School of Music Graduate Student Proficiency Exam
Online proficiency tests in music theory and/or musicology are required for most new graduate students in the School of Music as indicated below.
You must have a BU email address (Kerberos account) in order to access the tests.
Students are requested to take the proficiency exam within three weeks of receiving their BU account.
Who is required to take the Proficiency Exams?
- Master of Music (MM) in Performance, Conducting, Historical Performance and Composition: theory exam only
- Master of Arts (MA) in Music Theory: theory exam only
- Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Performance, Conducting, Historical Performance and Composition: both theory and musicology exams. Exception: DMA students who completed their MM degree at BU are only required to take the musicology exam.
- Musicology & Ethnomusicology students (PhD and MA): your faculty academic advisor will contact you about your requirements.
MM and DMA Music Education, Performance Diploma, Artist Diploma and Opera Institute students are not required to take these exams
Things to know prior to taking the exam
- You must have a BU email account and Kerberos password in order to access the exams. If you missed the e-mail invitation or are have trouble setting up your BU ID and/or password, please contact ithelp@bu.edu.
- You can take the exam(s) from anywhere with an internet connection.
- Please note that not all students need to take both exams, please see above for program requirements.
- You may not retake the proficiency exam. Please plan accordingly.
- It is extremely important that you complete your exam(s) entirely on your own, without consulting anyone else, any print materials or any other online resources. It is in your own best interest to be honest, as these tests will help us determine if you need to take theory and/or musicology review courses before proceeding to graduate coursework.
- If the results of your proficiency exam(s) determine that you must take a review course (see below), please note that these courses do not carry graduate credit and therefore they cannot be applied toward the degree.
- You will receive your exam results and discuss them with your faculty advisor prior to the start of school. The results will have a bearing on your course registration.
Music Theory Exam Details
All Boston University School of Music Graduate Students are required to have a working knowledge of Western music theory. The exam covers basic harmony, interval identification, tonal and post-tonal analysis, chord structures, counterpoint, part-writing and terminology. The exam is split into a 1-hour Part I for placement in MT401 (Graduate Music Theory Review); a 45-minute Part II for recommendation in MT601 (Analytical Techniques I), and a 30-minute Part III for recommendation in MT602 (Analytical Techniques II). You can take these parts separately, but you only have one chance at each, without the opportunity for a break.
Format
The exam is split into the following parts:
- Part I (1-hour) for placement in MT401 (Graduate Music Theory Review)
- Part II (45-minutes) for recommendation in MT601 (Analytical Techniques I)
- Part III (30-minutes) for recommendation in MT602 (Analytical Techniques II)
- You can take these parts separately, but you only have one chance at each, without the opportunity for a break.
Scoring
- In order to place out of MT401, Graduate Music Theory Review, you must achieve a minimum score of 80% on Part I of the exam. If you score less than 80%, you will be required to complete MT401 with a grade of B- or higher before moving on to any graduate (600-level or higher) music theory courses.
- Your score on Parts II and III of the exam will be used to recommend what graduate-level theory courses you may take (MT601, MT602, or higher-level courses). This will be clearly outlined on your exam results, which you will discuss with your advisor. But again, you cannot proceed to graduate theory courses until you have successfully completed MT401, if you are required to take this review class as per your proficiency exam results.
- You may not retake the proficiency exam. Please plan accordingly.
Musicology Exam Details
A basic working knowledge of Western music history is expected for Boston University School of Music students.
Format
- The exam is in two parts, corresponding to the range of a typical two-semester undergraduate survey of the period from the Middle Ages to the present. Both parts consist of a series of 20 multiple choice questions.
Results
- Depending on the strengths and weaknesses that are revealed by the exam, you may be advised to take either MH401, Graduate Music History Review I, or MH402, Graduate Music History Review II.
Accessing the Exams
You will receive an email to notify you of when your Proficiency Exam Testing Window will take place. Students will be have a two week time frame to complete the exam. Please be sure to mark your calendar and allocate enough time in your schedule to complete your proficiency exam requirements within your assigned window of time.
After you’ve been notified of your testing window, you can log onto the Blackboard site, where you will click on the link(s) for your required test(s): School of Music Graduate Music Theory Proficiency Exam 2023 and/or School of Music Graduate Musicology Proficiency Exam 2023. Directions for taking the exam(s) will appear on the screen. You must “sign” the academic originality agreement to see the tests. Please note: you will only see your required tests after being notified by e-mail by the School of Music of your testing window.
Please contact Barbara Raney at braney@bu.edu if you still aren’t sure which test you need to take, have trouble taking the test(s) or if any of the above information is unclear.
The last possible date to take the exam is May 17, 2023.