02.05.10.01 English Language Requirements/Provisional Status
Students are required to have adequate preparation in English before beginning study at Eastman. All applicants whose native language is not English should submit evidence of English proficiency by means of scores obtained on the "Test of English as a Foreign Language" (TOEFL). To aid in the assessment of English language skills, the Eastman School has set the following minimum scores: 550 (213 computer-based test) for undergraduate and master's degree applicants, and 600 (250 computer-based test) for doctoral applicants. Applicants to DMA and MA/PhD programs will be held to a higher standard because of the demands of their degree programs. Information on the TOEFL program may be obtained by visiting the TOEFL website: www.ets.org/toefl
Students who are unable to demonstrate adequate English language skills, but who have exceptional performance skills, may be admitted provisionally and required to undertake intensive English language study at Eastman during the summer preceding their matriculation to degree study. Once removed from provisional status, students are fully eligible for financial aid. A provisional financial aid package will be prepared for provisional students, but aid will not be disbursed until the provisions have been satisfied.
Students who are unable to achieve adequate English language skills at the end of summer study have three options: (1) they may withdraw from studies at Eastman; (2) they may engage in one year of study as a provisional student but without financial aid; (3) they may defer their admission for one year. During the deferral year, students are encouraged to study English on their own and retake the TOEFL. By March 1 of that year, students must either submit new scores or decline their offer of admission.
As noted above, visa regulations require that international students be enrolled on a full-time basis. By federal law, provisional students may be considered full-time with fewer than the normal 12 hours of credit for one semester only. Because this law pertains equally to summer study as to other semesters, provisional students must carry 12 credits in all semesters following summer ESL study. Students who are not released from provisional status at the end of summer ESL study may remain in provisional status for one year only. During this year they must maintain full-time status for both semesters. Graduate students in this situation must also take one 400-level music theory or music history course, and attain no grade lower than B-. If the student does not have provisions lifted by the end of the first year, he or she will be administratively withdrawn from the school. (rev. 8/20/06)
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