Suggested GRCC Program:
Associate in Music
This program is designed for students wishing to major in applied music (performance areas) and/or those wishing to major in Music Education (public and non-public school music teaching areas) and requires transfer to complete a baccalaureate degree.
High school preparation recommended: college preparatory curriculum plus the study of an instrument or voice. All students who are interested in a music degree must first take a music theory pretest, a piano placement test, and meet with the head of the music department. If deficiencies in music theory and/or piano are identified, the student must first pass MUS 112 - Basic Music Theory and MUS 120 - Introduction to Piano prior to beginning the college-level music theory and piano curriculum. Students with no prior background in music may be required to enroll in MUS 99 - Music Basics Immersion prior to enrolling in MUS 112 and MUS 120 .
The MACRAO agreement provides that a student who receives the Associate of Arts degree from GRCC and who is accepted as a transfer student by a signatory senior college or university would not be required to pursue further freshman or sophomore-level general education requirements at the signatory four-year college or university.
It is important to understand that if the Associate in Music degree is selected, the student will transfer with all of the freshman and sophomore level music classes completed but will have only two thirds of the general education courses completed for the sophomore level. Most music students who begin their education at the senior institution do not complete all of the sophomore level general education requirements in two years.
An alternative to transferring with course deficiencies in either music or general education classes is the Associate in Arts degree with the major in music three-year option. This option allows the student to complete the Associate in Arts degree with the MACRAO stamp and also to complete the 45 hours of music required to successfully transfer with the music skills needed to be considered at the junior level.
Whether the student transfers at junior level is contingent upon many factors. Grades in classes are not the least of these. Students who earn less than a “C” in any music course must repeat that course to receive credit. Students who achieve “A/B” work at GRCC stand a good chance of transferring at the junior level. (This means in each music class.) Grades below this will mean that students may transfer at the sophomore or freshman levels. Music majors should expect to take music transfer examinations at the senior institution to determine their preparedness for junior-level course work.
Prior to transfer, most schools will require a battery of examinations. These examinations will be in the areas of music theory, aural comprehension, applied music, piano, and occasionally music history. Upon completion of these exams, the transfer institution will determine the level of each student. GRCC grades below “A/B” will usually mean transferring below the junior level.
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