Sample Degree Planners and Checklists

Need help planning your degree? Undergraduate students may refer to the sample planner for their program. All planners are 4-year plans. Undergraduate students who transferred to UCLA should refer to their 2-year plan sent to them by their Advisor.

Still need help? Contact your Advisor!

All sample degree planners are based on a 4-year time to degree timeline. Students who matriculate as third year transfers should refer to their individual 2-year sample degree planner and reach out to their advisor if they have any questions.

If you matriculated as a 4-year student and are interested in completing your degree in less than 12 quarters, please reach out to your School of Music advisor to discuss if this is possible. More resources for if you want to finish your degree early can be found here.

By clicking the button below, you will be sent to a viewable google drive folder. Please navigate the folder in order to locate the sample degree planner and checklist for your specific department, major, and concentration, if applicable. In each folder, you have two options to access a sample planner:

  1. Download a PDF of the sample planner.
  2. Open a google sheet version of the sample planner, set to view only access. If you would like to edit the sample planner, please make your own personal copy by going to “File” → “Make a Copy”.

 

School of Music Sample Planners and Checklists
School of Music Sample Planners and Checklists
School of Music Sample Planners and Checklists

School & University Requirements

In order to be eligible to receive a bachelor’s degree from the Herb Alpert School of Music, students must satisfy all School and University requirements. Beyond each student’s major requirements, all School and University requirements must be met in order to be eligible to graduate from UCLA.

Departments and Programs

Students in the Ethnomusicology Department study the performance and context of music-making from a global perspective. The Music Department offers majors in Music Composition, Music Education, and Music Performance. The Musicology Department offers students a broad understanding of the history and culture of music. The school also houses two interdepartmental degree programs in Global Jazz Studies and Music Industry.

The school is also home to four undergraduate minors. The Musicology minor offers undergraduates an overview of music history and the study of music. Students may select from a wide variety of undergraduate courses that range through the history of European and American music. The Music Industry minor introduces students to critical perspectives on the formative effects the music industry and music technology have on musical practices around the world. The Ethnomusicology minor gives students who are interested in the culture of music a unique opportunity to participate in a hands-on educational experience. Students perform in ensembles, explore the world’s instruments, and study global traditions. The Iranian Music minor introduces students to the rich variety of musical expressions in Iran and the Iranian diaspora by combining hands-on musical experiences with academic study. Students take advantage of three ensembles to study the performative, improvisatory, and experimental aspects of Iranian traditional and popular music.

Information regarding academic programs is available from the Office of Student Affairs, 1642 Schoenberg Music Building.

With proper planning, undergraduates may be approved to add additional degree programs during their time at UCLA.

School of Music students must establish Residency before they are eligible to request to add an additional degree program. For students who enter as a first year, residency is established after 3 academic quarters (e.g. Fall, Winter, and Spring). For student who enter as a third year transfer, residency is established after 1 quarter (e.g. Fall).

While you can’t request to add an additional degree program until you establish residency, you can start preparing to add your additional degree program as soon as your first quarter. If you have any questions about the feasibility of adding an additional degree program during your time at UCLA, reach out to your School of Music advisor.

When you are ready to request to add your additional degree program, please take the following steps.

  • Review your DARS to see what is needed to complete your current major
  • Run a What-If DARS to see the requirements for your proposed additional degree program
  • Make a sample degree planner for you current program plus your proposed program(s). Sample planners for School of Music majors can be found below.
  • Speak to your School of Music advisor to see if adding an additional degree program is possible within your remaining degree time.
  • Reach out to the advising unit for your proposed degree program to ask questions and set up an advising meeting with them, if possible.

If you are interested in changing your primary major to a program outside of the School of Music, please refer to the steps to Exit the School of Music

 

Contact your Advisor
Contact your Advisor
Contact your Advisor

Degree Audit Report System (DARS)

What is DARS?

School of Music undergraduate students may use DARS (Degree Audit Reporting System) to see the credit they have received and determine which requirements of their degree are left to complete.

DARS can be accessed via MyUCLA (http://my.ucla.edu).  Login with your UCLA login and password to enter the system.

  1. To generate a new degree audit, press “Run Audit”.
  2. Select “Run Declared Program”.
  3. Once your audit is finished running, press “View” to enter.

TIP: always run a new degree audit when going on DARS. If you drop or add a course, receive a final grade, or add a degree program, these will not be reflected on a previously run audit.

Further instructions on how to run a degree audit can be found on video here.

If you are interested in adding or switching a degree program, running a What-If DARS is tool to see what courses are required for that program and if any previously taken courses satisfy new requirements.”

  1. To generate a new What-If DARS, press “Run Audit”.
  2. Above the “Advanced Settings” button, choose “Select a Different Program”.
  3. Use the drop downs to input your current and proposed programs for the audit.
  4. TIP: if you are interested in adding an Economics Double Major and you are currently a Musicology B.A., you would need to select “Herb Alpert School of Music” for “School/College.” “Catalog Year” should be the quarter and year you entered UCLA (e.g. Fall 2024) . Once you have selected your current major, the option to add a second major or minor will appear.
  5. Once all your selections have been made, select “Run Different Program”
  6. Once your audit is finished running, press “View” to enter.
  1. Does the course you enrolled in count towards multiple requirements? If so, it may have populated somewhere else on your audit. Contact your advisor if you want to move the course to another requirement where it can count.
  2. Does the course require you to enroll for a certain grading basis? If you enroll in a course as Pass/No Pass and the degree requirement must be completed for a Letter Grade, you must change the grading basis in order for the course to satisfy the requirement.
  1. The catalog year typically aligns with the quarter and year you matriculated to UCLA or added a degree program (e.g. Fall 2024). If your major updates a degree requirement while you are student, you will only be held to requirements listed for the catalog year you matriculated.
  2. Do not change the catalog year when running an audit, unless you are thinking about adding a degree program in the future and want to check if any curricular changes have been made. Running an audit with an incorrect catalog year will make any new degree requirements, which you are not required to complete, appear on your degree audit.

Enrolling in Classes

How do I plan for my enrollment each quarter?

Planning enrollment ahead of time and enrolling during your assigned enrollment passes help make sure you complete your degree requirements and graduate by your degree expected term. Please review the enrollment policies and information below.

In order to maintain timely degree progress, School of Music students are required to enroll in a minimum of 14 units each academic quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring). Students who enroll in less than 14 units a quarter, and are not approved as a part-time or reduced course load student, could be at risk of Academic Difficulty (hyperlink page) due to not meeting minimum unit progress.

School of Music students are able to enroll in a maximum of 20 units during Fall, Winter, and Spring and a maximum of 16 units during Summer Sessions. In order to request to enroll in more than 20 or 16 units, respectively, please submit a Unit Increase Petition (hyperlink petitions).

Based on units completed and priority status, appointments are assigned randomly within pass time periods. Your exact enrollment date and time can be found on your MyUCLA on your Class Planner. Please refer to the Term Calendar to see when enrollment appointments are released for each quarter. The schedule for First and Second passes for Undergraduate and Graduate students each quarter can be found here.

Enrollment season at UCLA can be highly competitive, especially for University wide courses, such as GEs. School of Music students have priority access to many School of Music courses, as they are reserved for School of Music majors. Sometimes these restrictions can be removed later in the enrollment cycle so that non-School of Music students have an opportunity to enroll. It is strongly encouraged that you enroll in courses during your assigned enrollment passes. Missing your enrollment time and needing to enroll later in the enrollment cycle can lower your chances or securing spots in required and desired courses.

PTE numbers are a 5 digit code that allow students to enroll in courses, if they are unable to do so due to a course restriction. These restrictions could be based on major, year, and/or course prerequisites. We recommend reviewing the Class Notes listed for a restricted course before requesting a PTE, as the notes may say when/if restrictions will be removed and the respective department’s PTE policy.

PTE numbers for School of Music courses are provided by instructors only. Requesting a PTE from an instructor does not guarantee you will receive one, especially if the course is restricted by major and/or is closed.

If a course is restricted by “Instructor Consent”, receiving a PTE from the instructor is the only way to enroll via the Class Planner. To receive the PTE, email the instructor ahead of the first day of the course or plan to attend the first day.

If you receive a PTE to enroll, it will only be valid through the last day to add a class on MyUCLA. After the add class deadline, submitting an Enrollment petition (hyperlink) is necessary to request to late add a course, even if you previously secured a PTE.

Some courses, including Internship courses and independent study courses, use a contract to set forth the type and topic of study. A few examples of School of Music contract courses are 195, 197, and 199 courses.

Once you know which course you will be enrolling in and your faculty supervisor, the course contract is generated on MyUCLA. Once you finish the contract, you will receive a .pdf copy. Note: your enrollment in the course will NOT be processed until your contract is received by the Office of Student Affairs and approved by the respective department. Contract courses added after the last day to add classes will incur a fee. More information about contract courses can be found here.

If you have any questions about enrolling in a contract course, please reach out to the Office of Student Affairs (hyperlink page).

  1. Check if the course has enrollment restrictions, which can include year, major/minor or prerequisite requirements. Sometimes these restrictions will be lifted after Second passes have begun.
  2. Check if the course is enrolled by “instructor consent only,” which means you will need a PTE to enroll. Some courses require additional steps, e.g. an application or audition, in order to receive a PTE.
  1. Please refer to your DARS(hyperlink DARS page) to determine where a specific course can count towards your degree.
  2. Additional resources: GE Master list, Impacted Course Master List.
  1. All courses taken for a major requirement (e.g Preparation for the Major or Core Major courses) must be taken for a Letter Grade in order to satisfy said requirement. The only exception to this is if the required major course is ONLY offered on a Pass No/Pass grading basis.
  2. For certain requirements, it is listed on DARS whether courses must be taken for a Letter Grade in order to satisfy the requirement.

Please submit a Unit Increase Petition (hyperlink petitions), listing the courses, units, reasons for taking the courses, and your justification for exceeding the 20 unit limit. We recommend you submit this petition sooner rather than later to avoid late enrollment fees if there are delays in processing your petition.

PTEs come directly from the instructor for the course. For any courses requiring a PTE, please email the instructor directly to request one or plan to go to the first day of the course. The Office of Student Affairs in the School of Music does not give out PTEs.

Almost all School of Music instructor emails are available on the SoM website’s Faculty page.