A total of 120 credits is required for all degrees except the B.A./M.A. in Teacher Education, which requires 140. Students in all degree programs are required to fulfill the Hunter College general education requirement, summarized in the Undergraduate Catalog of Hunter College.

Transfer students must complete at least 50% of their major and minor requirements at Hunter College. They must earn a total of at least 30 credits at Hunter in order to qualify for a Hunter degree.

The major and minor requirements for each degree are as follows:

25-credit B.A. Degree     42-credit B.A. Degree     60-credit B.Mus Degree	B.A./M.A. degree in Humanities and Arts    B.A./M.A. degree in Teacher Education (TEP)
*All student are also required to take the Piano Proficiency Examination

The 25-credit B.A. degree:

Music History: MUSHL 201, 205, 206, 305, and one of the following: MUSHL 306, 352 or 353.
Music Theory: MUSTH 220, 221, 230, 231.
Performance: 2 credits in MUSPF 221 or 231.
Allied Minor: 12 credits in any field of study other than music.

The 42-credit B.A. degree:

Music History: MUSHL 201, 205, 206, 305, and one of the following: MUSHL 306, 352, or 353.
Music Theory: MUSTH 220, 221, 230, 231, 320, 321, 330, 331.
Performance: 2 credits in MUSPF 401; 2 credits in large ensembles (MUSPF 221 or 231); and 2 credits in performance electives (MUSPF 221, 231, 249, 251, 353, 355, 365, 369, or 401).
Electives: 3 credits in courses above the 100-level. No minor is required.
Juries: Each semester a jury examination is required of all students registered in MUSPF 401 and/or MUSPF 402.

The 60-credit B.Mus. degree:

Music History: MUSHL 201, 205, 206, 305, and one of the following: MUSHL 306, 352, or 353.
Music Theory: MUSTH 220, 221, 230, 231, 320, 321, 330, 331.
Private lessons: 18 credits in MUSPF 431.
Performance ensembles: For instrumentalists--6 credits in instrumental ensembles (MUSPF 231, 249, or 355).
For singers--MUSPF 368 and 5 credits in vocal ensembles (MUSPF 221, 251, 353, or 369) of which a minimum of 2 credits must be in MUSPF 369.
Electives: 3 credits in music courses above the 100-level.
Juries and Recitals: Each semester a jury examination is required of all students in this program. A graduation recital, for which no credit is given, is also required.

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The B.A./M.A. degree in Humanities and Arts:

The requirements for this degree are the same as those for the 42-credit B.A. plus those for the M.A. in music. For more information on B.A./M.A. eligiblity, click here. For information on M.A. requirements, click here.

The B.A./M.A. degree in Teacher Education (TEP):

The requirements for this degree are the same as those for the 42-credit B.A. plus those for the M.A. in T.E.P. For more information on B.A./M.A. eligibility, click here. For information on M.A. requirements, click here.

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Piano Proficiency Requirement

All music majors must demonstrate proficiency at the piano equivalent to one year of private or class piano study. The examination must be taken no later than the end of the semester in which the student takes MU-T 221 (normally the second semester in the major program). Passing the examination is a requirement for graduation and must be accomplished before a graduation audit form will be signed. Students entering Hunter with limited keyboard background must take MU-P 213-214 (Piano 1 and 2) for elective credit or private lessons in piano at their own expense. Students must pass all sections of the exam to fulfill the requirement. The minimum requirements for the Piano Proficiency Examination are as follows:

I. Scales:

Major: ALL major scales played hands together an octave apart; ascending and descending for one octave; correct fingering and hand position, quarter note = 80; in 4/4 meter
Minor: C,D,E,F,G,A, and B harmonic and melodic minor scales played hands together an octave apart; ascending and descending for one octave; correct fingering and hand position, quarter note = 80; in 4/4 meter

II. Chords:

Play any major or minor triad with inversions, in both blocked and broken forms, hands separately.

III. Arpeggios:

Play any major and minor triad and inversions hand-over-hand style.

IV. Two prepared pieces chosen by the student, as follows (memorization optional):

1. One work from the Baroque or Classical era. The selection should either be drawn from, or equivalent in level to at least one work listed below (more advanced repertoire is also permissible, and encouraged):

Bach: any selection from the Little Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
Clementi: Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 1 (any movement)
Haydn: any of the German Dances

2. One work from the Romantic era, or a piece written in the 20th/21st Century. The selection should either be drawn from, or equivalent in level to at least one work listed below (more advanced repertoire is also permissible, and encouraged):

Bartók: pieces from Mikrokosmos, Vols. 3 and 4
Burgmüller: any pieces from Twenty-Five Easy & Progressive Studies, Op. 100
Finney, Ross Lee: pieces from the 25 Inventions
Gillock: Aeolian Harp
Gillock: Rondo in Classic Style
Gretchaninov: movements from Glass Beads, Op. 123
Kabalevsky: selections from Children’s Pieces, Op. 27
Prokofiev: any pieces from Music for Children, Op. 65
Persichetti: pieces from Parades, Op. 57
Schumann: from Album for the Young, Op. 68: Nos. 6, 7, 8, 14 or 16
Tchaikovsky: easier pieces from Album for the Young, Op. 39

To select an exam date and to submit the titles of the prepared pieces, click here.
This piano proficiency exam registration form should be submitted at least two months prior to the date on which you plan to take the examination.

V. Sight-Reading:

A short piece or excerpt, to be selected by the examiner, equivalent in difficulty to easier works from the Little Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, or Bartók’s Mikrokosmos, Vol. 2 or 3.

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