Entering Belmont University | Admissions

Admission to the Department of Art
In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission to the university, students desiring to major in art are required to submit a slide or photographic portfolio that includes 12-20 examples of visual art that reflect his or her best original work. A portfolio may include painting, drawing, digital media, mixed media, photography, printmaking, and/or sculpture. All portfolios must be accompanied by a corresponding inventory, which lists title, date completed, size, and media of each piece. Applicants must also include an appropriate self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of their portfolios. Personal interviews and other supporting documents are recommended and in some cases may be required. Applicants to the B.F.A. program are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Art bases its decisions on 1) the quality of the portfolio; 2) personal supplement essays that communicate the student’s desire to pursue an art degree and that articulate a personal vision; 3) the quality of prior academic background. Students must be accepted into the Department of Art before they may be advised for registration as art majors.

Admission to the Honors Program

1. Prospective honors students may be invited to apply for the program, or they may make an unsolicited direct application. In either case, students who make application should have both an outstanding high school record, and a composite entrance examination score (ACT or SAT) which is predictive of their ability to do honors work.
   
   
2. In order to be admitted to the program, an applicant must be in the top 10% of his or her high school graduating class.
   
   
3. A student must have an ACT score of 28 or an SAT score of 1260 to be admitted into the program.
   
   
4. The Honors Council may admit, on a probationary basis, students with superior creative, artistic, or scholarly achievements, but whose standardized test scores or class rank is below the requirements listed above.
   
   
5. Normally, a maximum of thirty-six persons are admitted into the Honors Program each year.
   

Admission to the Mike Curb School of Music Business

In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission to the university, applicants for the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business

1. Are strongly urged to complete an interview either in person or by phone.
   
   
2. Must have at least a 2.8 GPA on a 4.0 scale in all high school and/or transfer* university courses and an ACT or SAT score that is approved the the university's Admissions Committee.
   

*A transfer student includes current Belmont University students seeking to change from another major to Music Business.

Admission to the School of Music

In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission to the University, applicants for a major or minor in the School of Music must:

1. Submit all application materials required by the Admissions Office of Belmont University and the School of Music. Applications must be stamped as 'Received' in the University Admissions Office four (4) weeks prior to the requested audition date.
   
2. Complete the School of Music Supplement, including the following :
   a. List of music activities from school, church, and community.
   b. Repertory list (title and composer) of solo pieces studied and performed.
   
3. Complete a live or videotaped audition (after application to the University and School of Music Supplement have been received by the University Admissions Office) following the guidelines in the 'Your Audition' leaflet available from the School of Music and found on the School of Music website at www.belmont.edu/music. If submitting a videotape, follow the specifications for preparing the videotaped audition as listed in the audition guidelines.
   
4. Complete the School of Music Basic Musicianship Test at the time of audition. This test is included as part of the evaluation process for admission to the School of Music. Information about this test can be found on the School of Music website at www.belmont.edu/music.
   
5. Be admitted to Belmont University and the School of Music.
   
6. Take the following placement tests, which will be given during Towering Traditions orientation just prior to advising and registration:
   
   Secondary Performing Area Placement:
   All students except keyboard principals will have piano as the required secondary performing area. Keyboard principals in some majors have a voice secondary but in others may elect an instrument as their secondary area. (Music minors are not required to complete the Secondary Placement Test.)
   
   Music Theory and Ear Training Placements
   All students are required to take the Music Theory Placement Test and may take the Ear Training Placement if they desire advanced placement in Ear Training.

7. Have applied study, piano study and theory courses taken at other institutions validated by audition and/or placement test in order to count toward graduation.

Admission to the School of Nursing

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the university, a student desiring admission to major in nursing must meet the following:

1. All applicants who are not currently licensed registered nurses must submit their high school information, including high school transcripts, and SAT-1 or ACT scores.
   
   
2. Applicants who have 30 semester hours or more of prior university work must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Preference is given to applicants with a GPA of 3.0 and above. GPA will be calculated on courses required by nursing curriculum.
   
   
3. Persons who have been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation could be ineligible for registered nurse licensure in the state of Tennessee even though they successfully complete the program.

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   Admission to the Department of Social Work

   In addition to meeting the requirements for general admission to Belmont University, students wishing to pursue the Bachelor of Social Work degree must meet the requirements in the following list and complete a formal application for admission to the Department of Social Work.

Applications for admission may be picked up from the Department of Social Work, Wheeler Humanities Building, Room 306. Further information may be found in the Social Work Handbook.

Directed Self-Placement for Composition

The Department of English administers the Belmont University Directed Self-Placement for all new students who have not successfully completed ENG 110 or its equivalent. The guided self-placement determines the best course for students: English 110 (The Writer’s Seminar), or English 103 (Composition Writing Lab). See full course descriptions in the Department of English.

Mathematics Placement Test

All entering students, freshmen and transfers, are required to take the Mathematics Placement Test. The Placement Test is given at regular announced times throughout the year. Students may not register for Mathematics courses, other than Math 90, without taking the test or having written approval from the chairman of the Mathematics/Computer Science Department.

Questions about which courses taken at other colleges and universities may be substituted for math requirements at Belmont should be directed to the chairman of the Department of Mathematics/Computer Science or the associate dean of the School of Sciences.