Advisor Information
Theresa R. Merrill, Ph.D., MT-BC, N101 Alexander, 734.487.4380, tmerril1@emich.edu
School of Music & Dance Admission
All prospective students (including transfers) must apply to the School of Music & Dance and complete an entrance audition. Admissions information and access to the School’s online application are available on the School’s website. 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 School of Music & Dance policies on the School’s website.
Program 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.
Major Requirements: 96-98 hours
In addition to the requirements listed below, this major requires students to satisfy a concert and recital attendance requirement (see below for details).
All students pursuing a professional music degree in the School of Music and Dance must satisfy an improvisation requirement. Students pursuing this major fulfill this requirement by passing MUED 305 Keyboard Skills.
Ensembles: 4 hours
Must include at least two credit hours of a vocal ensemble. Only one hour per semester counted toward the degree.
Applied Music Courses: 14 hours
Additional Requirements: 10 hours
Music Therapy Courses: 31 hours
Concert and Recital Attendance Graduation Requirement
Each student must attend a specified number of recitals/concerts (events) to earn their degree, as described below.
Bachelor of Music Performance - 80 events (10 per semester for 8 semesters). For students who transferred to EMU, 10 per semester, while studying at EMU.
All other music degrees - 72 events (9 per semester for 8 semesters). For students who transferred to EMU, 9 per semester, while studying at EMU.
Procedure:
Please see the School of Music & Dance for applicable events (website).
- Students are strongly encouraged to attend the indicated number of events per semester for their major. Students will receive credit for no more than 30 events per academic year.
- Music Education and Music Therapy students should complete this requirement before student teaching or internship (exceptions approved by the School Director).
- Students must attend an entire event to receive credit. Students who participate in more than 50% of an event as a performer may not count that event towards the attendance requirement.
EMU Events -
- When available, pick up an attendance card from a faculty greeter before the start of the event and return it to the faculty member after the event. The faculty member will initial your card and submit it to the Music & Dance office.
- For events without a faculty greeter, a program signed by any faculty member after the event is also acceptable. Be sure that both your name and student number are listed on the program and submit it to the Music & Dance office within 14 days of the event.
Non-EMU Events -
- Submit your ticket stub (for ticketed events) or program (for non-ticketed events) to the Music & Dance office within 14 days of the event. Your applied teacher must sign programs before submitting it (Students not currently enrolled in applied music may have their program signed by any faculty member). Be sure that both your name and EID are listed on the ticket stub or program.
Checking your concert and recital attendance credits:
You may check the number of events for which you have been credited on the School of Music & Dance website (emich.edu/music-dance/music/current-students/recital-credit). Enter your EID., click submit, and your personalized report of recital credits to date will be displayed on your screen.
When you are ready to graduate, and your final audit is being completed, your advisor will approve your Concert and Recital Attendance requirement, and your U-achieve audit will reflect that this requirement has been met.
What to do if you still have questions about this policy? Contact the School Director or your faculty advisor.
Minor Requirement:
This major does not require a minor.
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.
- Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below).
- Complete a Writing Intensive (GEWI) 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; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit 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. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education section of the catalog.
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.
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