For students preparing for a career in the various business-related aspects of the field (entrance audition required). Required capstone experience: Internship.

Research increasingly confirms and reveals the power and potential of music in human development. The study of music, requiring a variety of learning modalities, develops essential skills that carry over into the study of other fields. The performance components allow for deep cultivation of its expressive potential. The student also has opportunity to develop maturity and poise in public settings, leading to growth in self-confidence and flexibility. In group music making, the student becomes part of an artistic community, reaping the satisfaction of working with others toward common goals and the sense of accomplishment resulting from fine performance.

Admission to the Major

Students wanting to select Music as a major are expected to have had a variety of pre-college cognitive and affective experiences. These could include high school performance, high school theory programs, individual private instruction with music professionals, and professional and vocational musical experiences. Admission to the Major in Music for all undergraduate degrees is determined by audition. Students must complete this audition and be accepted to the Department prior to being accepted in the major. Those auditioning for the Bachelor of Music Degree must exhibit a high performance competence in the audition.

Transfer students seeking admission to Performance Options must audition at the appropriate entrance level determined by the number of transferable units accepted by the University. (Example: At the time of the audition, students with more than 60 transferable units must demonstrate musical proficiency at the junior level for admission to a Performance Option.) Exceptions to this policy are rare and are at the discretion of the Music Department.

After admission to the University and admission to the Music Department (audition for Performance Options and audition plus interview for other Options), students will need to complete required coursework in the Music Core curriculum and in an Option. Successful progress toward the Degree is in part determined by appropriate coursework taken in a sequential manner and by earning a grade of “C-” or better in all courses in the Music curriculum, including those outside the Music Department. Students will not be admitted to Upper Division study in Music until all Lower Division coursework has been successfully completed.

Lesson and Ensemble Requirements

To qualify for individual lessons in any semester, an undergraduate student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 units, including lesson units and the correct number of ensemble units required by his or her Option.

Enrollment in the designated ensemble(s) for the student’s instrument is a corequisite of enrollment in private lessons each semester of enrollment. Students who do not meet this requirement by the third week of the semester will not be eligible for lessons that semester.

All students enrolled in individual lessons must demonstrate their progress in the major before a faculty jury at the end of each semester of study. Students receiving lower than a grade of “C-” in that semester of lessons will need to take additional study at their own expense to achieve their required level of performance before resuming Department-paid lessons.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree

1. Lower Division Required Courses (24 units)

MUS 110A Keyboard Musicianship I (1)
MUS 110B Keyboard Musicianship II (1)
MUS 111/L Musicianship I and Lab (1/1)
MUS 112/L Musicianship II and Lab (1/1)
MUS 191/L Fundamentals of Music Technology and Lab (2/1)
MUS 201 Style/Literature of Western Music I (3)
MUS 202 Style/Literature of Western Music II (3)
MUS 210A Keyboard Musicianship III (1)
MUS 211/L Musicianship III and Lab (1/1)
Individual Lessons (1-1)
Ensembles (4)

2. Upper Division Required Courses (5 Units)

MUS 307 Music from a Global Perspective (3)
MUS 483ME/L Music Entrepreneurship and Lab (1/1)

3. Music Industry Studies Option Requirements (39 units)

The following four courses substitute for the core requirements of MUS 110A, MUS 110B, MUS 210A and MUS 210B for students who auditioned for the degree option on piano

MUS 235A Contemporary Keyboard Styles: Latin (1)
MUS 235B Contemporary Keyboard Styles: Jazz, Rock, and Pop (1)
MUS 235C Contemporary Keyboard Styles: Afro-Cuban (1)
MUS 235D Contemporary Keyboard Styles: Gospel (1)

Option Requirements

MUS 210B Keyboard Musicianship IV (1)
MUS 213 Harmony I (3)
MUS 293/L Field Experience in Music Industry and Lab (2/1)
MUS 303A History of Popular Music in America I (3)
MUS 303B History of Popular Music in America II (3)
MUS 391/L Music Technology II and Lab (2/1)
MUS 397R/L Sound Recording and Lab (2/1)
MUS 393A Music Industry Studies I (3)
MUS 393B Music Industry Studies II (3)

Maximum of 2 units to be selected from the following two:

MUS 493C Music Industry Practicum (1-1)
MUS 494A Internship in Music (1-1)
Individual Lessons (1-1) [Lessons apply to instrument used for audition]

Courses outside music

BLAW 280 Business Law I (3)
MGT 360 Management and Organizational Behavior (3)

Capstone Experience

MUS 494AC Internship in Music (1/3)

General Education

The following 9 units of Music courses count for GE: MUS 191/L, 202, 307.

Total Units in the Music Industry Studies Option: 68

General Education Units: 39 (Does not include MUS 191/L, MUS 202 or MUS 307)

Additional Elective Units: 13

Total Units Required for the B.A. Degree: 120

If you would like more information about this program, please contact carey.christensen@csun.edu.