Language & Program Requirements

Informed degree planning is vital to keeping your studies on track and your graduation on schedule. Please be advised that throughout the year and prior to registration, students must remain informed of their program requirements and credit loads and stay-up-to date on any changes to Music course offerings.

Program Requirements

Please visit the University Calendar for information on program course requirements. Note that you will need to search by your admission year (drop-down menu on the top right of the page).

The following graduate music programs have language requirements:

M.A. (Course- and Thesis-Based)

• A language approved by the student's supervisor (should be completed before the thesis/capping project is completed).

D.Mus.

• DMus students will be required to demonstrate reading proficiencyy in one approved language other than English before being admitted to candidacy. Coursework undertaken to satisfy this requirement will not be credited toward the program.
• For students concentrating in Voice Performance, proficiency in two languages is required, normally chosen from French, German, Italian, Spanish, or Russian.

Ph.D.

• One language other than English, appropriate to the student's area of research and approved by the supervisory committee. Course work undertaken to satisfy this requirement will not be credited toward the program.
• Language requirement must be completed before the qualifying (written) and candidacy (oral) exams.
• Any language proficiency established in the course of previous graduate work will be credited toward this requirement.

NB: Music students are encouraged to complete their language requirements as early in their program as possible.

FULFILLING THE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

1. Complete course work or a translation exam (through the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies). 

• Coursework used to meet the language requirement cannot be more than 3 years old.
• Coursework undertaken in previous degrees can be used to meet the language requirement as long as it has been completed within 3 years.
• Note that coursework undertaken to fulfill the language requirement cannot be used as credit towards the program (i.e., to fulfill an option requirement).

2. Provide documented fluency in a language relevant to the student's research, acquired either as a native speaker or through study in that language. Note "study in" implies documentation of academic study conducted in a second language, not of that language.

The student's supervisor is responsible for determining the relevance of the language to the student's research. Language approvals must be done by the student's supervisor and documented as part of their assessment.

Graduate Language Proficiency Examinations are available through the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies.

The student should inform both their supervisor and the Graduate Administrator as soon as their language component has been completed.