Comprehensive Requirement

Senior music majors complete a senior project related to the student's area of interest. All senior projects involve both a written and a public performance/presentation component. The written component (thesis draft; or final draft of argument-driven analytic paper) must be completed by the end of MUSC 490, which is offered in the fall semester. Each component is graded Pass with Distinction, Pass, or Fail. A final grade of Pass with Distinction on the senior comprehensive will be awarded if both components (written and public performance/presentation) are graded Pass with Distinction.

By January 15th of their junior year, students submit a proposal for their senior project to the Music Department faculty for approval. Music's "Senior Comprehensive Project" page provides details about the project proposal and the requirements of individual concentrations and focuses.

All seniors will present their work in a public forum during their last semester. At any point in the senior comprehensive preparation process, if the Music faculty determines that the student has not sufficiently prepared to complete the project in time, the student must take a written examination in lieu of the recital or thesis submission/presentation to fulfill the senior comprehensive requirement. The faculty will supply questions drawn from the material of that student’s course of music study at Occidental.