Written by Meghan Correll, Class of 2023
At some point in our college careers, we all have to take some classes outside of Mason Gross. Maybe they’re the general math and science courses you have to take to complete your Liberal Arts requirements. Or maybe you want to branch out and pursue a minor or a second major. Either way, we will all take non-music courses at some point, and you might notice some differences in how the classes are run. It can be confusing, but knowing what to expect beforehand can make all the difference.
Some important information to think about when taking non-music courses:
Class size. Most of our Mason Gross classes are pretty small, but non-music classes can have 100 people or more. It’s important to reach out to classmates, make friends, or join a class group chat. Oftentimes, liberal-arts-required courses will even have other music majors in them. It’s good to have people you can reach out to and ask questions about the material and clarify due dates.
Professors. These large classes also mean that professors probably won’t know you personally and won’t remind the class of every homework assignment. Maintain email etiquette; lead off with what class and section you’re in so they know what class you’re talking about, and keep the tone professional. Also, keep an eye out for Canvas announcements and keep yourself organized.
Reaching out to professors during office hours, TAs, and tutors is more important than ever; you often won’t talk to or see professors on a daily basis, so getting feedback any way you can will help boost your grades.
Time management. Most of us have had to find a balance between practicing and academic homework at some point. But the college workload is very different from high school - we have to practice for lessons, secondary lessons, piano, techniques courses, Aural Skills, and various ensembles. And additionally, we have academic work that is handled completely differently. Just like practicing, set small goals for yourself and start early. This also makes it easier to get the feedback you want; it’s hard to get input from a professor when you don’t start an assignment until 10pm the night it’s due.
It may not seem so common on the outside, but there are quite a few people in Mason Gross who pursue a minor, or even a second major. One of the most common minors for music education students to take is a Psychology minor, because we are already required to take two Psychology courses, so completing a minor means taking only 4 extra courses. If you’re thinking about adding a minor, you should take a few things into consideration:
Subject. Why are you pursuing this minor? Is it something you are really interested in and want to learn more about, or is it just something you want to add to your resume to make yourself more marketable? Both are valid reasons, but I find that the best choice is something that checks both boxes.
Personally, I’m pursuing a math minor, which could show my future employer that I’m well-rounded and ambitious, but really I just enjoy learning about math and there are even a lot of connections to music theory that fascinate me.
Foreign language minors are fun and also make you a valuable team member in the field.
Think about your end goal: if you want to run your own private lesson studio, consider a business minor; if you want a career in musicology, consider an English minor.
If you are passionate about something, use the resources provided by Rutgers and take courses that excite you! It’s okay to have interests outside of music.
Scheduling. Creating a schedule within the confines of Mason Gross isn’t too tricky, because our staff knows what courses we need to take every year and schedules those courses accordingly (this means Aural Skills III will never be at the same time as Music History 1, because the staff knows most sophomores will be in both of these courses simultaneously). But the rest of the campus doesn’t take our personal schedules into consideration. What does this mean for you? It’s very likely that you might plan to take a course and then upon opening the Rutgers Course Schedule Planner, find that it doesn’t fit in your schedule anywhere. It can be frustrating or disappointing, but sometimes the planets just don't align right and you need to adjust.
Be flexible. If your schedule doesn’t line up the way you planned, consider pushing your planned course to the next semester, or swapping it with one that you had planned for a later semester. One thing that has really helped me are summer courses, which ease the workload during the semester and help me not fall behind on my planned courses.
If your minor is unrelated to music, don’t be afraid if an advisor recommends an extra semester. The music major schedule is already packed tightly into four years, so don’t be freaked out by it.
Plan ahead. Just like in Mason Gross, there are some classes that are only offered in certain semesters. It’s important to find out which courses are offered when. Sometimes you can find this in WebReg, but the best source is…
An advisor in your minor’s department. Our music advisors are excellent at their jobs, but an advisor in the department will have more information on which courses are offered when, which courses have prerequisites, and other helpful information. An advisor also needs to sign off on a minor declaration form. This form makes your minor official in the eyes of the university. You can fill it out whenever you choose, but I recommend waiting until your sophomore or junior year, as you will have to list all the classes you have taken or plan to take on it and you might change what courses you intend to take.
I hope this helps ease the stress of your college career, and remember that your classmates, professors, and advisors are here for you! Good luck and I can’t wait to see you all next semester!
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