Within the College of Music and Media at Loyola University New Orleans, the School of Music is an academic community made up of artists, scholars, practitioners and students who believe in the transformative power of the arts and who are dedicated to the education of the whole person in the Ignatian tradition. In pursuit of this goal we have attracted faculty and staff who are national leaders in their fields, who offer our students a professional education in music within a broader academic environment deeply informed by the liberal arts tradition and recognized for its excellence, rigor and innovation.
Music Graduate Course Descriptions
Admission to Candidacy & Residency Requirements
Through the College of Music and Fine Arts, the School of Music offers two graduate-level programs.
The Master of Music (MM) is a 30 credit hour, graduate level academic program designed for students who wish to perform at an advanced level. Concentrations are available in voice and instrument, including jazz.
A list of courses required to complete this degree can be viewed below:
The Master of Music Therapy (M.M.T.) is a 36 credit hour, online graduate level academic program designed to provide students the opportunities for advanced clinical, research, advocacy, and business skills. This degree is designed for individuals who have an undergraduate degree in music therapy and hold the credentials "Music Therapist-Board Certified" (MT-BC). This degree is offered online with on-campus intensives semester.
A list of courses required to complete this degree can be viewed below:
Master of Music Therapy - 60 credit degree
The Equilvalency Master of Music Therapy (M.M.T.) is designed for sudents whose undergraduate degree was in discipline of music other than music therapy. This program is a combination of traditional and online classes. Students in the equivalency program complete all required equilvalency coursework, including a 6-month internship, prior to taking graduate music therapy courses.
A list of courses required to ocmplete this degree can be viewed below:
(ADD link to MMT DPCL for Equivalency Degree)
Dual Degree: Masters of Science in Counseling and Music Therapy
(ADD link to DPCL for this dual degree)
The College of Music and Media, founded in 1932, is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music. The music therapy program is approved by the American Music Therapy Association.
The College of Music and Media requires an appropriate undergraduate music degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and a performance audition for matriculation in the college, in addition to meeting university requirements for admission. Those applicants whose undergraduate GPA is below 3.0, or whose undergradute major was not in music, may be admitted conditionnaly. This especially applies to students who have considerable work experience in the field of music or a background in psychology or health sciences for music therapy applicants. Students given conditional admission must acheive a 3.0 GPA in their first nine hours of non-remedial graduate music coursework.
Applicants are required to complete the College of Music and Media Audition Application prior to scheduling their audition on one of the published audition dtaes. Contact the College of Music and Media for specific requirements. The required performance level may vary according to the degree program Master of Music or Master of Music Therapy (M.M. or M. M. T.) specified by the applicant.
All Master of Music students must take placement exams in music history and music theory before graduate study is begun, to ensure an adequate foundation in these disciplines. Depending on the results of these tests, students may be required to enroll in remedial or undergraduate courses in music history and/or music theory; these courses will not count toward the degree. Remedial courses must be passed with the grade of B or higher; students who do not meet this standard must repeat the course or retake and pass the diagnostic exam. The placement examinations should be taken prior to the first semester of enrollment. Students may not enroll in any graduate theory or history course until they have taken the exams and remedied any deficiencies in that subject.
Introduction to Graduate Studies (MUGN M705) is normally taken during the first semester of enrollment. Students are not allowed to register for a graduate music theory or history course unless they are enrolled in or have already completed MUGN-M705.
All Master of Therapy students must take functional guitar, piano, and voice proficiency examinations during the first semester of enrollment. The music theraphy faculty, with input from the guitar, paino and voice fauclty, will be involved in the development, administration, and evaluation of thre proficiency examinations. Students who do not pass the functional guitar, paino, and voice proficiency examinations will be required to do remedial work as outlined in a remediation plan.
Prospective students can view the application materials and process for the following programs on the School of Music webpage:
Students are admitted to candidacy in the College of Music and Media after the following degree program requirements have been met. Individual degree programs and departments stipulate a variety of specific proficiencies. Students must consult their advisors concerning these requirements.
Master of Music
a. Completion of nine credit hours of non-remedial graduate coursework with a minimum grade point average of 3.0.
b. Completion of remedial courses required as a result of the theory and history entrance examinations with a grade of B or higher.
c. Completion of Introduction to Graduate Studies (MUGN M705) with a grade of B or higher.
Master of Music Therapy
a. Completion of nine credit hours of non-remedial graduate coursework with a minimum grade point average of 3.0.
b. Successful completion of a functional music proficiency examination administered by the music therapy faculty.
Residency in the College of Music and Media is defined as a minimum of one semester, or its equivalent in summer terms, as a full-time student. Ordinarily, two summer terms will be interpreted as meeting this minimum requirement. A student may enroll for a maximum of 12 credit hours during the regular terms and a maximum of 12 credit hours during the two terms (10 weeks) of a summer session. The equivalency mater's in music theraphy starts in the summer term, followed by two semesters of on-campus coursework and a 6-month internship. Graduate coursework begins at the completion of the internship. All graduate courses in music therapy are offered online.
In addition to fulfilling all degree requirements and candidacy requirements (courses, exams, thesis, recital, etc.), each student must maintain an overall minimum GPA of 3.0 in order to graduate.
Students must successfully complete all of the required courses for their degree program according to the following guidelines:
Masters of Music:
Master of Music Therapy:
All students in M.M. programs must take a comprehensive exam during or after their final semester of coursework; the comprehensive exam must be passed within the two years following the completion of other degree requirements, or additional coursework may be required before the exam can be taken. The exam, graded pass-fail, will cover topics such as performance, pedagogy, and repertoire.
Graduate Committee for Comprehensive Examinations:
For the purposes of administering comprehensive exams, a committee of faculty members is comprised with input from the students as follows:
a. The student's applied teacher or the area coordinator.
b. An ensemble director or another faculty member with whom the student has studied.
c. One member of the music history or music theory faculty.
d. The Graduate Coordinator or Director of the School of Music (ex officio).
The Graduate Coordinator or Director of the School of Music will contact the student for input regarding committee members and examination schedule.
The comprehensive exam, includes written and oral components, with the oral component usually scheduled at least a week after successful completion of the written component. The three sections of the written exam may be taken over the course of a single ten-day period, with not more than four hours allotted to each section; written and oral examinations will be scheduled in cousultation with the studuet and the faculty members of the student's examination committee.
The specific format and content for each part of the exam will be determined in advance between the student and the individual members of the examination committee. Each student must pass the written exam in all three areas before proceeding to the oral exams. Each section of the written exam may be taken up to three times; if the student has not passed the written exam by the third attempt, additional coursework may be required to remediate deficiencies before the student is allowed to retake the test. The oral exam, which usually lasts from one and a half to two hours, may address any problems identified in the written exam and test the student’s ability to synthesize knowledge in different areas. The student must pass at least two sections of the oral exam, in addition to all three sections of the written examination, in order to graduate. Students who do not pass the oral examination amy be asked to repeat the oral portion of the examination with the input from the faculty committee member; if the student has not passed the oral examination at the second attempt, additional coursework may be required to remediate deficiencies before the studnt is allowed to retake the oral portion of the comprehensive examination. A student who fails the oral exam on this third attempt will not receive a Master of Music degree from Loyola University. The graduate recital serves as the final project for the Maters of Music degree.
Students in the Master of Music Theraspy Program can choose between a master's thesis and a scholarly project (with approval of their advisor. The aster's thesis is a pilot or feasibility research project or a systematic review. The scholarly project may be a narrative literature review, a clinical project, or a business plan depending upon the interest of the student. Students begin working on their thesis/scholarly project in the first semester inwhich they are enrolled. Ideally, students will have to deecide whether they want to complete a thesis or a scholarly project by the end of the first year of coursework. Students are required to register for MUGN M810 Thesis or MUGN M812 Scholarly Project each semester until they are working on their thesis or scholarly project.
Thesis Project: Students who choose to complete a thesis are required to work with a thesis committee. The thesis committee is comprised of three people: the committee chair (who must be a amember of the msuic therapy faculty, a member of the music therapy faculty, and one other person with expertise related to the research topic. The Music Therapy Coodinator must approve all thsis topics and the final paper, but does not have to be a formal member of the committee. Students work with their advisor to determine which music therapy faculty member has the appropriate experience/expertise to serve as chair of their committee. Students will work with the chair to identify and then invite the remaining two members of the thesis committee. The thesis committee and Music Therapy Coordinator will approve the thesis proposal and the final research report. Students work with the chair of their committee to develop their research proposal. When the initial draft is completed, the proposal is sent to the committee for review and feedback. Once the proposal is accepted, the student submits an application for protocol review to Loyola's institutional review board. When the study is approved by the IRB, the student may begin collecting data and complete the research study. When the study is completed, the student submits a draft of the final report to their committee for approval. When all requested revisions have been completed, the student will work with the chair to schedule an oral defense. Students may pass the defense, pass with revisions (which may or may not require a second oral defense), or fail. Students have officially completed their thesis when they have 1) made all required revisions; 2) collected signatures fromall committee members; and 3) submitted a pdf copy of their thesis to the library. Explicit details of the thesis process may be found in the Music Therapy Graduate Students Handbook.
Scholarly Project Process: Students who choose to complete a scholarly projrct are required to work with a scholarly project committee. The scholarly project committee is comprided of 3 people: the committee chair (who must be a member of the music therapy faculty), a member of the msuic therapy faculty, and one other perosn with expertise related to the project topic. The Music Therpay Coordinator must approve all scholarly project topics and the final paper, but does not have to be a formal member of the committee. Students work with their advsior to determine which music therapy faculty member has the appropriate experience/expertise to serve a chair of their committee. Students will work with the chair to identify and then invite the remaining 2 members of the scholarly project committee. The scholarly project committee and the Music Therapy Coordinator will approve the scholarly project proposal and the final research report. Students work with the chir of their committee to develop their project proposal. When the initial draft is completed, the proposal is sent to the committ for review andfeedback. Once the proposal is accepted, the student may begin workinig on and completing their project. When the project is completed, the student submits a draft of the final report to their committee for approval. When all requested revisions have been completed, the student will work with their chair to schedule an oral defense. Students may pass the defense, pass with revisions (which may or may not require a second oral defense), or fail. Students have officially completed their scholarly project when they have 1) made all required revisions; 2) collected signatures from all committee members; and 3) submitted a pdf copy of their scholarly project to the library. Explicit details of the scholarly project process may be found in the Music Therapy Graduate Student Handbook.
The College of Music and Media administers talent-based music scholarships for graduate students. These awards vary according to the student’s potential for continued musical and academic progress, and the performance needs of the college. Retention of a music scholarship depends on satisfactory musical and academic progress and the student’s fulfillment of performance requirements as stipulated in the scholarship contract.
Read the Transfer of Academic Credit policy for more information.