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.
Global Jazz
Studies
Take the
Next Step
Related News
More News
Alumnus Publishes Study on Health Benefits of Mindful Jazz Listening
Ethnomusicology alum Sean Young worked in the music industry before earning a Ph.D in Psychology from Stanford University. Now a professor at UC Irvine, Young has published a controlled study
From the Classroom to Coachella
The Channeltone Horns, a trio comprised of three global jazz students at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, are set to perform at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and
The Poem is the Music, the Musician is the Poet
Celebrated Poet Nathaniel Mackey Talks About the Deep Connections between Jazz and Language On Friday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m. in Schoenberg Hall, Salim Washington, professor and chair of global
Cheryl L. Keyes's "Sundiata Keita Overture" Wins Global Music Award
Cheryl L. Keyes, professor of ethnomusicology and global jazz studies and chair of the African American studies department, was recently awarded the silver medal in the Global Music Awards for her “Sundiata Keita Overture.” The overture received its world premiere in Royce Hall on June 5 during a multimedia event, “Prelude to Juneteenth.”
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
May 20 Tue
7:00pm
Free
Free
contemporary, jazz
An Evening with Tigran Hamasyan In Celebration of the Promise Chair in Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture at UCLA This event celebrates the establishment of the Promise Chair in Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture…
Schoenberg Hall Learn More
May 29 Thu
11:00am
Free
Free
chamber-music, classical, contemporary, jazz
UCLA Gluck Musicians Year End Showcase Concert The Gluck End of Year Showcase Concert features performances from many different UCLA Gluck Ensembles for an audience of K-12 students from partner schools throughout the Los Angeles area. …
Schoenberg Hall Learn More
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