Examination & Graduation Information

Exam Dates

The Diagnostic Exam in Music History and Piano is offered the week prior to classes starting each fall and spring semester. See upcoming dates on the School of Music Graduate Calendar.

Music History Diagnostic Exam

Students admitted to the MM (except MM-Opera), DMA, PhD-Theory, and PhD-Musicology programs are required to take the School’s graduate diagnostic exams or meet those pre-requisite requirements in the following ways:

• Pass all sections of the Diagnostic Examinations in Music History (3 total attempts);
• Complete the review course (400-level) for any section deemed deficient; or
• Complete the graduate-level equivalency course for any section deemed deficient.

Students who received a bachelor’s or master’s degree from KU within the last 4 years are exempt from this requirement. 

Piano Majors Only 

All incoming piano graduate students must take the diagnostic exam in piano literature.  The exam will cover the breadth of piano literature, including listening, from 1600-present. Please contact Dr. Rachel Wilder for more information about this exam, rwilder@ku.edu. 

Students who do not pass this exam are required to satisfy the deficiency by enrolling in PIAN 743, PIAN 744, PIAN 746, PIAN 747, and/or PIAN 921 sections as recommended by the Piano Area Coordinator and faculty advisor. If you have questions regarding the Piano Literature Diagnostic Exam or want further information, contact the Piano Area Coordinator.

Exam Grading

Each section is evaluated as Satisfactory (S), Review (R), or Deficient (D). If Satisfactory (S), no remedial work is required. If you receive a Review (R) grade, it is considered a pass, but you are strongly encouraged to review the material on your own before your oral exams. If Deficient (D), you must remediate the deficiency by completing a review course or graduate-level course.

Remediation of Diagnostic Deficiencies

If a student is found deficient (D) in one or more areas of the diagnostic exam, the student either (a) retakes the diagnostic exam section only in the failed area(s), or (b) earns a grade of C or better in the appropriate courses listed below to clear the deficiency.

Deficiencies must be remediated as soon as possible, preferably by the end of the second semester of enrollment and must be cleared before the student will be eligible for graduation. If a student has not cleared all deficiencies by the end of the fourth semester of enrollment, the student is placed on academic probation and may be dismissed from the program. 

The above is the only avenue for students to clear deficiencies. Independent study is not permissible, nor will diagnostic exams be made available to students outside of the opportunities scheduled before each fall and spring semester.

Music History 

Undergraduate Review Courses - Note: These courses meet deficiencies, but do not count toward graduate credit hours. 

Fall Course Listing:
MUSC 474: Graduate Review: Medieval (1 credit; offered 1st third of the semester)
MUSC 475: Graduate Review: Renaissance (1 credit; offered 2nd third of the semester)
MUSC 476: Graduate Review: Baroque (1 credit; offered 3rd third of the semester)

Spring Course Listing:
MUSC 477: Graduate Review: Classic (1 credit; offered 1st third of the semester)
MUSC 478: Graduate Review: Romantic (1 credit; offered 2nd third of the semester)
MUSC 479: Graduate Review: 20th-21st Century (1 credit; offered 3rd third of the semester)

Graduate-Level Review Courses*

Fall:

MUSC 752: Music of the Middle Ages (3 credit hrs; offered fall in odd years)
MUSC 753: Music of the Renaissance (3 credit hrs; offered fall in even years)
MUSC 757: Music of the Twentieth Century (3 credit hrs; offered fall in even years)

Spring: 

MUSC 756: Music of the Romantic Era (3 credit hrs; offered spring in even years)
MUSC 754: Music of the Baroque Era (3 credit hrs; offered spring in odd years)

*Note: There is no graduate-level equivalency course for Classical. Students can only meet this deficiency with MUSC 477 (offered in spring semester).

Textbooks appropriate for review include:

• Mark Evan Bonds, A History of Music In Western Culture
• Richard L. Crocker, A History of Musical Style
• J. Peter Burkholder, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music
• David Poultney, Studying Music History: Learning, Reasoning, and Writing about Music History and Literature
• Douglass Seaton, Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition
• K. Marie Stolba, The Development of Western Music: A History

The Doctoral Qualifying Examinations are School of Music exams that must be passed before taking the Oral Comprehensive Examination. You must have satisfied all diagnostic deficiencies before you are eligible to sit for these exams. The DMA Written Qualifying Examinations have three components: Major Field, Music Theory, and Music History. Additional information about these exams can be found in School of Music Handbooks.

PhD-Musicology, PhD-Theory, and DMA-Composition students should discuss the components of their Written Qualifying Exams with their advisors.

Exam Dates

The Qualifying Exams in Music History and Music Theory (only required for doctoral students excluding Music Education & Music Therapy) is offered each fall and spring semester. See upcoming dates on the School of Music Graduate Calendar. 

Major Field Qualifying Examination

This exam is scheduled within your program area. Students planning to complete the Major Field Qualifying Exam should contact their Area Coordinator or Faculty Advisor for more information.

Music Theory Doctoral Qualifying Examination

This exam is administered in Canvas. If you have questions about the exam, please contact Dr. Scott Murphy at sbmurphy@ku.edu. 

Music History Doctoral Qualifying Examination

This exam is administered in-person over the course of one day (with a scheduled lunch break). If you have questions about the exam, please contact Dr. Martin Nedbal at mnedbal@ku.edu.  

The School of Music Graduate Coordinator, program faculty, and students each play a major role in the graduation process. It is important to understand the roles and responsibilities that each unit plays in the graduation process:

Students

Students should utilize the degree timelines, the graduation checklist and Academic Calendar as a guide to all enrollment and degree requirements and deadlines. While faculty and staff make every effort to provide information and assistance, it is ultimately the student's responsibility to ensure that all degree requirements have been met and that necessary documentation is submitted by the semester deadline for degree completion.

It is also the student’s responsibility to schedule academic milestones (i.e. final exams and defenses) at least 3 weeks in advance of the date of the exam. This is done by contacting the Graduate Coordinator at musicgrad@ku.edu with your completed exam authorization form which includes the exam type, time, location, and committee members. The 3-week timeline provides ample time for both the faculty advisor and the Graduate Coordinator to approve degree eligibility and process exam outcomes. Failure to schedule academic milestones at least 3 weeks in advance can result in delaying or canceling the final exam/defense, thus delaying graduation.

Program Faculty

Faculty provide confirmation to the Dean’s staff that all degree requirements have been met by pre-approving the exam authorization, and work with individual faculty to resolve any outstanding grade issues. Faculty Advisors and Committee Chairs must also observe the universities deadline to submit outcomes of final exams/defenses and final grades in Enroll & Pay for the University Registrar to process the degree conferral. 

School of Music Graduate Coordinator

The Graduate Coordinator reviews a student’s academic file to ensure the degree check sheets are completed by the graduation deadline(s) for a given semester, which can be found on the Academic Calendar or on the Graduate Studies webpage. Any requirement not submitted or submitted after the deadline will cause the student's graduation to be postponed to a later semester and may require additional enrollment.  In addition to the check sheet items, the Graduate Coordinator verifies final degree certification in the following ways:

1. The resolution of any Incomplete, Missing, or Waiting grades;
2. Final GPA of 3.0 or above after all grades post (this takes place after the graduation deadline);
3. Verifies a complete Degree Check Sheet (course and performance requirements met);
4. Satisfactory completion of the final exam or defense;
5. Submission of the thesis or dissertation if applicable (initial uploading of thesis or dissertation to ProQuest); and
6. Submission of required graduation checklist items as determined by degree type.

All graduation requirements for graduate students vary by degree:

Doctoral Degree Requirements (PhD and DMA)

1. “Apply to Graduate” for the correct semester in Enroll & Pay.
   • Log into Enroll & Pay. After logging in, click on Degree Progress/Graduation, then click on KU Apply for Graduation.
   • If you applied for a previous semester, you must re-apply (no penalty or cost to reapply).

2. Schedule your final examination or presentation with your Advisory Committee at least three weeks in advance by submitting the Exam Authorization Form to musicgrad@ku.edu. Note: failing to schedule your final examination or defense three weeks prior may be grounds for canceling or delaying your exam, which may push your graduation to a later term.

     3. Review your Degree Progress Check Sheet with your faculty advisor or committee chair.

• Please make sure all classes that count towards your degree are included and correct. Do not include coursework with a grade of "C- or below" as meeting graduate degree requirements. If you have any incomplete (I) or waiting grades (WG) from previous semesters, please contact your instructor to request those be changed. Note: Incomplete grades revert to an "F" after one academic year.

4. Upon successfully passing your final exam or defense, send the following degree requirements to musicgrad@ku.edu:

• KU ScholarWorks Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Release Form;
• The certificate of completion of the Doctoral Student Completion Survey; and
• Signed Title Page and Acceptance Pages of your dissertation (can be an electronic copy or scan). Please note ALL committee members must sign the title page; only your chair must sign the acceptance page. You may combine multiple signed pages (not all signatures need to be on the same page) if needed, but it is your responsibility to ensure all signatures are collected and submitted by the graduation deadline.

5. Upload the unsigned PDF copy of your dissertation online (instructions) through UMI ProQuest. Note: The Office of Graduate Studies houses the official formatting requirements for theses and dissertations. Although students may find the general content layout of previous theses or dissertations helpful, students should not use the formatting from an old thesis or dissertation, since formatting instructions may change from year to year. Current formatting guidelines for dissertations can also be found on the Graduate Studies website. 
6. Complete the School of Music Post-Graduation Survey upon completion of your degree or within 6 months of degree completion.

Master’s Degree Requirements

All Students:

1. “Apply to Graduate” for the correct semester in Enroll & Pay
   • Log into Enroll & Pay. After logging in, click on Degree Progress/Graduation, then click on KU Apply for Graduation.
   • If you applied for a previous semester, you must re-apply.
2. Schedule your final examination or presentation with your department program coordinator at least three weeks in advance by submitting the Exam Authorization Form to musicgrad@ku.edu. Note: failing to schedule your final examination or defense three weeks prior may be grounds for canceling or delaying your exam, which may push your graduation to a later term.
3. Complete the School of Music Post-Graduation Survey upon completion of your degree or within 6 months of degree completion.

Thesis Students Only:

3. Review your Degree Progress Check Sheet with your faculty advisor or committee chair.
   • Please make sure all classes that count towards your degree are included and correct. Do not include coursework with a grade of "C- or below" as meeting graduate degree requirements. If you have any incomplete (I) or waiting grades (WG) from previous semesters, please contact your instructor or department assistant to get those changed. Note: Incomplete grades revert to an "F" after one academic year.

4. Upon successfully passing your final exam or defense, send the following degree requirements to musicgrad@ku.edu:
   • KU ScholarWorks Electronic Theses and Dissertations Release form.
   • Signed Title Page and Acceptance Pages of your thesis (can be an electronic copy or scan). Please note ALL committee members must sign the title page; only your chair must sign the acceptance page. You may combine multiple signed pages (not all signatures need to be on the same page) if needed, but it is your responsibility to ensure all signatures are collected and submitted by the graduation deadline. 
5. Upload the unsigned PDF copy of your dissertation online (instructions) through UMI ProQuest (*if completing a thesis). Note: that the Office of Graduate Studies houses the official formatting requirements for theses and dissertations. Although students may find the general content layout of previous theses or dissertations helpful, students should not use the formatting from an old thesis or dissertation, since formatting instructions may change from year to year. Current formatting guidelines for theses can also be found on the Graduate Studies website.

Graduate Certificate Requirements

1. “Apply to Graduate” for the correct semester in Enroll & Pay.
   • Log into Enroll & Pay. After logging in, click on Degree Progress/Graduation, then click on KU Apply for Graduation.
   • If you applied for a previous semester, you must re-apply.

Can I submit a PDF or scanned copies of graduation requirements online or am I required to submit them in-person?

All materials can be completed electronically and submitted via email to musicgrad@ku.edu. All graduating students are required to complete the graduation checklist items (listed above for each degree type), per the instructions above.

What is an embargo, and should I place one on my work?

Embargoes are generally advised if you have a publishing agreement for your entire manuscript, have a patent pending or if your research is of a sensitive nature. Embargoes can only be granted with the signature endorsement of your Graduate Director on your ETD Release form. By signing, your director agrees that your submission will be held from public access for up to 2 years.  More information about embargoes can be found here.

What is copyrighting and should I register a copyright for my work?

Your work is already protected, but you may choose to have UMI ProQuest register copyright on your behalf with the Library of Congress (for a fee).  Please see KU Libraries' information on copyright and image copyright for more information.

When will I get my official diploma?

Diplomas will not be available until the middle of the following semester (see Academic Calendar for actual date). You will be notified when your diploma is available for pick-up.  You may also have your diploma mailed to you by selecting this option when you complete the online Application for Graduation or online through the Registrar's website.

How can I obtain my diploma or transcript earlier than the posted date?

Diplomas are processed by the Registrar’s office after grades post for the semester you graduate (see Academic Calendar for specific dates). Diplomas are ordered after that date and shipped to the Registrar’s office to be dispersed. If there are extenuating circumstances which require a diploma or transcript prior to the posted dates, you should first ascertain if a Statement of Forthcoming Degree will meet your needs. If a Statement of Forthcoming Degree is not sufficient, you can make a request to musicgrad@ku.edu and the Graduate Coordinator will work with the University Registrar to petition an expedited process (FacEx Appeal).

Which companies provide binding services?

Please visit the Graduate Studies website for recommended binding companies. One local company that also provides soft-bound copies is Printing Solutions.

Will the Graduate Coordinator check my submission before the graduation deadline?

It is the student’s responsibility to file the thesis, dissertation, or DMA document by the Application for Graduation deadline, and ensure that it meets all ProQuest and University formatting guidelines. The Graduate Coordinator will verify that the initial submission has been completed prior to the deadline, as this is a requirement of graduation. The Graduate Coordinator also complete a basic formatting check as a courtesy to students. We make every effort to do this check before the degree verification process is complete, though an unusually large number of graduates may cause delays. If there are formatting changes needed, you will have two weeks to make those minor updates and submit a revised version. You will receive an email notification when your thesis or dissertation has been reviewed and the formatting approved and submitted for publishing.

Is there a special ceremony for doctoral degree candidates?

Yes. In addition to Commencement, all doctoral degree candidates are invited to participate in the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony each May. The Office of Graduate Studies coordinates the event. This event is intended for students who completed their degree by the spring graduation deadline (although students completing in summer may attend).

To participate in the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony, doctoral students must apply for graduation by March 1st. No exceptions will be granted. Applying for graduation by March 1st will ensure you get information about how to register for Hooding and complete necessary steps.

What do I wear to the graduation ceremony?

All students must wear a black cap and gown. Graduate students also wear a hood and a black tassel. Students should check with the KU Bookstore for information on specific regalia based on program of study.

How much is regalia and where can I purchase it?

All regalia may be purchased at any KU bookstore. All information regarding regalia can be found on the KU Commencement website.