School of Music, Art, and Theatre (Graduate Studies)

Bergman (dean), Davids (music chair, MMP VAE/KAC track director), Kim (MMP VAS/KAVC track director), Lill, Zelle

There are four tracks in the Master of Music in Performance: Vocal Arts Solo(VAS), Vocal Arts Ensemble(VAE), Keyboard Arts Vocal Coaching(KAVC), and Keyboard Arts Conducting(KAC). The mission of the graduate program is to prepare students for lives of significance and service through professions in music including performing and teaching.

Entrance Requirements

The graduate programs in music require the completion of a bachelor’s degree with an accumulation of at least 120 sh of credits and an audition appropriate to a graduate performance degree.

An undergraduate cumulative grade point average should be at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. However, if the talent portion of the audition warrants it, a student with less than a 3.0 may be accepted provisionally. Provisional acceptance limits the first-year enrollment to no more than 8 sh per semester, during which success must be demonstrated before full acceptance is granted. Full acceptance will be determined by the director of the specific program at the end of the first year.

The degrees are designed to serve students with music degrees, although other degrees may be accepted. Students without a bachelor’s degree in music but who pass the audition will be required to take specific undergraduate music courses as prerequisites to the graduate coursework. The particular courses to be taken will be determined by advisement, taking into consideration previous training and music entrance test results.

Prerequisites and Exams

Any course listed below which has not been completed or in which the student has not passed the entrance test is considered a deficiency and must be made up as early in the program as possible. The completion of some deficiencies may be required for enrollment in certain graduate classes.

Theory: Two years of undergraduate theory with demonstrated competency. A competency test in Musical Analysis may be required if a previously taken analysis course is proposed to substitute for the required Applications in Musical Analysis, MUS 5300. If a student has taken an analysis course and proposes to substitute the course for the required Applications in Musical Analysis, MUS 5300, the student must take a competency test in analysis. Efforts to pass the proficiency may mean continued registrations in a Music Theory class or AMUS 5005 (Applied Theory/Sight Singing Tutorial) by advisement, depending on test results.
Aural Skills: Two years of undergraduate study with demonstrated competency; all students must take entrance tests in Aural Skills. Proficiency comparable to North Park’s Level III, fluency in sight singing of diatonic melodies with small and large skips and including complex rhythmic elements, must be demonstrated in a comprehensive test. Proficiency must be attained before the degree can be completed. Efforts to pass the proficiency may mean continued registrations in an Aural Skills class or AMUS 5005 (Applied Theory/Sight Singing Tutorial) by advisement, depending on test results. The test can be taken no more than once a semester.
Music History: One year minimum including the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods.
Language: A minimum of one year of German, French, or Italian language study is required; must be approved by the director of the specific track.
Diction: Demonstrated competency in English/Latin, Spanish, Italian, German, and French diction. Students who have studied Lyric Diction in one or more languages, and who feel they are proficient at a master's level (including the IPA), may take a placement test to determine if they can pass out of one or more sections of the Lyric Diction requirement.
Writing: All students must write an essay on site during orientation week. Students who do not demonstrate writing skill commensurate with graduate study will be advised for remedial courses or works.

In addition, entrance tests may be required if previous coursework in a particular area cited above was completed more than five years before or if grades received for this work were not at the B level or higher.

Admission, Financial Aid, and Registration:

Admission Requirements

Completed application
Three recommendations
Official transcripts from all previously attended institutions
Audition and Interview
Optional FAFSA form for financial aid
Additional admission requirements for international students can be found under "Admission Policy for Graduate Students"

Financial Aid

Graduate music scholarships may be granted on the basis of previous academic work, vocal audition/interview and recommendations.

Some scholarships may include a percentage reduction of tuition and/or an assistantship, which requires several hours of work per week with the music department. Scholarships are only granted for officially accepted students with full-time enrollment in at least the first year, the residency year. However, the reduction may continue for up to five years beyond the residency year with either full or part-time enrollments. Assistantship requirements continue for two years, with completion of at least 26 semester hours of courses required for the degree; or for three years if fewer than 26 semester hours were completed.

Registration

Registration can be accomplished in person or online after the following have been processed:

All the admission requirements are met (see above)
An NPU letter of acceptance has been sent to the student along with a contract
The student must return a signed contract and a $200 tuition deposit by the due date given in order to confirm the student’s acceptance and to hold a place for him/her in the program. This deposit is non-refundable within 12 weeks of the beginning of the first semester of study.

After accepting and making the tuition deposit, the student should do the following:

Contact the director of the specific track for consultation and registration approval.
Create a North Park computer account. Using your student identification number provided to you by the School of Music, Art, and Theatre Recruiter, go to https://www.northpark.edu/Account-Management.aspx and follow the prompts.
Once your account is set up, and you have been cleared by the director of the specific track, you may log into Self-Service Student Planning and register for classes. Visit http://www.northpark.edu, click on “My NPU” and then “Self-Service Student Planning.”

Student at Large Registrations

Students may register for graduate classes in the School of Music, Art, and Theatre without officially applying. However, an informal audition will be required to assess readiness for the master’s level. The standard tuition rates will apply. At a later point in time, the student may initiate a formal application/audition process to determine official candidacy.

To initiate a Student at Large registration, an application and transcripts must be submitted. Registration must then be completed by advisement with the director of the specific track. Recommendations are not required at the time of registration, but will be required if and when a formal application/audition is initiated. The application fee for this formal application will be waived.

Applied study for credit requires concurrent registration of academic coursework with a total registration of no more than five semester hours of credit. Student at Large students must plan carefully so that there are enough remaining requirements to constitute a year of residency, two consecutive semesters, minimum of 8 semester hours each.

Student at large credits are potentially transferable as they are documented on official transcripts. If official entrance into the North Park program commences within five years of all Student at Large registrations, all Student at Large coursework with a minimum of 3.0 grade will apply to the graduate program pending official acceptance into the program. Applied registrations may also apply, but must meet a level of attainment consistent with advanced placement in the program, to be determined at the official audition.

Being accepted as a student at large does not guarantee acceptance as an official candidate for the graduate program.

Continuing Requirements:

Residency

One year (two consecutive semesters) of fulltime enrollment (a minimum of 8 credits per semester) is required to establish residency and to be eligible for aid/assistantships in the first year. Beyond that, the student may choose to make part-time enrollments of their choice and number. The program must be finished within six (6) years.

Employment

During full-time enrollments of 8 credits or more, students must limit work outside of school.

The student must submit a work schedule to the director of the specific program if such work is to consume more than 15 hours per week for assistantship holders or 20 hours per week for students without an assistantship. Work schedules must be flexible enough not to interfere with commitments required of the graduate program or the quality of time put into study and practice.

Academics

All students must maintain a B average in order to continue in the program. No grades of D or below are accepted.

Students need to gain faculty approval from the director of the specific program to register for more than 10 credits in a single semester.

A 3.9 GPA is required to graduate with distinction.

Reviews

Ongoing assessments of the progress of graduate students are made through juries, exams, papers, and performances as detailed in the Music Student Handbook, and monitored by the director of the specific track. Issues addressed in the ongoing assessments will include progress in all aspects of the program, including work ethic, preparedness, dependability, attitude, and performance history at North Park.