Comprehensive Portfolio

All music students, with the assistance of their advisor, will compile a comprehensive portfolio. The purpose of the portfolio is to collect and archive documents essential for graduate school, future employers, or other professional purposes. It is also helpful in reviewing a student’s progress during their time in the program.

Each semester, students are required to bring portfolio items (graded work, compositions, performance programs, etc.) to their fall jury exam and spring progress and skills exam. Throughout the semester, students can add these items to the manilla folder provided in their student mailboxes. The portfolio will be examined by the music faculty at juries and progress and skills exams every semester. Failure to provide a complete and updated portfolio each semester will result in a grade of “No Pass” for recital attendance. These items will be filed and returned when time to create the final comprehensive portfolio.

The final comprehensive portfolio is due to the coordinator one week prior to the student’s exit interview. It is the student’s responsibility to compile and collect items for the portfolio. It is the adviser’s responsibility to monitor the contents of the portfolio each semester. The coordinator will review the student’s portfolio using an exit interview checksheet.

The final comprehensive portfolio should be compiled in the following manner: all items must be 3-hole punched and inserted into a 2- or 3-inch 3-ring binder. This binder should be new or in excellent condition. Clearly labeled divider tabs should be used for each section of the portfolio. A cover page should be inserted into the front cover of the binder or placed as the first page in the binder. The cover page should state the following information:

Comprehensive Portfolio
of
Student’s Name
Bachelor of Arts: Student’s Emphasis
Primary Applied Specialization: Student’s Primary Instrument
Date of Portfolio Submission

The following materials must be included in the comprehensive portfolio in the order specified below. For oversize items such as methods notebooks or the professional educational portfolio, fill out an “Oversize Items Form” and place it in the “General Documents” section of the portfolio:

1. General Documents

2. Self-Assessment Essays

3. Academic Documents

  • Student course projects
  • Student research papers
  • Other student writing projects

4. Analytical Documents

5. Creative Documents

  • Compositions
  • Arrangements
  • Software projects

6. Applied Studio Instruction Documents

  • Progress and skills exam forms
  • Jury forms

7. Performance Documents

  • Programs from all solo and ensemble concerts on which you performed

    Fill out an “Additional or Outside Performances Form” for each event you performed on but for which you do not have a program,
  • Comprehensive repertoire sheet (optional)

8. Music Education Documents (required for Bachelor of Arts in Music Education only)

  • Statement of teaching philosophy
  • Sample lesson plans (2-3)
  • Other papers/projects as required in music ed. courses (sample of 2-3)