Courses

  • Music Courses
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    • MUS 090 Music Department Salon

      Units: 0.25

      Description
      Attendance at bimonthly departmental sessions for selected lectures, discussions, presentations, and performances. May be repeated. Graded Pass/Fail. Prerequisites: Must be a Music major or minor.

       

      Prerequisites

      Must be a Music major or minor.

    • MUS 101 Listening to Music: An Introduction to the Western Classical Tradition

      Units: 1

      Description
      Refines listening skills through study of selected major composers, styles, and genres of the Western classical tradition. Explores music from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, including works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Stravinsky, and many others. Genres to be covered include the symphony, string quartet, sonata, opera, song, and choral music. Attendance at selected concerts on campus is required.
    • MUS 107 Fundamentals of Music

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      For students with little or no previous training in theory or piano. Practical understanding of intervals, scales, keys, chord structures, and rhythm, using keyboard and sight-singing as vehicles of instruction. Does not count toward music major.
    • MUS 110 Tonal Harmony I: Common Practice Period

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Entry-level music theory course. Study and application of harmonic practice in Western music of 17th and 18th centuries by means of original compositions and analysis of selected literature. Continuation of musicianship exercises from Music 109.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 107 or departmental approval

    • MUS 111 Analysis and Composition of Popular Music
    • MUS 112 Recording Techniques

      Units: 1

      Description
      Introduction to the technical foundations of audio engineering and recording designed to give students a set of skills needed to record, mix, and master musical projects using microphones, pre-amps, mixers, and digital audio workstations.
    • MUS 114 Popular Music of the 1970s and 1980s
    • MUS 115 The Jazz Tradition

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      For general student. Survey of cultural history of jazz; jazz styles from 1917 to present; and evolution of jazz from African music, music of slavery, ragtime, and blues. Includes concert attendance and performance project.
    • MUS 116 Music Scenes

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Sections are designed each semester around on- and off-campus concerts. Students consider historical, social, and cultural issues particular to each concert and interact with visiting artists and University of Richmond's ensemble in residence.
    • MUS 117 Salsa Meets Jazz

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      For general student. Traces influx of Latin-American music into North American jazz. Connects music and dances of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Brazil to their subsequent synthesis in jazz.
    • MUS 122 America's Music and Media

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Topically-based survey of media and technological innovations that have facilitated the creation and distribution of diverse American musical forms from the late-19th century through the early 21st. Investigates changes in the production and consumption of American music from the circulation of sheet music, wax cylinders, and player pianos that dominated the turn of the 20th century to the Mp4 files and Digital Audio Workstations (D.A.W.) we enjoy today.
    • MUS 123 Meaning and Music

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Explores musical meaning in Western classical traditions. Focuses on representations of identity, such as ability, race, gender, and sexuality, in genres including symphonic music, opera, ballet, piano music, and film scores.
    • MUS 125 Indonesian Theater and Music

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      This course will be a highly interdisciplinary introduction into the rich and complexly interconnected traditions of theater and music from the island nation of Indonesia. Students will study the history and form of various traditions and partake in numerous hands-on workshops involving traditional shadow theater, comedy, dance, and gamelan orchestral music.
    • MUS 130 Class Guitar

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Introduction to guitar through folk music.
    • MUS 131 Class Piano

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      For beginning piano student. Introduction to elements of music via the keyboard.
    • MUS 132 Class Voice

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      For the beginning voice student. Introduction to the basic elements of vocal technique through the study of body and breath control, vocal exercises, beginning repertoire, and performance experience.
    • MUS 133 Class Piano-Pop/Jazz Styles

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Music 133 is an introduction to piano technique using both traditional notation and pop/jazz chord symbols. Upon completion of this course, students will have the basic knowledge to successfully interpret and perform pop/rock/jazz and other chord-based styles.
    • MUS 134 Songbirds and Sirens

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Historical Studies (FSHT))

      Description
      Examines the ways in which performers, composters, and operatic works shape and relfect cultural attitudes about gender and music. The interdisciplinary nature of opera, which combines text, music, and theatrical performance, will be considered through methodologies developed in music, literary criticism, theater and gender studies. Interplay between operatic characters and the public and private lives of women singers will deepen our engagement with both the artistic works we study and the cultures in which they were first forged.
    • MUS 138 Special Topics in Music

      Units: 1

      Description
      Selected topics in music not covered in the music program. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
    • MUS 202 Global Rhythms

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Exploration of repertoires from various global music traditions. Performance of traditional instruments from Asia and Africa and participation in performances and workshops with expert native performers. No prior experience necessary.
    • MUS 203 Musical Exoticism

      Units: 1

      Description
      Studies the conditions under which misperception and appropriation occur, under what conditions can mutually beneficial interactions take hold, and how can future musics may celebrate the potential of cultural difference without falling into exotifying tendencies. Topics include the upheavals of colonialism, the musical misrepresentation of other cultures, the innovation of some of the most popular and powerful music of the past 150 years: jazz, Cajun music, Kpop, Hip-hop and Bluegrass.
    • MUS 205 Diction for Singers

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Study of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and its application to singing diction in a variety of languages. Preparation and performance of works in the languages being studied.
    • MUS 206 Selected Topics in Vocal Performance

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Focuses on a variety of topics related to the voice and vocal performance.

       

      Prerequisites

      MSAP 060, 160, or MUS 132

    • MUS 207 Musical Theatre and Opera Scene Workshop

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Study of stage techniques for the singer applied to various scenes from operatic and musical theater repertoire resulting in staged performance by class members. May be repeated for credit.
    • MUS 208 Global Pop

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Focuses on popular music from outside the Euro-American cultural sphere. Uses methodologies and theories from ethnomusicology, cultural studies and anthropology to critically investigate the emergence of so-called popular musics around the globe beginning in the early 20th century. How is the 'pop-classical,' 'high-low' division of the arts that characterizes cultural production in the West transformed in different locales? Includes direct engagement in various local genres through hands on performance workshops.
    • MUS 211 Tonal Harmony II: Chromaticism

      Units: 1

      Description
      Continuation of MUS 110. Study and application of harmonic practice in Western music of the 18th and 19th centuries by means of original compositions and analysis of selected literature. Continuation of musicianship exercises from Music 109.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 110 with a minimum grade of C-

    • MUS 213 Any Sound You Can Imagine: Recording, Transforming and Organizing Sound

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Introduces students to the techniques, tools, aesthetic ideas, and traditions of organizing sound in meaningful ways using computers. Students will learn recording techniques, principles of digital audio, and techniques of audio transformation and organization in the service of producing several original brief compositions. In addition, students will study relevant readings and pieces drawn from the electronica, electroacoustic, and experimental repertoires.
    • MUS 214 Jazz Arranging

      Units: 1

      Description
      Comprehensive study of evolution of jazz arranging and composition from 1920s to present. Score analysis of representative works by Sammy Nestico, Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, and others. Extensive listening. Students will arrange for small and large jazz ensembles.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 110 with a minimum grade of D-

    • MUS 217 Soundscapes

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

    • MUS 221 Music in Film

      Units: 1

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      For general student. Study of interaction of music and visual image in Hollywood film; emphasis on nature of musical meaning, music and association, and music as a cultural code.
    • MUS 225 The Music Industry: History, Technology, and Promotion

      Units: 1

      Description
      Overview of how the twentieth and twenty-first music business has worked in financial, legal, and artistic terms; how music technologies of recording, reproduction, and consumption operate; and how musical tastes and cognition affect the ways in which music is created, disseminated, and heard.
    • MUS 226 Music and Media in Popular Culture
    • MUS 228 Historical Musicology

      Units: 1

      Description
      introduces students to research methodologies in historical musicology using case studies drawn from Western art music. Emphasis is placed on discovering and using primary sources, interpreting contemporary scholarship, and articulating ideas through writing and oral discourse.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 110 with a minimum grade of C-

    • MUS 229 Anthropology of Music

      Units: 1

      Description
      Third in series of courses devoted to the exploration of significant topics and issues, methodologies, and theories applicable to historical and ethnographic music studies. Taught through examination of a broad cross selection of musical styles, genres, and traditions.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 228 with a minimum grade of D-

    • MUS 230 Class Guitar II (Intermediate Level)

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      For the intermediate level guitarist not yet ready for private instruction.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 130 with a minimum grade of D-

    • MUS 231 Conducting Fundamentals

      Units: 1

      Description
      Essentials of instrumental and choral conducting. Rehearsal techniques and practical experience in directing musical groups.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 109 or 110

    • MUS 232 Intermediate Class Piano

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Piano study in a class setting for students who have passed MUS 131 or have had some private study in the past. The course assumes a sound knowledge of basic piano technique and music reading.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 131 with a minimum grade of D-

    • MUS 235 I Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry

      Units: 1

      Description
      Engagement with early music videos, as well as corresponding albums and related cultural multimedia as primary sources, to analyze the critical relationships between the music and images that premiered on the MTV network in its first decades. Situation of videos in their historical and cultural contexts using methodologies from a variety of disciplines, including film and cinema studies, sociology, the music industry, ethnomusicology and musicology.
    • MUS 238 Special Topics in Music

      Units: 1

      Description
      Selected topics in music not covered in the music program. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
    • MUS 304 Music Entrepreneurship

      Units: 1

      Description
      Building a career in music and developing skills beyond musicianship that contribute to success in the field of music. Considers the specialized skills and diversified experiences required for the next generation of cultural leaders.
    • MUS 306 Introduction to Composition

      Units: 1

      Description
      Introduction of materials and techniques of acoustic composition through readings, listening assignments, composition exercises, and performances.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 110 with a minimum grade of D-

    • MUS 307 Composition

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Directed projects in various styles for traditional and/or electronic media. May be repeated for credit.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 306 with a minimum grade of C-

    • MUS 310 Managing Performing Arts Organizations

      Units: 1

      Description
      For those interested in managing and leading a performing arts organization, this course is a review of topics essential for successful management of a performing arts organization. Includes nonprofit and alternative organizational structure, organizational development and structure-- (management, board of directors, and staffing) , leadership and management styles, budget development and fiscal management, strategic planning, marketing and audience development, legals issues, and other related topics. (Same as Theatre 310.)
    • MUS 313 Advanced Music Production

      Units: 1

      Prerequisites

      MUS 213 with a minimum grade of D-

    • MUS 338 Special Topics in Music History

      Units: 1

      Description
      Selected topics such as musical genre, works of specific composers, or techniques of teaching and learning music. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUSC 109 and 227 or 228

    • MUS 345 Philanthropy in the Arts

      Units: 1

      Description
      Survey of strategies, tools and techniques involved in generating contributed income for arts organizations from private individuals, foundations, corporations, business, and government agencies. Central issues include underlying psychological and practical bases of fundraising in the arts and exposure to research and methods involved in developing donor prospects. Fundraising techniques, including direct mail, telemarketing, grant writing, personal appeals, major gift solicitation, special events, capital campaigns, endowment campaigns, sponsorships, and planned giving. (Same as Art 345 and Theatre 345.)

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 310, THTR 310, or ARTH 322 or permission of instructor.

    • MUS 350 Student Recital

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Preparation and performance of a solo recital by students in applied study or composition. Non-capstone recitals do not count towards the music major.
    • MUS 388 Individual Internship

      Units: 0.5-1

      Description
      No more than 1.5 units of internship in any one department and 3.5 units of internship overall may be counted toward required degree units.

       

      Prerequisites

      Departmental approval

    • MUS 395 Independent Study

      Units: 0.5-1

    • MUS 400 Capstone Seminar

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      First half of a one-year capstone experience for the senior music major. Seminar on topics in musicology, music performance, music theory, composition, music production, music industry.
    • MUS 401 Capstone Project

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Second half of a one-year capstone experience for the senior music major. Guided completion of thesis or project in performance, composition, theory/analysis, musicology, music production, music industry. Concurrent registration for applied study may be required.
    • MUS 402 Honors Thesis/Project

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Guided research and preparation for thesis or project in performance, composition, theory/analysis, musicology.

       

      Prerequisites

      MUS 401 with a minimum grade of D-

    • MUS 406 Summer Undergraduate Research

      Units: 0

      Description
      Documentation of the work of students who receive summer fellowships to conduct research [or produce a creative arts project] in the summer. The work must take place over a minimum of 6 weeks, the student must engage in the project full-time (at least 40 hours per week) during this period, and the student must be the recipient of a fellowship through the university. Graded S/U.

       

      Prerequisites

      Approval by a faculty mentor.

  • Music Ensemble Courses
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    • MSEN 100 Music Performance Laboratory

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Performance workshop for learning about innovative modes of expression and developing skills in music creation, performance, and production. Ensemble is open to any level of musician, but is geared to students who do not read standard Western notation. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 190 Women's Chorale

      Units: 0.5

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Women's chorus; study and perform choral literature appropriate to the group from a variety of style periods and origins. Two rehearsals weekly. Regular performances on and off campus. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 191 University Orchestra

      Units: 0.5

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Study and performance of works for symphony orchestra. One rehearsal and one sectional weekly. Regular performances on and off campus. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 192 Jazz Ensemble

      Units: 0.5

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Study and performance of Big Band repertoire from swing era to present. One rehearsal and two sectionals weekly with two or more concerts each year. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 193 University Band

      Units: 0.5

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Study and performance of wind band literature. Wind Ensemble of 50-60 members. One on-campus concert per semester. One rehearsal and one sectional weekly. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 195 Jazz Combo

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Small jazz ensemble. Regular performances on and off campus. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 196 Schola Cantorum

      Units: 0.5

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Small mixed chorus; study and perform choral literature appropriate to the group from variety of style periods and origins; emphasis on a cappella repertoire. Three rehearsals weekly. Regular performances on and off campus; biannual tour. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 201 Chamber Music Ensemble

      Units: 0.5

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Study and performance of chamber music. Coaching by various members of the Department of Music. One rehearsal and one coaching weekly. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 202 Guitar Ensemble

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Study and performance of guitar ensemble literature. One rehearsal weekly. May be repeated.
    • MSEN 203 Global Music Ensemble

      Units: 0.5

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Hands-on exploration of traditional musical repertoires from around the world. Students will perform on hand-made instruments from Asia and Africa and join with expert native musicians and dancers in an end-of-semester concert. Focuses primarily on Balinese gamelan (percussion orchestra) music and Ghanaian Ewe drumming ensemble music. Occasional workshops on Javanese and Brazilian musics. No previous musical experience is necessary. Traditions learned aurally/orally; no prior experience with notation is necessary. One rehearsal weekly.
    • MSEN 204 Little Big Band

      Units: 0.5

      Fulfills General Education Requirement (Visual & Performing Arts (FSVP))

      Description
      Large jazz combo; study and perform chamber jazz literature from many different jazz and contemporary styles, including swing, be bop, Latin jazz and jazz rock. Emphasis on performance and improvisation. Two 1.5-hour rehearsals weekly with regular performances on and off campus.
  • Music Applied Courses
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    • MSAP 160 Voice

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 161 Piano

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 162 Organ

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 163 Guitar

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 164 Flute

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 165 Oboe

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 166 Clarinet

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 167 Saxophone

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 168 Bassoon

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 169 French Horn

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 170 Trumpet

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 171 Trombone/Baritone

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 172 Tuba

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 173 Percussion

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 174 Violin

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 175 Viola

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 176 Cello

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 177 String Bass/Electric Bass

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 178 Harp

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 179 Banjo

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 180 Mandolin

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 181 Harpsichord

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 182 Miscellaneous Instruments

      Units: 0.5

    • MSAP 260 Voice

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 261 Piano

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 262 Organ

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 263 Guitar

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 264 Flute

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 265 Oboe

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 266 Clarinet

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 267 Saxophone

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 268 Bassoon

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 269 French Horn

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 270 Trumpet

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 271 Trombone/Baritone

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 272 Tuba

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 273 Percussion

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 274 Violin

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 275 Viola

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 276 Cello

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 277 String Bass/Electric Bass

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 278 Harp

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 279 Banjo

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 280 Mandolin

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 281 Harpsichord

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.
    • MSAP 282 Miscellaneous Instruments

      Units: 0.5

      Description
      Private lessons in instrument or voice; continuation of MSAP 160 – 182. Expanded jury required at the end of each semester of study. Permission of applied teacher and department chairperson required.