Orientation will start mailing One Books mid-March to all first-year students with a paid tuition deposit. As deposits are received and posted to students' accounts, One Books will continue to be mailed on a rolling basis. If you do not receive a One Book by May 15, please contact our office at orientation@jmu.edu or 540-568-1787. Please allow three weeks for delivery time after you have paid your tuition deposit.

Yes. Summer Orientation is major-specific; therefore, date availability is based on your declared major submitted through the Orientation Reservation & Declaring a Major step. Once your reservation is complete, a confirmation email is sent to your JMU email account. It is important to attend Summer Orientation the date you reserved so we can provide you programming and advising for your major.

Students are expected to attend their Summer Orientation. It is your opportunity to meet with your advisor, ask questions and finalize your fall class enrollment. Orientation is full of opportunities for you and your family and guests to discover everything JMU offers. If you are unable to attend, please select Unable to Attend in the Orientation Reservation & Declaring a Major step.

Even if you are not able to attend Summer Orientation you should still go to the One Book website and complete all the steps by the stated deadlines. This information is crucial for enrollment at JMU.

Students who do not attend Summer Orientation may not have another opportunity during the summer to meet with their academic advisor or finalize their fall class enrollment. No changes may be made to class schedules until Weeks of Welcome.

You will receive an email from your advisor one week prior to scheduled enrollment appointments. The advisor will give students contact information so he or she can be of service during class enrollment. Students will then meet with their advisor at Summer Orientation to confirm class schedules. An advisor may be reassigned without notice to accommodate change of major requests. Students may confirm their current advisor in the Student Center of MyMadison.

No. Prior to attending Summer Orientation, you will enroll in your classes based on your printed 1st Semester Enrollment Worksheet. Refer to the One Book steps for further instructions and deadlines. It is important that you attend Summer Orientation to meet with your advisor for a group advising session and to make any necessary changes to your fall class schedule.

The One Book is full of information you need to know about Residence Life including completing your Housing Contract, Learning Communities, descriptions of each residential area on campus, shopping tips, and necessities for residential living.

You are not permitted to have a car on campus.

You will receive information from the Marching Band office regarding move-in times.

You will select an on-campus meal plan when you sign their housing contract. Please follow instructions on the View or Change Your Meal Plan step if you need to make changes. Commuter students may purchase a meal plan each semester and do not have the ability to change their meal plan choice through MyMadison.

Yes, every music major, with the exception of guitarists, must audition at the beginning of each semester for an ensemble placement. Audition excerpts will be posted before the beginning of each semester on our Student Resources page for Instrumental, Jazz, & Vocal ensembles. View a comprehensive look at our ensembles in the School of Music.

In general, you can take an educated guess on where you think you may be placed and try to work around that schedule. However, you must be ready to change your schedule based on your ensemble placement(s). Once audition placements are posted, take a look at what General Education clusters you want to fulfill or classes you want to take, and from there you can search MyMadison for open classes that meet the time slots you have available in your schedule. There are deadlines for enrolling in classes, so make sure you adjust your schedule ASAP.

See how to search for courses by cluster. 

See here for a list of ensemble days and times.  

Below is a list of ensembles that you can join or may be placed in. This list is not fully inclusive, depending on the semester class schedule:

MUAP 239 Concert Band - T/TH 2:00 - 3:15PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 239 Symphonic Band - T/TH 12:30 - 1:45PM - 1 credit hour

MUAP 237 Marching Band - T/W/TH/F 6:00 - 7:30PM - 2 credit hours

MUAP 344 Chamber Orchestra - M/W/F 11:15AM - 12:05PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 345 Symph Orchestra - M 2:30-3:20PM & T/TH 2:00 - 3:15PM - 2 credit hours

*MUAP 346 - Wind Symphony - MWF 3:35-4:50PM - 2 credit hours

MUAP 350 - String Ensemble - M/W/F 12:20 - 1:10PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 347 - Jazz Ensemble - M 5:00 - 5:50PM & T/TH 3:30 - 4:45PM - 2 credit hours

*MUAP 348 Jazz Band - T/TH 3:30 - 4:45PM - 1 credit hour

MUAP 353 - Guitar Ensemble - M 6:00 - 8:30PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 354 - Percussion Ensemble - M/W/F 12:20 - 1:10PM - 1 credit hou

*MUAP 352 - Brass Band - M/W 12:20 - 1:10PM & F 12:20 - 2:15PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 357 - Collaborative Piano M/W/F 12:20 - 1:10PM - 1 credit hour

MUAP 234 - Men's Chorus (Tenor/Bass Ensemble) - M/W 3:30-4:45PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 235 - Treble Chamber Choir - T/TH 3:30 - 4:45PM - 1 credit hour

MUAP 236 - Women's Chorus (Soprano/Alto Ensemble) - M/W 3:30 - 4:45PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 340 - Chorale - T/TH 2:00 - 3:15PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 341 - Madison Singers - M/W/F 11:15AM - 12:20PM - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 380 - Collegium (Early Music) - TBA - 1 credit hour

*MUAP 343 - Opera Theatre - M/T/W/TH 4:40 - 7:20PM (Eight Week 2) - 1-2 credit hours

*MUAP 360 - Opera/Music Theatre Orchestra - T/TH 5:00 - 6:15PM - 1 credit hour

*denotes required audition for entry into the ensemble

Regardless of concentration, the freshman year of study for music majors is designed to be similar for all students. The freshman year is devoted to courses from the basic music core requirements, General Education courses (9 hours of Cluster One plus selected courses from other clusters as appropriate to the music concentration), ensemble participation, and applied study in the student’s performance area.  

A typical freshman course of study might be:  

Semester I:

Semester II:

*See General Education Planner for information about General Education