Music Humanities Exemption Exam
Fall 2025
Friday, September 5, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Dodge Hall, Room 622
The Exemption test will take approximately 90 minutes and comprises:
Part I: Identification of works by composers in the syllabus, based on played excerpts
Part II: Questions about musical techniques and styles, based on played excerpts from the Middle Ages through the present
Part III: Short-answer questions on musical terms, concepts, genres, forms, and composers
PLEASE NOTE: The Music Exemption Test may be attempted only ONCE, during a student’s FIRST semester at Columbia. It is offered only during the Fall semester of each academic year. Students matriculating for the first time in January may take the test the following Fall semester.
QUESTIONS? E-mail Professor Benjamin Steege, [email protected].
Ways to Obtain an Exemption from the Music Humanities requirement in the Core Curriculum
EXEMPTION FROM MUSIC HUMANITIES
Humanities UN1123
Exemption may be obtained in either of TWO ways DURING A STUDENT’S FIRST SEMESTER at Columbia:
- by satisfactory performance in an equivalent course at another college or university (transfer students only)
- by passing an exemption test administered by the department (incoming first-year or transfer students; students matriculating for the first time in January may take the test the following Fall semester)
If you wish to request exemption on the basis of a music course passed at another college or university:
- Please note that exemption is given only for courses substantially equivalent to Music Humanities (not theory courses or performance study); see the Columbia College or General Studies bulletin for course description.
- Please fill out the online Music Humanities Exemption Request Form from the Center for the Core Curriculum: https://my.undergrad.columbia.edu/s/core-exemption-request.
QUESTIONS? E-mail Professor Benjamin Steege, [email protected].
