2016-36

Arizona State University
University Senate
Spring 2016

Senate Motion #2016-36

Motion Introduced by: Curriculum and Academic Programs Committee, Steven Semken, Chair

Date of First Reading: February 22, 2016

Date of Second Reading: March 28, 2016

Title of Motion: Request from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts – School of Music – for the establishment of a graduate certificate – Music Theory Pedagogy

Action Requested: This curricular proposal has received all college, school, unit and university administrative approvals, and is being presented to the Senate for review and voting decision.    

Rationale: The certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy is intended to give students competency and skill in the teaching of basic music theory, a subject required of every music student at the college level and an important area of adjunct instruction.

The goal of the certificate is to enable students earning a graduate degree to develop the skills necessary to teach music fundamentals, ear training, harmony, and basic form analysis at the undergraduate level. Although all of our graduate students have themselves taken courses in these subjects, they need greater familiarity with the basic skills and ideas of theory in order to teach them effectively. Being equipped to do so should give them an advantage in the job market. All of the School of Music graduate students, especially those in doctoral studies (DMA or PhD), would be candidates for the proposed certificate program, and it is also possible for non-degree graduate students to enroll.