The Music Department offers the following undergraduate degree programs:

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)

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. In addition, all students are required to take the Piano Proficiency Examination.

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:

The 25-credit B.A. degree: This degree is designed for students wishing to study music in the context of a general, liberal arts education, but not planning to pursue careers in the field. It may also be convenient for students who enter Hunter with a large number of transfer credits in music and wish to complete their degrees as quickly as possible.

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

The 42-credit B.A. degree: This degree is designed for students planning to pursue professional careers in music. It provides basic training in all areas of music and serves as a foundation for graduate study of any specialized aspect of the field.

Music History: MU-H 201, 205, 206, 305, and one of the following: MU-H 306, 352, or 353.
Music Theory: MU-T 220, 221, 230, 231, 320, 321, 330, 331.
Performance: 2 credits in MU-P 401; 2 credits in large ensembles (MU-P 221 or 231); and 2 credits in performance electives (MU-P 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 MU-P 401 and/or MU-P 402.

The 60-credit B.Mus. degree: This degree is designed for students planning to pursue careers as professional performers of music. It provides intensive instruction in the student's major instrument or voice, as well as solid training in music theory and history, and a broad, liberal arts education. Admission to this program is conditional on passing an audition (preferably before the student enters college) demonstrating a high level of skill in performance. Students accepted into this program must enroll at Hunter and begin taking private lessons (MU-P 431) within 12 months of the date of the audition. If they wish to enroll later, they must repeat the audition. Once they begin the program, they must remain in it without interruption and take private lessons (MU-P 431) every semester until they have completed the graduation recital. Exceptions to this policy require prior permission from the Undergraduate Adviser. Students who fail to register for lessons during a given semester without permission will be withdrawn from the program.

Music History: MU-H 201, 205, 206, 305, and one of the following: MU-H 306, 352, or 353.
Music Theory: MU-T 220, 221, 230, 231, 320, 321, 330, 331.
Private lessons: 18 credits in MU-P 431.
Performance ensembles: For instrumentalists--6 credits in instrumental ensembles (MU-P 231, 249, or 355). For singers--MU-P 368 and 5 credits in vocal ensembles (MU-P 221, 251, 353, or 369) of which a minimum of 2 credits must be in MU-P 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: This degree is designed for students entering college with an exceptionally strong background in music and wishing to complete both the B.A. and the M.A. degrees in the field. It enables students to count graduate courses toward both degrees, and thereby to complete both degrees in four or five years.

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. eligibility, click here. For information on M.A. requirements, click here.

The B.A./M.A. degree in Teacher Education (TEP): This degree is designed for students wishing to pursue careers as music teachers. It leads to permanent certification for teaching music in grades K-12 in New York State.

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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