Frequently Asked Questions

Answer: Congratulations on your admission! The first thing you should do if you haven't already is active your EagleConnect account. Once activated, log into your MyUNT account and take care of any holds that may be on your account. The Graduate Studies Office will be in contact with you over the summer with your transcript evaluation and welcome letter. 

Answer: Yes.

Orientation is required for all incoming graduate students, including those who may be returning after completing an undergraduate degree. 

Answer: Generally, we advise incoming students to wait until orientation to register for classes. This is because we need the results of your GPE and any area exams you may have been assigned before we know what courses you are eligible to enroll in. 

If you have already been assigned a major professor, you are free to enroll in their section of applied lessons as soon as registration opens. 

For music theory review we recommend:

• Tonal Harmony with workbook by Stefan Kostka and Dorothy Payne
• Music in Theory and Practice, volumes 1 & 2 with workbooks by Bruce Benward
• Melody Harmonization at the Keyboard by Gene Cho 

For music history review we recommend:

• A History of Western Music (eighth edition) with the Norton Anthologies of Western Music by Burkholder, Grout and Palisca
• The Development of Western Music: A History with Audio CDs by K. Marie Stolba

For more information, please consult the MHTE website. 

Answer: Yes

1. Master’s Students:
   Incoming master’s students who earned a grade of B– or better in one or both semesters of a two-semester music history survey at a NASM-accredited institution within the past three years are exempt from the corresponding portion of the GPE (i.e., pre-1750 or post-1750).
   Students with equivalent coursework from a non-NASM-accredited school or from a non-standard (non-two-semester) sequence may petition for exemption by submitting the course syllabus and the instructor’s credentials for review by the music history faculty.

2. Doctoral Students:
   Incoming doctoral students who earned a B– or better in one or both semesters of a two-semester music history survey at a NASM-accredited institution within the past seven years are exempt from the corresponding portion of the multiple-choice section of the GPE (i.e., pre-1750 or post-1750).
   Students with coursework from a non-NASM-accredited school or non-standard sequence may also petition for exemption by submitting a syllabus and the instructor’s credentials.
   All doctoral students must take the essay portion of the GPE, regardless of prior coursework.

Answer: When you register for courses under my.unt.edu, go to your Student Center>Register. During this process you should be asked which semester you are registering in. You should have the option for both graduate and undergraduate. If you are registering for a 5xxx level class or above, select graduate. If you are registering for a 49xx level class or below, select undergraduate.

Answer: Master's and Doctoral students have a choice between 3 and 4 credit hours for lessons each semester. You can search in your student center for your lesson prefix, number, and correct section with your major professor. 

Answer: If you are a graduate performance major (including jazz studies) and do not know your major professor before you register, you will be assigned a major professor when you begin applied lessons. You can also contact the area coordinator via email before you arrive to campus and ask which applied instructor you have been assigned.

If you are a composition, music theory, music history, ethnomusicology or music education major, you will choose your major professor when you are further into your degree coursework. For initial registration questions, the area coordinator and the graduate academic counselor will help you with course enrollment and degree planning.

Answer: No.

No dictionaries, print or electronic, may be used by any student in an entrance exam.

Answer:  You will need to know the prefix, 4-digit course number, and 4 or 5-digit class number (sometimes referred to as "codes") to register. In the semester Schedule of Classes which can be found in the student center, music courses start with MUxx, followed by a 4-digit number (graduate level courses begin with 5xxx or 6xxx). The 4 or 5-digit class number is in parenthesis directly under the course prefix.

Answer: Here --> UNT Catalog

It is important that you familiarize yourself with the UNT course Catalog. When searching the catalog, make sure you select the Graduate catalog using the menu located in the top right corner of the catalog homepage.

Degree requirements are determined by the Catalog in effect at the time your Degree Plan is filed and approved by the College of Music Director of Graduate Studies and the Toulouse Graduate School. The Graduate Academic Catalog lists all degree requirements and related field requirements.

Specific music degree plans are located in the "Degree Programs" section under "For Current Students" on this website. 

Answer: The Eagle Student Services Center (ESSC) houses essential UNT departments including the Toulouse Graduate School, Financial Aid and Scholarships, the Registrar, and Student Accounting. The ESSC is located directly across the mall from Willis Library and is connected to the University Union. You can find the UNT campus map here. 

Answer: Effective January 1, 2012, all new students, including transfer students, must show evidence of receipt of an initial bacterial meningitis vaccination dose or booster in the last five years and at least ten days prior to the first day of the semester in which the student initially enrolls. This new law also applies to any student returning to school after a break in enrollment for a fall or spring semester. For more information about this new requirement visit the Student Health Center website.

Answer: Mandatory student fees are assessed in proportion to the number of semester credit hours for which a student registers to cover the cost of student services that directly involve or benefit UNT students. These benefits include free admission to College of Music events and the Fine Arts Series, membership in the Student Rec Center, and free access to the Media Library in Chilton Hall. For an itemized breakdown of how your student fees are applied to sports activities, artist and lecture series, cultural entertainment series, debating and oratorical activities and student government visit this page: Explanation of Graduate Mandatory Student Fees.

Answer: Recital courses are restricted and an advisor must enroll you. Please see the Special Permission Registration Instructions handout in the "Policies, Procedures, and Forms" section of the Graduate Studies site for instructions on requesting recital enrollment. 

Answer: A graduate student may request permission to enroll in more than the maximum number of credit hours allowed per semester—16 hours during long semesters and 7 hours in each five-week summer session—by submitting a request to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.

All requests are reviewed, and students will be notified of the outcome before the end of the registration period for that semester. The request form is available in the Policies, Procedures, and Forms section of the Graduate Studies site. 

Answer: Holds can only be removed by the department that issued them. To find out which department placed a hold on your account and how to resolve it, click on the hold in your MyUNT account. If you have already completed the required task, contact the issuing department for assistance.

Please note that music advisors cannot remove holds.

Answer: Yes.

This requires the permission of the GPDC. For off-campus recital procedure, please see your degree handbook. 

Answer:

To cancel a degree recital:

1. Consult with your recital committee regarding this decision.
2. Notify the Music Scheduling Office so that they may cancel your room reservation.
3. Notify GraduateRecitals@unt.edu so that the Graduate Studies Office is aware of the change to your degree progress. 

Answer: All degree recitals, even approved off-campus recitals, must be scheduled through the College of Music Scheduling Office. Please see the Scheduling and Recital Resources page for details.

More information can be found in your degree handbook.  

Answer: Dissertations must meet the minimum required word count for your dissertation type (e.g., DMA options 1, 2, 3, PhD dissertation, etc.) as published in each program's handbook. Word counts only include the prose of the document. Word counts exclude interview transcripts, front and back matter, and the bibliography. 

Answer: Access to iThenticate is automatically granted to graduate students who are enrolled in dissertation hours every semester by the Toulouse Graduate School.

If you are having trouble accessing iThenticate, please contact ithenticate@unt.edu for assistance. 

Answer: The College of Music publishes its own style guide, the DMA Style Guide, which can be found on the Theses and Dissertations page. You should also consult the UNT Thesis Manual for anything that is not specifically mentioned in the DMA Style Guide.

The DMA Style Guide supersedes the UNT Thesis Manual and applies to all graduate degrees, not just DMAs. 

Answer: The College of Music does not endorse or recommend editors. Students are responsible for finding and contracting an editor. We suggest speaking with your major Professor or past students who may know of editors who have been used in the past.

Please see the Request for External Editorial Assistance Form for more information on editors. 

Answer: CPT requests can be sent to musicCPTrequest@unt.edu. Please see the CPT Instructions handout for more information. 

Answer: 9 credit hours.

In most cases, graduate students must be enrolled full time for 9 credit hours each semester. Of those 9 credit hours, at least 6 must be in-person classes. 

Answer: Yes.

If it is your last semester of coursework, and you have less than 9 hours remaining in you degree plan, a Graduate Part Time Enrollment Request can be filed with the Graduate School. Please see a Graduate Counselor for help filing this form.