The Bachelor of Arts in Global Jazz Studies encourages students to think globally about the capacity of jazz to transform the musical and political worlds it engages, while building upon UCLA’s strong jazz studies and world music foundation. Designed for students seeking careers as jazz performers, producers, teachers, and/or jazz scholars, coursework includes scholarly courses on the history and culture of jazz, studio instruction, participation in jazz and world music ensembles, and courses in music theory, musical structure and instrumentation, improvisation, expression, composition, and arranging. The major is interdisciplinary, drawing from various areas across the school of music as well as UCLA’s African American Studies department.

Musicians turn the Big Dipper into an ‘Interstellar Cantata,’ with Help from NASA
“L.A. Signal Lab” is a collective of musicians, including Hitomi Oba, global jazz studies and music department saxophonist. Mark Swed reviewed their Koreatown premiere of “URSA: an interstellar cantata” for
Jazz: A Way to Run Your Business, a Way to Run Your Life
JB Dyas, vice president of education and curriculum development at the Herbie Hancock Institute, has a new article in Downbeat Magazine on how the tenets of jazz philosophy have been
Regina Carter to Bring the Music and Culture of Lost Neighborhoods to UCLA Students
When Regina Carter was a young girl growing up in Detroit, her mother sometimes took her to work with her. As they drove to the elementary school where she taught, Carter’s mother pointed out the different neighborhoods. “This one is ‘Black Bottom,’ and this is ‘Paradise Valley,’” she would say, as Carter looked out the window.The only trouble was, these historic African American neighborhoods didn’t exist anymore. They had been destroyed to make way for the I-75.
Freedom First to Feature Student Composition
On Friday, October 6, Schoenberg Hall will witness a special event. A concert for Keith LaMar will feature legendary jazz musicians Salim Washington and multi-Grammy Award winner Arturo O’Farrill. The
Mexican Music's regional roots go from 'invisible' to 'invincible'
ABC News recently covered explosion of Mexican genres in American popular music. To understand the music’s regional roots, they turned to Steven Loza, professor of Global Jazz Studies at The
Student Spotlight, Summer 2023
Bruins at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music have had a busy summer. Check out what they've been up to!
Dec 1 Sun
4:00pm
Free
jazz
UCLA Fall Jazz Concert 1
UCLA student combos and ensembles directed by world-class jazz artists will be performing well-known jazz standards, contemporary works, and pop songs, as well as compositions by the faculty directors and
Schoenberg Hall
Dec 2 Mon
7:00pm
Free
jazz
UCLA Fall Jazz Concert 2
UCLA student combos and ensembles directed by world-class jazz artists will be performing well-known jazz standards, contemporary works, and pop songs, as well as compositions by the faculty directors and
Schoenberg Hall
Dec 3 Tue
7:00pm
Free
jazz
UCLA Fall Jazz Concert 3
UCLA student combos and ensembles directed by world-class jazz artists will be performing well-known jazz standards, contemporary works, and pop songs, as well as compositions by the faculty directors and
Schoenberg Hall

Explore Our Degrees

Conducting
Graduate study and training in choral, orchestral, or wind conducting
Ethnomusicology
The study of global musical traditions through performance training, research, and field work
Global Jazz Studies
Jazz performance and musicianship courses are paired with African American Studies
Music Composition
Mentorship in the creation and realization of music for concerts, opera, and visual media
Music Education
Preparation for music educators leading to a BA and teaching credential in just four years
Music Industry
A leadership-focused professional degree which prepares students to transform the creative, entrepreneurial, and executive structures of the music industry
Musicology
The scholarly study of the histories, cultures, and critical interpretations of music and music-making
Music Performance
Study and training towards professional performance careers in Western classical music