Academic Policies, Goals, and Outcomes

Academic Policies

School of Music Repeating Courses Policy

The Mary Pappert School of Music follows the Duquesne University Repeating Courses Policy for all programs, with the exception of the Music Education and Music Therapy Department. Their course repeat policy specifies that students must also earn a B or better in all MUED and MUTH courses in order to pass that course.

Ensemble Credit Policy

Large Ensembles Code Type

Small Ensembles Code Type

*See voice tally sheet for specific ensemble requirements and restrictions.

Other Ensembles Code Type

Chamber Ensembles Code Type

Chamber Ensembles coded courses meet 50 minutes/week if enrollment is 5 or fewer students. If enrollment is 6 or more students, Chamber Ensembles coded courses meet 100 minutes/week.

Chamber Music Class Code Type

• Undergraduate Music Education Majors must take seven semesters of courses listed in bold. Students should also refer to the Undergraduate Handbook for Music Teacher Certification for additional details.
• Undergraduate Music Therapy Majors must take six semesters of courses listed in bold related to the student's primary instrument and two semesters of choral ensemble in the senior year.
• Undergraduate Music Performance Majors must take eight semesters of courses listed in bold; Music Performance Majors whose primary instrument is guitar must take four semesters of courses listed in bold and four semesters in ensembles of their choice in consultation with faculty advisors.
• Undergraduate Music Technology Majors must take four semesters of courses listed in bold and four semesters in ensembles of their choice in consultation with faculty advisors.
• B.A. in Music students must take four total semesters of ensembles, two of which must come from those listed in bold.

Note: Some of the ensembles listed above require an audition for entrance. Specific degree programs may also require additional ensembles. Please refer to the degree tally sheet for details.

Applied Lesson Policy

Every music major will receive 14 weeks of lessons and perform a jury or recital each semester of applied study. The following formula is used for both Undergraduate and Graduate Applied Lessons:

Two Credits = 14, 60-minute weekly lessons (840 total minutes), plus a jury or recital
One Credit = 14, 30-minute weekly lessons (420 total minutes), plus a jury or recital

Undergraduate Requirements:

• Performance Majors: eight semesters on primary instrument, two credits per semester
• Music Education Majors: six semesters on primary instrument, two credits per semester. Additional semesters of lessons may be taken if student's schedule permits.
• Music Therapy Majors: four semesters on primary instrument; one semester of one-credit voice lessons, if the student is not a voice major. Three additional semesters of lessons may be taken beyond the five required semesters if the student's schedule permits.
• Music Technology (Sound Recording): eight semesters on primary instrument, two credits per semester. In the senior year, the student has the option to participate in applied instrumental study or applied audio study.
• Music Technology (Composition for Media): four semesters of applied study on primary instrument, two credits per semester, followed by four semesters of composition for media studies, two credits per semester.
• Bachelor of Arts: four semesters of one-credit lessons on primary instrument; additional semesters of lessons may be taken if student's schedule permits.
• Music Minor: two total credits of applied study on primary instrument

Additional Applied Study Options (with the permission of the instructor, Area Coordinator, Department Chair, and Dean)

• Undergraduate Performance-Jazz Emphasis majors may take two credits of lessons, dividing those into two, 1-credit lessons each in classical and jazz.
• Undergraduate Performance, Music Education, and Music Technology majors may take two credits of lessons, dividing those into two, 1-credit lessons each in classical and jazz. (See procedure below regarding dividing lessons.)
• Undergraduate organ majors may take an additional two semesters of 1-credit lessons in applied piano.
• Undergraduate voice majors may take up to two additional credits of piano (one credit maximum/semester) upon successful completion of group piano classes.
• In exceptional cases, piano and voice majors may take an additional 1-credit of lessons in jazz in addition to their 2-credit lesson on their primary instrument. These requests must be approved in advance of registration by the individuals mentioned above.
• Requests not covered by the above situations must be submitted to the Associate Dean for formal approval, once the instructor, Area Coordinator, and Department Chair have given their approvals.

Students interested in dividing 2-credit lessons into two, 1-credit lessons each in classical and jazz, must first submit a Division of Applied Lessons Form to the Performance Department Chair. The chair will then discuss the request with the applied instructor, the faculty advisor, degree Program Director or appropriate chair, and the Jazz Area Coordinator. The student will be notified in writing whether the request is approved or not.

Degree Recital Policies and Procedures

Students should refer to the syllabus for their specific recital to find the requirements related to repertoire, program length, and any other area-specific requirements. The recital scheduling process is found at duq.edu/recitals.

Please see the Academic Policies section of the University Catalog for all other academic policies and procedures.

Incomplete (“I”) Grades

An incomplete grade ("I") is a temporary grade given when neither a passing nor failing grade can be determined because of incomplete coursework due to extreme and unforeseen extenuating circumstances. To be considered for an I grade, the student should have completed a majority of coursework and attended a majority of classes in the course. Upon assigning the I grade, the instructor should provide the student with a delimited set of coursework requirements to complete to be assigned a final grade. As such, it should be unnecessary for students to attend the same class in a subsequent semester in order to make up incomplete work.

For all music courses, students must request an I grade by completing the Incomplete Grade Request Form which can be found on the Student Success page on DORI (duq.edu/MusicStudents). Prior to completing this form, students should review the full Incomplete Grade Policy in the University Catalog. The student, with specific guidance from the course instructor, must fill out the entire form and then gain approvals from all individuals as listed in the table at the end of the form. These approvals should be obtained through an email that is sent from the student to all parties with the form attached, with each faculty member or administrator using the “reply all” feature. Students will not be granted an incomplete grade without prior approval from all individuals (instructor of the course, faculty advisor, Department Chair/Program Director, Associate Dean). Once email approvals from the instructor, faculty advisor, and Department Chair/Program Director are obtained, the Associate Dean may require a meeting with the student. The Associate Dean will “reply all” with a final decision regarding an Incomplete grade.

The timing of an Incomplete Grade request should ideally occur prior to the start of final exams, although unforeseen extenuating circumstances may prevent that. For any music course, instructors are not permitted to enter an I grade for any student unless the form is completed and submitted appropriately. The only exception to this is if extenuating circumstances prevent a student from completing the form. In that case, the instructor must communicate via email with the Associate Dean with a cc to the student regarding the need to enter an I grade and include the following:

• Student name
• Course name
• Reason for I grade, including any documentation supporting unforeseen extenuating circumstances
• Student’s current grade in the course
• List of assignments/work to be completed, including original due dates and new due dates
• Date the instructor will submit the final grade for the student whether or not all work is completed (date must be before deadline indicated on university calendar)
• For these exceptions, the Associate Dean will respond to the faculty member and student with a final decision regarding an Incomplete Grade for the course.

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Program Goals & Outcomes