The Department of Music offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Western classical music, with concentrations in composition and performance and a specialized undergraduate program in music education. Jazz performance is also offered at the graduate level, in partnership with the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA.
The four-year Bachelor of Arts curriculum in music prepares students for professional success in an ever-changing musical world, combining practical training and individual study with the development of theoretical and historical context and artistic imagination. The major, designed for students who seek to combine fine musicianship with academic excellence, centers on a core curriculum of academic music courses, one-on-one work with artist-teaching faculty, and opportunities to collaborate with peers in large and small ensembles.
In addition to these foundational music studies, the Music Education major offers professional preparation leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree and teaching credential in just four years. Students develop pedagogical skills and innovative insights into theories and practices essential to teach music to California’s diverse student population and provide leadership in the field of arts education.
At the graduate level, specialized studies lead to Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in composition; Master of Music (M.M.) and Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degrees in all classical solo instruments, voice, and conducting; and the master of music degree in jazz performance.
Students interested in a concentration in music history and literature should consider the major in Musicology, and those interested in a concentration in world music should consider the major in Ethnomusicology.
The Department of Music, aligned with the departments of Ethnomusicology and Musicology in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, fosters creative collaboration between performance and scholarship; a cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of musical expression in many forms; and transformative engagement with fellow artists, audiences, and communities both local and global. In short, we strive to prepare students to make the music our world needs now and into the future.
