does not require a minor.

Note:


Recital Attendance Requirement
Each undergraduate music major must attend a total of 80 recitals/concerts (events) during their time of undergraduate study; they will receive credit for no more than 25 events per academic year. Students who fail to meet this requirement will not be permitted to graduate. The number of events that transfer students and students seeking a second bachelor’s degree must attend will be prorated, based on the number of semesters of work remaining at the time of their matriculation. Normally each semester the student will attend at least ten musical events, of which five are usually the Department of Music and Dance weekly student recitals. Credit will be received for attendance at any Department of Music and Dance event. Students must be present for an entire event to receive credit. The cards are collected at the end of the program. A student who is performing in an event may receive recital attendance credit for that event if the student performs in less than 50 percent of the event. Attendance at many non-departmental musical events may be credited toward the recital attendance requirement. To obtain credit, bring a ticket stub and program to the music office. The Head of the Department of Music and Dance will determine whether or not the event qualifies for recital credit.

Program Total:


Students must earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level or above.

Beginning in Fall 2022, all baccalaureate degree programs for all undergraduates (regardless of catalog year) will require a minimum of 120 credit hours for completion.

Critical Graduation Information:


Each undergraduate student will be responsible for the fulfillment of the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult the online catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

  • Earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level and above. Courses with numbers below 100 will not be counted toward this degree requirement. At most 8 credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses will be counted toward this requirement. A Bachelor of Arts degree requires completion of one year of college credit in a world language.
  • Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below).
  • Complete a Writing Intensive (WI)  Course in your major.
  • Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement. (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details.)
  • Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
  • Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
  • Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor; students should check requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
  • Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits in excess of the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 124 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
  • Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
    • Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
    • Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
    • Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
  • Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; the internal review of such courses is conducted by individual departments/schools within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credits for transferred courses; grades are not used in the calculation of an EMU GPA.
  • Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU in order to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses taken at EMU and those applied to a student’s major or minor, will be used in the calculation of their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)
General Education Requirements:

EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or with similar names will fulfill these requirements. Please see General Education  for a detailed description of requirements.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.