MASTER OF MUSIC EDUCATION

Patti Tolbert, Coordinator
E-mail: patti.tolbert@gcsu.edu

MISSION

The mission of the Master of Music Education, as guided by the Department of Music and Theatre at Georgia College & State University, is to provide a full liberal arts education through a competency based academic and artistic curriculum. At the same time, the Department offers a wide range of opportunities to master the principles, skills and techniques necessary to be successful as practitioners and teachers in the performing arts. The Master of Music Education degree will not only allow students to continue to develop as musicians but also to expand and extend the study of the musical development of children and adolescents at an advanced level. The continuing education beyond the bachelor's level will give in-teachers and pre-service teachers the tools to add a dimension to student's lives found only through the arts.

REGULAR ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants for admission to the program leading to the Master of Music Education degree must comply with the general requirements of the University System and the University as described earlier in this catalog. Consideration for admission will be given to applicants who hold a baccalaureate degree in music education from a regionally accredited institution and who present evidence of probable success in graduate work. Other bachelor degrees in music can be considered on an individual basis but additional coursework may be required.

Admission requirements include:

• Requirements by the University: All applicants desiring to enroll in graduate classes are required to provide the Graduate Admissions Office official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate academic work taken from each college attended. In addition, an application for admission should be mailed to the Graduate Admissions Office or submitted online at /graduateadmissions/application.htm
• An interview with the music education committee
• A Georgia passing score on the GACE II test (or GRE )
• An audition for placement in the appropriate applied instruction (only if applied study is requested as an elective)
• A diagnostic test in theory and history or other subject as requested by the committee (only if taking theory or history)
• Two letters of recommendation from persons outside the University who have knowledge of the candidate's ability to work with children and adolescents and/or potential as a graduate student

The complete application, including all supporting documents, should be filed with the Graduate Admissions Office no later than April 1 of the year in which admission to the MMEd program is desired.

CONDITIONAL ADMISSION

Applicants who apply too late for full consideration for admission or who have not submitted all required documents for evaluation may be assigned conditional admission status. While in this status, a student may register for one semester only by completing a Georgia College & State University Conditional Registration Agreement for Graduate Students; this form requires the signatures of both the student and the graduate coordinator. Any student who registers under this agreement must be admitted either to regular or to provisional status by the end of the first semester of enrollment in order to continue taking courses in the degree program.

Students may take no more than 12 semester hours of course work in conditional admission.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The MMEd is a 33 hour degree program divided into two plans. The Thesis Plan is designed for students who may want to continue their education to the specialist or doctoral level. The Non-thesis Plan is designed for students who wish to apply for T- 5 Georgia Teacher certification. Both plans will be divided into three areas: the research component, the music education content component and the elective component. The research component includes coursework in the School of Education of GCSU in general education research and foundations of learning. Both plans will include oral and/or written comprehensive exams at the end of the program required for graduation.

Course selections are determined through advisement

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Initial Certification (While Completing a Graduate Degree Program)

Please see the Graduate Coordinator in Music Education for information on initial certification while completing a graduate degree.

Thesis and Thesis Defense. At the completion of 18 semester hours, the student should seek out a member of the Music Education graduate faculty as a thesis adviser. After a faculty member agrees to be a student's thesis adviser, the student and the faculty member should enlist two other faculty members to join the thesis adviser as the student's thesis committee. One of these two committee members must be from the English graduate faculty; the other may be from the graduate faculty in another department relevant to the thesis topic. Once the committee membership is confirmed, the thesis adviser should notify the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music Education in writing about the composition of the committee and the general nature of the proposed thesis topic. During the next term, the student should develop a two-page thesis proposal under the direction of the thesis committee. The student may not sign up for MUED 6920: THESIS RESEARCH before the proposal is approved in writing by both the thesis adviser and the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music Education.

The student should sign up for MUED 6920: THESIS and should be enrolled in thesis hours during the term when the thesis is completed and defended. The thesis must demonstrate scholarly research on a literary topic of considerable depth, and should normally have between 50 and 100 pages of text and should also include a comprehensive list of works cited. The thesis should be prepared in the documentation style recommended by the thesis advisor and should meet the criteria for theses as established by the University. The original and four copies of the completed thesis in unbound form should be submitted to the thesis committee for a critical reading at least four weeks before the end of the semester in which the student completes all requirements for the degree.

The oral defense of the thesis before the thesis committee should be held at least two weeks before the end of the relevant semester. The thesis defense will be open to any interested member of the University community. The defense will normally take at least one hour and will demonstrate the student's knowledge of the thesis topic and the implications of the thesis for the general study of literature.

After the defense, the student should make final corrections to the thesis as soon as possible and produce a new original copy (unbound) and at least two high-quality photocopies (unbound) on the kind of paper specified in the current GCSU guide to theses. The library requires two copies for its collection (one to be bound, the other left unbound); the department requires one bound copy to be returned for display in the departmental office. The original copy of the signature page should be signed by the members of the thesis committee, the graduate coordinator, the department chair, and the dean of the school; photocopies may be made of this page for insertion in the photocopies of the thesis. The student should then deliver the original signed copy and the photocopies of the thesis to the library, fill out the binder form available there, pay the required binding fees, and then present a copy of the receipt to the graduate coordinator. The graduate coordinator will not sign the release for graduation until a copy of the receipt is presented. In four to six weeks, the library will return the additional bound copies of the thesis, one of which will be sent by the student to the department.

ADVISEMENT

The general adviser of all students in the Master of Music Education program is the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music Education. However, students should work closely with their thesis advisers and thesis committees in planning coursework as preparation for a specific thesis topic.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Inquiries concerning the nature of the program, the availability of given courses, and the availability of graduate assistantships should be directed to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music Education, CBX 066, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, GA 31061. Telephone: (478) 445-4966. Fax: (478) 445-1633. The coordinator's e-mail address is patti.tolbert@gcsu.edu. Other information can be viewed at /music