The Master of Music in Performance with a jazz concentration is a partnership program between the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. This unique college-level jazz program allows masters of jazz to pass on their expertise to the next generation of jazz musicians. The Institute of Jazz Performance students and instructors present a number of major concerts and community outreach programs throughout the United States and overseas.

Every two years, a cohort of six to eight musicians, called Jazz Fellows, are selected through a rigorous audition process. They study and perform together in the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance and also study individually and as an ensemble, receiving personal mentoring, ensemble coaching, and lectures on the jazz tradition from an array of visiting jazz icons who serve as artists-in-residence. Jazz Fellows are encouraged to experiment in expanding jazz in new directions through their compositions and performances. Each qualified Jazz Fellow has the opportunity to fulfill the jazz concentration requirements and earn a M.M. degree in the Department of Music, and all students receive full tuition scholarships from the school, stipends to cover their monthly living expenses from the institute, and on-campus housing.