BA - The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

The Bachelor of Arts in Musicology welcomes students from diverse musical backgrounds and allows them to shape programs of study that reflect their individual interests and goals. In groundbreaking, unique courses that cover virtually every period, style, and genre, students learn to research, analyze, and understand many different musics: ancient and recent, classical and popular, Western and global, within culture and through a critical lens.

The major culminates in a year-long capstone project in which each student conceives and executes individual research on a specialized topic, ultimately presented as a substantial written essay or in an alternate format, such as a lecture-recital or video/audio presentation. Graduating seniors organize a public conference presenting their capstone work each spring. The major also includes a performance requirement, which can be fulfilled in a number of ways and does not require formal musical training.

Musicology Graduate Student Wins Dissertation Fellowship
Morgan Bates is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Musicology. A trumpet player with a wide-ranging undergraduate background—Bates began as a political science major—they earned a master’s in performance...
Four Faculty Receive Chancellor's Arts Initiative Grants
The Chancellor’s Council on the Arts, in partnership with the Office of Research and Creative Activities, has announced fourteen faculty-led projects that will receive seed funding this year. Four of...
Can AI Win a Grammy?
From CBS, KYMA News: Judith Finell, musicologist at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, helped break down the role of AI in music production.
Apr 28 Tue
4:00pm
Free
lectures-symposia
Robert M. Stevenson Lecture with Dr. Carina Venter
Join us for the Robert M. Stevenson Lecture, featuring guest speaker Carina Venter. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, April 28th at 4:00 PM in the Schoenberg Music Building...
Green Room (1230 Schoenberg Music Building) Learn More
May 8 Fri
2:00pm
Free
Firebirth: Kindling the Sounds of Resilience in Los Angeles
Motivated by the sociocultural and economic impacts that the Palisades and Altadena fires of January 2025 had on the greater Los Angeles (LA) area, Firebirth: Kindling the Sounds of Resilience...
Lani Hall Learn More
May 11 Mon
3:00pm
Free
Distinguished Lecture Series with LaVerne David C. de la Peña
Listening Back: Community and the Life of Archival Sound This talk examines how archival sound recordings can reenter cultural life when they are returned to the communities from which they...

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