Information for Graduate Students
Exit Procedures

Application for Advanced Degree

Graduate Students must initiate the process for degree conferral by submitting an "Application for Advanced Degree" to the Office of Graduate Studies. Further information can be found at: http://www.udel.edu/gradoffice/current/advanceddegree.pdf

Oral Examination

Students in the Performance Concentration, the Composition Concentration, and those students in the Teaching Concentration who chose a Professional Improvement Project instead of a Thesis are required to pass an oral examination in order to receive their degree. In the exam the student will demonstrate the ability to speak articulately and intelligently about various aspects of music.

Students in the Teaching Concentration who chose a Thesis rather than a Professional Improvement Project defend their Thesis in lieu of an oral exam.

Scheduling of the exam

The exam takes place during the last semester of study, at least three weeks before the last day of classes.

If the student completes his/her course work during Winter Session, the oral exam takes place during Spring Semester. If the student completes his/her course work during one of the Summer Sessions and wishes to have the degree confirmed in August, s/he must take the oral exam during the previous Spring Semester.

The student is responsible for scheduling the exam and reserving a room from the Music Office staff. The exam date must be determined not less than two weeks in advance. The student gives the date of the exam to the Graduate Coordinator once it is determined.

Exam committee

Students are responsible for obtaining three faculty members to hear their exam.

For those in the Performance Concentration and the Composition Concentration, these are: the student's Private Study instructor, one faculty member whose primary teaching load is in a non-performance area, and one additional faculty member of the student's choice.

For those in the Teaching Concentration having completed a Professional Improvement Project, these are: the faculty member who guided the Professional Improvement Project, one faculty member whose primary teaching load is in a non-performance area, and one additional faculty member of the student's choice.

The student gives the names of the faculty members to the Graduate Coordinator.

Each faculty member gives the student either a topic or up to three questions to consider and be prepared to speak about at the exam. These questions or topics are given to the student at least 14 days prior to the exam date.

Exam procedure

The student may not have written notes for the exam.

The Private Study instructor is responsible for welcoming the student at the beginning of the exam, and explaining the following exam procedure to the student.

The exam is scheduled for 45 minutes. At the end of the exam, the student is asked to leave the room briefly, and the faculty committee determines the result of the exam. There are three possible results: pass, fail, or partial pass. (See next section.) The student re-enters the exam room and is told the result.

The student must pass all portions in order to pass the exam. The exam is considered in three portions, corresponding to the topics or questions provided by the three faculty members on the exam committee.

Recourse if the student does not pass

If the student fails one or two portions of the exam, s/he may re-take those portions within 10 days. The student is responsible for determining the date and time of the retake exam, taking into account the availability of the faculty members. The same three faculty members hear the retake exam, and the student is expected to speak on the same topic or questions as in the original exam.

If the student fails all three portions of the exam, s/he must register for Master's Sustaining: Non-thesis (UNIV 895) and retake the examination the following semester. In this case the faculty committee will be the same, but the student will be given new questions or topics.

Students must pass all portions of the exam by the second attempt in order to be awarded the degree.

Sample Questions