Program Goals & Outcomes

The goal of the Mary Pappert School of Music is the development of a well-rounded professional musician who is well-equipped to contribute to the contemporary musical world.

To meet that goal, the Mary Pappert School of Music aims to develop in each student the highest caliber of individual performance informed by current music scholarship. Music studies at Duquesne are enriched by the Bridges Common Learning Experience, a distinctive sequence of courses which places music studies within a broader cultural context.

Mary Pappert School of Music General Goals for all Undergraduate Degree Programs
The School of Music has a common body of knowledge and skills for all degree areas. These fall broadly into the following categories: Performance, Musicianship Skills and Analysis, Composition and Improvisation, History and Repertory, Technology, and Synthesis. The chart below demonstrates how these school-level goals link to the Dimensions of a Duquesne University:

Category 1 Performance Goals Duquesne Dimensions
SOM-UG-U1A Students will acquire technical skills for artistic self-expression in at least one major performance area at a level appropriate for the particular music concentration
  • Understanding and Knowledge
SOM-UG-U1B Students will acquire an overview understanding of the repertory in their major performance area and the ability to perform from a cross-section of that repertory
  • Understanding and Knowledge
SOM-UG-U1C

Students will acquire the ability to read at sight with fluency demonstrating both general musicianship and, in the major performance area, a level of skill relevant to professional standards appropriate for the particular music concentration.
  • Understanding and Knowledge
SOM-UG-U1D

Students will acquire the knowledge and skills sufficient to work as a leader and in collaboration on matters of musical interpretation. Rehearsal and conducting skills are required as appropriate to the particular music concentration
  • Understanding and Knowledge
SOM-UG-U1E Students will acquire keyboard competency.
  • Understanding and Knowledge
SOM-UG-U1F Students will acquire growth in artistry, technical skills, collaborative competence and knowledge of repertory through regular ensemble experiences. Ensembles should be varied in both size and nature. Normally, performance study and ensemble experience continue throughout the baccalaureate program
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Leadership and Service
Category 2 Musicianship Skills and Analysis Goals Duquesne Dimensions
SOM-UG-U2A

Students will acquire an understanding of the common elements and organizational patterns of music and their interaction, the ability to employ this understanding in aural, verbal, and visual analyses, and the ability to take aural dictation
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Intellectual Inquiry and Communication
SOM-UG-U2B

Students will acquire sufficient understanding of and capability with musical forms, processes, and structures to use this knowledge and skill in compositional, performance, analytical, scholarly, and pedagogical applications according to the requisites of their specializations.
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Intellectual Inquiry and Communication
SOM-UG-U2C Students will acquire the ability to place music in historical, cultural, and stylistic contexts
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Diversity and Global Mindedness
Category 3 Composition and Improvisation Goals Duquesne Dimensions
SOM-UG-U3A Students will acquire a rudimentary capacity to create derivative or original music both extemporaneously and in written form; for example, the imitation of various musical styles, improvisation on pre-existing materials, the creation of original compositions, experimentation with various sound sources, and manipulating the common elements in non-traditional ways.
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Intellectual Inquiry and Communication
Category 4 History and Repertory Goals Duquesne Dimensions
SOM-UG-U4A Students will acquire basic knowledge of music history and repertories through the present time, including study and experience of musical language and achievement in addition to that of the primary culture encompassing the area of specialization.
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Intellectual Inquiry and Communication
  • Diversity and Global Mindedness
Category 5 Technology Goals Duquesne Dimensions
SOM-UG-U5A Students will acquire the ability to use technologies current to their area of specialization.
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Intellectual Inquiry and Communication
Category 6 Synthesis Goals Duquesne Dimensions
SOM-UG-U6A While synthesis is a lifetime process, by the end of undergraduate study students will be able to work on musical problems by combining, as appropriate to the issue, their capabilities in performance; aural, verbal, and visual analysis; composition and improvisation; history and repertory; and technology
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Intellectual Inquiry and Communication
  • Diversity and Global Mindedness
  • Leadership and Service
SOM-UG-U6B

Students are expected to have the ability to form and defend value judgments about music, and to communicate musical ideas, concepts, and requirements to professionals and laypersons related to the practice of the major field
  • Understanding and Knowledge
  • Intellectual Inquiry and Communication
  • Ethical, Moral, and Spiritual Development
  • Diversity and Global Mindedness
  • Leadership and Service
Category 7 Professional Goals Duquesne Dimensions
SOM-UG-U7A Each student will display competence in the appropriate professional skills and knowledge outcomes related to their degree areas

See program-level outcomes for associations with (i.e., links to) Duquesne Dimensions
SOM-UG-U7B Students will display professional dispositions as defined by the individual degree areas

See program-level outcomes for associations with (i.e., links to) Duquesne Dimensions