Admission to Candidacy
All students are required to be admitted to candidacy to earn a degree as a Recording Industry major. Candidacy is required as a prerequisite to enrollment in most upper-division courses within the college. When applying to candidacy, students choose their concentration: Audio Production, Commercial Songwriting, or Music Business.
To apply for candidacy, a student must have
- completed all learning support requirements;
- completed all high school deficiencies;
- completed 45 hours (not to include learning support courses);
- completed the math requirement (College Algebra or higher level math) with a minimum 2.00 (C) grade;
- completed all candidacy courses with a minimum 2.00 (C) grade in each: JOUR 1020/EMC 1020/RIM 1020; RIM 3000; RIM 3010 or RIM 3011*; RIM 3600);
- maintained good standing (not on probation).
*NOTE: RIM 3011 does not count toward candidacy or degree requirements for Audio Production. RIM 3010 is required for Audio Production students.
The department will open a limited number of candidacy slots in the concentrations each year. Candidacy will be granted three times per year, after the end of the Fall and Spring Semesters and Summer Term. Students may choose a dual concentration in Audio Production and Music Business. Eighty-five percent of available slots in each concentration will be awarded to the students with the highest candidacy score. Students may not take other RIM courses beyond the candidacy requirements with the exception of RIM 1230 and RIM 3650 until they have successfully completed admission to candidacy. Changing concentrations will require a reapplication to candidacy.
The application for admission to candidacy is an online application available at rim.mtsu.edu/candidacy_application.html. Applications should be submitted by students during the semester in which they will have completed the above requirements. The deadline for candidacy application is near the end of each semester and is announced via email each semester.
Candidacy Formula
Each student’s candidacy score is derived from the following:
Score = (cumulative GPA x 3) + (math grade x 3) + (candidacy course GPA x 4) + (total hours x .05).
Candidacy Appeals
Fifteen percent of available slots in each concentration will be awarded based on a faculty committee recommendation on an appeal application. Appeal applications will be accepted after formula slots have been announced early in the Fall and Spring Semester and Summer Term. Appeal recommendations will be based on exceptional circumstances and/or exceptional talent and/or diversity considerations.
NOTE:
*No more than 6 hours total are allowed toward the major from any combination of RIM 3580 , RIM 4000 , or RIM 4010 .
Commercial Songwriting concentration students may take up to 6 semester hours of their electives from the other concentrations in Recording Industry.
General Education Requirements
Listed below is a summary of the General Education requirements which all candidates for baccalaureate degrees must meet regardless of the department or college in which they are pursuing a major. If mitigating circumstances require a substitution for any specific course listed, such a substitution must have the approval of the academic dean of the college in which the student is pursuing a major.
All full-time, degree-seeking students should be enrolled in the appropriate General Education English course and either 6 hours in General Education or 3 hours in General Education and 3 hours in their major until they have satisfied the University General Education requirements.
The General Education requirements for all majors consist of 41 total hours including:
- Communication (9 credit hours) including
- ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing - 3 credit hours
- ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing - 3 credit hours
- COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication - 3 credit hours
- History - 6 credit hours
- Humanities and/or Fine Arts - 9 credit hours
- Mathematics - 3 credit hours (See note below.)
- Natural Sciences - 8 credit hours
- Social/Behavioral Sciences - 6 credit hours (RIM/JOUR/EMC 1020, American Media and Social Institutions will fulfill 3 hours of the Social/Behavioral Sciences requirement.)
See General Education requirements for list of specific courses to fulfill.
Math Requirement Note
Recording Industry majors must take one of the following courses to fulfill the General Education Mathematics requirements:
- MATH 1710 - College Algebra 3 credit hours (or higher level)
- MATH 1720 - Plane Trigonometry 3 credit hours
- MATH 1730 - Pre-Calculus 4 credit hours
MATH 1010 will not meet this requirement.
Minors for Recording Industry Majors
All Recording Industry majors are required to complete one minor.
Commercial Songwriting concentration students must pick one minor from among Entrepreneurship , Writing , or Music .
Curriculum: Recording Industry, Commercial Songwriting Concentration
Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.
Students should see their advisors to develop their individual schedules. Certain prerequisites and sequences in particular major concentrations and minors require special attention.
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