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Recruitment and
Admission
Next to the quality of the faculty, the quality of the students attracted to the
Jacobs School of Music is the most important factor in maintaining the school’s
excellent reputation. The national and international renown of the faculty in
scholarship and performance is probably the most effective element in attracting
outstanding students. As competition for these students becomes keener, however,
each of us should take it as a personal responsibility to be active in finding
appropriate applicants to our programs.
As described above, an excellent candidate in any degree program is one who has
a variety of characteristics: musical, intellectual, and personal. It is also
the case that a school of music as large and complex as ours requires careful
balance among instruments and voices, undergraduates and graduates, in-state
students and those from out of state, domestic and international students, and
many other factors that must enter into an admission decision.
Therefore, it is extremely important that all admissions decisions be
made through the Office of Music Admissions and Financial Aid (mu101).
Individual faculty members should not promise admission to any student, no
matter how likely a candidate. The director of music admissions and financial
aid will be happy to work with you in identifying and recruiting excellent
students.
All auditions for entrance in a Jacobs School of Music program should be
recorded on an Audition/Interview form to be returned to the music admissions
office, even when they have been directly arranged between the student and the
faculty. The Admissions Committee requests that each department use the rating
system indicated on this form for consistency in admission and financial aid
decisions. Comments about the applicant and the audition/interview performance
are considered vital for the committee’s understanding of the applicant and the
level of enthusiasm from the faculty about each applicant. An indication of your
willingness to take a student into your studio is required before the committee
reviews each file. The Admissions Committee also requests that at least three
faculty members who can provide comments about the applicant and his/her
abilities be present at each audition.
Involvement in
the selection of prospective students is one of the most important services
faculty members can provide the Jacobs School of Music, given how much is riding
on our ability to judge potential. Because the dynamic of an auditioning
committee can be greatly changed by the absence of an individual member, we
should all make every effort to attend auditions, giving particular attention to
the scheduled weekends selected by the Admissions Committee:
January
11-12, February 1-2, February 29-March 1, 2008
If a conflict
arises and you are unable to participate, the dean should receive written
notification explaining the situation. All efforts in assuring that we present
our most positive and professional attributes to prospective students, their
parents, and their teachers are appreciated. Regardless of the academic and
musical qualifications of our prospective students, we must assure a positive
and productive auditioning environment for each. Effort in this regard will
reflect well on our values as an institution and will resonate far beyond those
who attend the audition weekends.
Scholarships and
Financial Aid
The
Office of Music Admissions and Financial Aid (mu101)
is the source to which students and faculty should go for information concerning
financial aid from the Jacobs School of Music. The school administers
merit-based aid in four different categories: scholarships, associate
instructorships, graduate assistantships, and graduate fellowships.
Scholarships are awarded to incoming undergraduate and graduate students based
on the strength of the audition/interview/dossier in the major field and on the
specific needs of the School. Scholarships typically serve as a recruiting tool
to attract excellent students in areas in which the school has a need.
Outstanding students in any area are considered for scholarships. Policies on
scholarships are established by the Financial Aid Committee. Award amounts are
determined by the director of music admissions and financial aid in consultation
with department chairs and the Financial Aid Committee.
Once awarded, scholarships are renewed typically through the fourth year of
undergraduate study, the third year of doctoral studies, and the second year of
masters or diploma studies. Students will lose scholarship funding as a result
of academic probation or other conditions set forth in their award letters. The
funds for scholarships come from a variety of sources, mainly private donations
from gifts and bequests through the Indiana University Foundation, although a
certain percentage comes from the general funds of the University.
In addition to Jacobs School of Music scholarships that are based on merit,
students may be eligible for general university need-based financial aid in the
form of grants and guaranteed student loans. These are administered by the
university Office of Student Financial Assistance (Franklin Hall). The music
financial aid office works with the university office in designing the complete
financial aid package.
Graduate assistantships (ga-ships)
and associate instructorships (ai-ships)
consist of a stipend and a fee remission and are used to support the teaching
mission of the school, and additionally to recruit and support qualified
graduate students. A graduate assistant is assigned to non-instructional work in
the School, such as clerical assistance in an office, for a specified number of
hours a week. An associate instructor is assigned to assist with the teaching of
a class or, under faculty supervision, to carry out a teaching assignment for
either performance or class instruction. To be eligible for scholarship, a
ga-ship or an
ai-ship, a student must be enrolled
full time and have at least a 3.0 gpa.
Failure to maintain the 3.0 gpa in
any semester or probation for any reason will result in a loss of the aid.
Graduate fellowships are awarded to new and continuing students based on the
strength of the audition/interview/dossier in the major field and on
gpa. These awards vary in size and
most do not include fee remission.
Special multi-year
awards (Chancellor’s Fellowships) are given to outstanding new doctoral students
who have at least a 3.75
gpa.
These awards include fee remission, a stipend, an additional fellowship award,
and include teaching duties. University fellowships are awarded each year as “dissertation year fellowships”
to Ph.D. students who have completed doctoral coursework and who are completing
doctoral research. To be eligible for a fellowship, a student must have a gpa of 3.75 for all graduate work. Dissertation year
fellowships require a cumulative graduate-level
gpa of at least 3.75. Complete
information on dissertation year fellowships is available from the director of
music admissions and financial aid, from the chair of the Financial Aid
Committee, and from the chairs of the music theory, musicology and music
education departments.
ga-ships,
ai-ships and fellowships are
important factors in graduate recruiting. It is important that these very
limited funds to be used to the greatest benefit possible. For this reason, a
limit of five years (10 regular fall/spring semesters) has been determined as
the maximum number of years a graduate student may receive financial aid. This
is specifically set at two years for diploma and master’s programs and three
years at the doctoral level. Some departments within the school place even more
stringent limits on the length of time a student may hold an ai- or
ga-ship.
As important as it is not to promise admission to any student, it is even more
important to avoid giving the impression to a prospective student that financial
aid is certain. No department or program can be guaranteed a certain number of
assistantships or fellowships because the school’s needs are constantly
changing. However, if you find an excellent candidate, let the music admissions
office know so that official contact with the student can be maintained while
decisions about aid are being considered.
Applicants who audition on or prior to the final audition weekend in March are
given priority consideration for financial aid. Students auditioning later may
be awarded aid, but chances are less favorable. This is a useful piece of advice
you could give to students who inquire. Graduate applicants for
ai-ships in the academic
departments are required to complete an interview in order to be considered.
Departments should put their recommendation for
ai-ships and
ga-ships in writing and submit them
to the music admissions office. Decisions concerning appointments are normally
made before April 1.
Any correspondence from departments to prospective students before actual
contracts are sent out should be written in conditional terms, such as: “You
have been recommended by the xxxx department to receive an appointment as
associate instructor for the academic year 20xx-20xx. If this recommendation is
approved, you will receive a contract…,” etc.
Copies of Jacobs School of Music policies for all forms of undergraduate and
graduate financial aid are available from the director of music admissions and
financial aid, from the chair of the Financial Aid Committee, and online from
the office of admissions and financial aid’s home page (http://www.music.indiana.edu/admissions).
Assignment of
Students
Assignment of students to performance and composition faculty studios is carried
out through the registration procedures. Each performance faculty member has a
section number for each level taught (for example
v400, v700, v900, etc.). For a student to register for a specific
teacher's section, that teacher must sign an authorization form. The Office of
Music Advising and Records Services (mars,
Merrill Hall mu011),
comprised of the music undergraduate office and the music graduate office, will
provide a list of continuing students for your approval before Continuing
Student Registration. If you expect to be away from campus during Continuing
Student Registration, please give the mars
office a signed list of any additional students whom you intend to teach the
following semester so that students can be authorized in your absence.
New students and students who could not obtain a teacher's signature during
Continuing Student Registration must enroll for the unassigned sections under
the dean's name. Students in these sections are assigned to a studio by the
associate dean for instruction at meetings with each of the performance and
composition department chairs the Wednesday of the first week of classes.
Students’ preferences are taken into account insofar as possible, but no teacher
will be assigned an overload of regular students (i.e., more than 18) without
the teacher’s permission.
Students who register late do not appear on the official rosters when the
assignments of students from the unassigned sections are made, so space in a
studio cannot be held for them. Please make it clear to your students that it
is important for them to register on time.
Each student admitted to the Jacobs School of Music is considered qualified and
is entitled to class instruction and performance study. No differentiation
concerning the quality of a teacher is or should be made based on the number of
graduates vs. undergraduates, performance majors vs. other majors, international
students vs. domestic students, etc.
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