Bachelor of Science in Music Therapy

Requirements

128 credits

Admissions and Retention in the Music Therapy Program

Students are admitted to the B.S. in Music Therapy degree program by completing a formal application process. The process involves an audition on their primary instrument and an interview with the department faculty. Degree progress stipulates a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Additionally, "B", "B+" or higher grades in all music therapy courses are required for degree progress.

Students will be placed on probation should their cumulative grade point average drop below 3.0. Those students placed on probation in this circumstance are required to raise their grade point average to a 3.0 or above within one semester to remain enrolled in the program.

Students will be placed on probation when they earn a "B-" or lower grade in completed music therapy courses. Students placed on probation in this circumstance are required to repeat all music therapy courses in which their grade is a "B-" or lower. Students must earn a "B" or higher grade in a repeated music therapy course to remain enrolled in the program. Students may repeat music therapy courses once. As the music therapy program does not offer trailer sections of courses, it is important to note that required course repeats might extend a student's on-campus curriculum beyond the four-year sequence articulated on their curriculum sheet.

Students will be placed on probation when they earn scores lower than a Level 2 in multiple and/or a key area of Professional Dispositions and Characteristics Rubric. Key areas include Availability to Learning, Oral Communication Skills, Written Communication Skills, Professional Dress, Critical Thinking Skills, Respect for Other, Response to Feedback, and Commitment to Diversity and Equity.

Students on probation are not eligible to apply for internships. Eligibility to apply for internship will be reinstated after the student has been removed from probation.

Students are required to pass pre-requisite music therapy courses with a minimum of a "B" grade prior to taking subsequent music therapy courses. Waiver of this requirement is at the discretion of the department faculty.

Music Therapy Courses and Pre-requisites for Each Course

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 090
Course Title: Music Therapy Seminar (8 semesters)
Pre-requisite(s): None

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 107W
Course Title: Music Therapy Orientation
Pre-requisite(s): Matriculation into the Music Therapy Program

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 108W
Course Title: Music Therapy & Physical Health Settings
Pre-requisite(s): Music Therapy Orientation

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 133W
Course Title: Freshmen Music Therapy Practicum
Pre-requisite(s): Music Therapy Orientation

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 207W
Course Title: Music Therapy & Developmental Health
Pre-requisite(s): Music Therapy & Physical Health Settings

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 208
Course Title: Music Therapy & Mental Health
Pre-requisite(s): Music Therapy & Developmental Health

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 157
Course Title: Group Piano I
Pre-requisite(s): None

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 158
Course Title: Group Piano II
Pre-requisite(s): Group Piano I

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 201
Course Title: Guitar for Music Therapy I
Pre-requisite(s): None

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 202
Course Title: Guitar for Music Therapy II
Pre-requisite(s): Guitar for Music Therapy I

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 223W
Course Title: Sophomore Music Therapy Practicum (1st semester)
Pre-requisite(s): Music Therapy & Physical Health Settings, Freshmen Music Therapy Practicum

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 223W
Course Title: Sophomore Music Therapy Practicum (2nd semester)
Pre-requisite(s): Sophomore Music Therapy Practicum (1st semester)

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 257
Course Title: Group Piano III
Pre-requisite(s): Group Piano II

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 258
Course Title: Group Piano IV
Pre-requisite(s): Group Piano III

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 301
Course Title: Guitar for Music Therapy III
Pre-requisite(s): Guitar for Music Therapy II

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 302
Course Title: Guitar for Music Therapy IV
Pre-requisite(s): Guitar for Music Therapy III

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 323W
Course Title: Junior Music Therapy Practicum I
Pre-requisite(s): Sophomore Music Therapy Practicum (2nd semester)

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 324W
Course Title: Junior Music Therapy Practicum II
Pre-requisite(s): Junior Music Therapy Practicum (1st semester)

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 384W
Course Title: Professional Topics in Music Therapy
Pre-requisite(s): Music Therapy Internship Preparation, Junior Music Therapy Practicum (2nd semester), Research Methods in Psychology

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 394
Course Title: Music Therapy Internship Preparation
Pre-requisite(s): Music Therapy & Mental Health, Junior Music Therapy Practicum (1st semester)

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 413
Course Title: Clinical Music Skills
Pre-requisite(s): Guitar for Music Therapy III, Group Piano IV

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 412
Course Title: Music Therapy Repertoire
Pre-requisite(s): Clinical Music Skills, Guitar for Music Therapy IV, Group Piano IV

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 420W
Course Title: Community Engaged Practicum (1st Semester)
Pre-requisite(s): Junior Music Therapy Practicum II, Music Therapy Internship Preparation

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 420W
Course Title: Community Engaged Practicum (2nd Semester)
Pre-requisite(s): Community Engaged Practicum (1st semester)

Course Subject Code and Number: MUTH 400
Course Title: Music Therapy Internship
Pre-requisite(s): Community Engaged Practicum (2nd semester)

Course Subject Code and Number: GMLI 580
Course Title: Music & the Mind
Pre-requisites: Musicianship I-IV

As a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and grades of "B" or higher in music therapy courses are not necessarily sufficient for successful attainment of an internship, the music therapy program provides students with proficiency exams to assist them in assessing their progress toward internship. Students are required to pass a Sophomore Proficiency Exam before beginning junior level music therapy courses and a Junior Proficiency Exam before beginning senior level music therapy courses. During these exams, faculty evaluate students' musical, professional, and academic competence (see Music Therapy Student Handbook for further information). Both proficiency exams must be passed to remain enrolled in the program.

Students are required to submit four updated clearances to the Music Therapy Department Office in August of each fall semester. These include TB test results (2-step in the first year of coursework, 1-step each subsequent year of coursework), FBI Criminal Background Check, Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, and Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Check). Federal, state, and institutional requirements for clearances can change with little notice; it is the student's responsibility to meet clearance requirements as notified. Timely submission of clearances is required to remain enrolled in practicum courses. As the music therapy program does not offer trailer sections of practicum courses, it is important to note that disenrollment from a practicum course might extend a student's on-campus curriculum beyond the four-year sequence articulated on their curriculum sheet.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate functional music skills related to voice, piano, guitar, percussion, conducting techniques, and movement.
2. Students will demonstrate basic knowledge related to the clinical foundations of music therapy practice and music therapy practice as set by the American Music Therapy Professional Competencies.
3. Students will demonstrate professional, ethical, and cultural reflexivity in clinical and educational settings.
4. Students will use their music skills, their music therapy knowledge base, reflexivity, supervision, and the scholarly literature to engage in clinical music therapy practice

Curriculum

Students complete 128 credits in the core areas of musicianship, music therapy, human and behavioral sciences, and liberal arts. The music core includes musicianship, conducting, computer technology for musicians, applied music, ensembles, voice, piano and guitar courses. The music therapy core includes introductory, setting-based, professional topics, practicum and internship courses. The human and behavioral sciences core includes psychology, and anatomy and physiology courses.

Course Requirements for the B. S. in Music Therapy

Year 1 - Fall (16 credits)

Year 1 - Spring (18 credits)

Year 2 - Fall (17 credits)

Year 2 - Spring (17 credits)

*Voice lessons are for instrumentalists. Additional elective credit is for vocalists.

Year 3 - Fall (17 credits)

Year 3 - Spring (16 credits)

Year 4 - Fall (14 credits)

Year 4 - Spring (13 credits)

Year 5 (Summer/Fall/Spring)

Clinical Training

Completion of the B.S. in Music Therapy requires 1,200 hours of clinical training. This training occurs in pre-internship clinical practica and internship courses.

Pre-internship clinical practica consist of supervised clinical training experiences with at least three different populations. These seven courses are taken during the four-year, on-campus curriculum. The student must accrue a minimum of 180 clinical training hours during them.

The internship consists of an in-depth, supervised clinical training experience. It is completed after the on-campus curriculum and prior to graduation. The student must accrue a minimum of 1,020 clinical training hours during internship. Students apply for an internship site from the institution's roster of affiliated internships or from the national roster of American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) approved internship sites.

Students are eligible to apply for internship when they have satisfactorily completed 100 credits of the music therapy curriculum, 120 hours of pre-internship clinical practicum, and are within two semesters of completing the on-campus curricular requirements. The application process requires a Letter of Internship Eligibility from the director of the music therapy program in which they are enrolled. After satisfactory completion of 100 credits of music therapy curriculum and 120 hours of pre-internship clinical practicum, failure to progress toward satisfactory completion of the 128-credit on-campus curriculum, including the completion of 180 hours of pre-internship clinical practicum and passed proficiency exams, will result in revocation of Letters of Internship Eligibility. Eligibility to apply for internship will be reinstated after the student has satisfactorily completed the on-campus curriculum including 180 hours of practicum and passed proficiency exams.

Students are eligible to attend internship when they have satisfactorily completed the on-campus curriculum, including the completion of a minimum of 180 hours of pre-internship clinical practica. Students who have applied to internship, been accepted, but not completed the on-campus curriculum before an internship start date, including the completion of 180 hours of pre-internship clinical practica and passed proficiency exams, will be required to forfeit any internship offers until the work has been completed. Letters of Internship Eligibility will be revoked until completion of the above is documented. Eligibility to apply for internship will be reinstated after the student has satisfactorily completed the on-campus curriculum including 180 hours of pre-internship clinical practicum and passed proficiency exams.

Eligibility for and acceptance to internship is not guaranteed. Dissolution of an internship agreement with an internship director on the basis of a student's conduct or state of health will result in disenrollment from the program. Students must complete the internship within two years of completing the on-campus curriculum.

Graduation and Board Certification

Students are eligible to walk at graduation ceremonies when they have completed all degree requirements except Music Therapy Internship (MUTH 400) and have submitted at least four applications to internships and/or procured an internship. Students are eligible to receive the Bachelor of Science in Music Therapy and sit for the Board Certification Examination for Music Therapists upon successful completion of the on-campus curriculum and a minimum of 1,200 hours of clinical training. The board certification examination is designed and administered by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT). If the exam is passed, the credential earned is Music Therapist-Board Certified (MT-BC).

Completion of this degree prepares students for a career using music therapy within a variety of clinical settings, including community health centers, general hospitals, rehabilitation centers, hospice care facilities, schools, facilities serving persons with mental and/or physical disabilities, private practice, consultative work, and/or further graduate study.