Student Advising > BMUS > - Transfer Guidelines
Transfer Guidelines
How many credits may I transfer to the BMUS program?
- No more than 50% of the total credits required for your UBC degree program are allowed (approx. 63 to 68, depending on your BMUS major).
Courses you have successfully completed at a Canadian college or university will be assessed for transfer credit on a course-by-course basis at the time of admission; however, many Canadian university courses have been evaluated and approved for transfer to UBC. If a course you have taken has not been approved for transfer to UBC, you may be asked to provide a copy of the course description from your previous university’s calendar. UBC does not publish pre-approved transfer credit for Canadian university courses.
Types of transfer credits:
- Transfer credits for post-secondary institutions within British Columbia: Be sure to review the BC Transfer Guide -- used by UBC and other institutions within British Columbia.
- Transfer credits for post-secondary institutions outside of British Columbia: Upon admission to UBC, music courses taken outside of British Columbia are assessed for transfer credit on a individual basis by the School of Music Faculty Undergraduate Advisor, Dr. Alan Dodson (Tel: 604-822-5287; Email: alan.dodson(at)ubc.ca). Note: For this assessment, a transcript (faxed copy acceptable) as well as available course descriptions and outlines of relevant courses, must be submitted (web links to online course descriptions may be acceptable).
- International Baccalaureate (IB) enriched secondary school program.
- Advanced Placement (AP) enriched secondary school program. Note: The 6 credits awarded by UBC for the AP Music Theory 12 exam may be counted as music elective credit in the B.Mus. program. They do not, however, exempt the student from taking the required first-year Music Theory courses at UBC, which cover the material in greater depth and at a more advanced level.
- After admission to the UBC BMUS program, students who wish to study at another institution for transfer credit to their UBC BMUS degree must receve permission to study on a Letter of Permission PRIOR to registering at another institution. Students who complete studies elsewhere without a Letter of Permission may have their request for transfer credit refused.
Which year will I transfer into?
- Which year transfer students are admitted to in the B.Mus. is based solely on performance at the audition, not on transfer credits.
- Opera performance transfer students are often accepted into second year even though they may have finished two years of college.
The Writing Requirement
Writing requirement
- If you started your BMUS program in September 2009 or later, you must fulfill the 3 credit Writing Requirement. The Writing Requirement must be completed within your first 60 credits.
- If you are applying to UBC as a transfer student who has taken 60 or more transferable credits, we will consider you for admission ONLY if you have passed 3 credits of coursework which fulfills the Writing Requirement.
- Once you have commenced your BMUS program at UBC, any required Writing credits MUST be completed at UBC.
BMUS Continuation Requirements
- All students in the B.Mus. program will be reviewed annually to determine whether they should be allowed to continue in their course of study. Every year students should improve their performance technique, refine their interpretative abilities, increase the scope of their repertoire on their principal instruments, and be acquiring the basic musicianship skills that are essential for a professional career in music.
- The primary means of evaluating a student's progress in music performance is a jury or recital required at the end of each winter session. A student who achieves a grade of less than B- on a jury or recital will be placed on probation. A student on probation who scores less than B- on a jury or recital will be required to withdraw from the B.Mus. program.
- Students should master basic musicianship skills early in their program. Only students who have passed MUSC 106 may take third-year performance lessons. Only students who have passed MUSC 205 may take fourth-year performance lessons. Students are required to be continually registered in musicianship from September to April until MUSC 206 is successfully completed.
- Students are required to be continually registered in the core music history courses (MUSC 120, 121, 220, 221) from September to April until MUSC 221 is successfully completed.
- There are higher standards for continuation in the Piano, Voice, Opera, Orchestral Instrument Performance, Organ, Harpsichord, and Composition majors. They are specified in the descriptions of those majors in this Calendar. Students who do not meet these standards may not continue in those majors, although they may be allowed to continue in the B.Mus. program as General Studies majors.
- Students must also meet the continuation requirements of the Faculty of Arts. Students whose grade-point average fails below Faculty minimums, or who fail a required course twice, must withdraw from the B.Mus. program.
