The Bachelor of Arts in Music option in Music Industry Studies (MIS) prepares students for executive and administrative careers in the music industry (entrance audition required). This option offers a blend of the art of music and the discipline of business. Students not only participate in traditional music courses, such as individual applied music lessons and performing ensembles, but are also immersed in an interdisciplinary curriculum that provides a foundational understanding of business and how it operates in the music industry. With a strong emphasis on experiential learning, students put their classroom education into practice through internships, student-produced events and a student-run, faculty-advised record label (Five of Five Music Entertainment). This option culminates in a music industry internship experience.

A. Admission to the Major

Admission to the major in Music for all undergraduate degrees is determined by audition. Those auditioning for the Performance options must exhibit a high-performance competence in the audition. Audition procedures and standards are listed on the Department of Music—Audition and Placement website.

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.

B. 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. Students enrolled in music ensembles in the Fall semester normally are expected to re-enroll in the same ensemble for the Spring semester. The nature of these classes makes it essential that consistent personnel be maintained throughout the year.

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.

C. Grade Requirement

Students in all options of the B.A. and B.M. Music degrees must earn a grade of “C-” or better in all courses in the Music curriculum, including those required courses that are offered in other departments.

D. 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)

a. Required Courses

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)

b. 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)

c. Individual Lessons

Individual Lessons (1-1)
Lessons apply to instrument used for audition.

d. Courses Outside Music

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

e. Capstone Experience

MUS 494AC Internship in Music (1/3)

4. General Education (48 units)

Undergraduate students must complete 48 units of General Education as described in this Catalog.
12 units are satisfied by the following courses in the major: MUS 397R/L satisfies B5 Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning; MUS 202 satisfies C1 Arts; MUS 191/L satisfies E Lifelong Learning; and MUS 307 satisfies 3 units of upper division F Comparative Cultural Studies.

Total Units in the Major/Option: 68

General Education Units: 36

Additional Elective Units: 16

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

For more information about this program, please contact jeffrey.izzo@csun.edu.