Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Music

The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in music is a 120-hour liberal arts degree program. Students must meet all requirements established by the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of the Arts, including a foreign language sequence. Students may select guided electives outside of music to develop a minor in another discipline.

Selected Educational Outcomes

1. Candidates will demonstrate functional knowledge of the elements of music construction.
2. Candidates will display conceptual understanding of the literature and historical development of music in Western civilization and of the function of music in world cultures.
3. Candidates will exhibit broad interests in liberal arts or minor studies.
4. Candidates will meet all the standards set forth by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) for the liberal arts degree with a major in music.

Examples of Outcomes Assessments

1. Candidates will produce an in-depth analysis project or paper in which fundamental musical constructs are documented.
2. Candidates will produce an in-depth paper that demonstrates conceptual understanding of music in Western civilization and/or of the function of music in world cultures.
3. Candidates will complete a capstone project under the guidance of music faculty as part of the recital. This project will take the form of written program notes.
4. Candidates will demonstrate performance skill through the jury process (a prepared performance adjudicated by a panel every semester), a performance barrier (after 4 semesters of applied instruction) that leads to upper division applied study, and a senior recital of not less than 20 minutes.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Major in Music

Core Curriculum		60
Core Curriculum, Areas A-E (See VSU Core Curriculum)		42
Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in music should take MUSC 1100 in Area C.
Core Curriculum Area F
MUSC 1011   & MUSC 1012	Music Theory I    and Music Theory II	6
MUSC 1051   & MUSC 1052	Music Theory Lab I    and Music Theory Lab II	2
MUSC 2131   & MUSC 2132	Class Piano I    and Class Piano II	1
MUSC 1_20 or MUSC 2_20 Principal Applied Music		8
Senior College Curriculum		60
Upper Level Courses in Music
MUSC 2011   & MUSC 2051	Music Theory III    and Music Theory Lab III	4
MUSC 2012   & MUSC 2052	Music Theory IV    and Music Theory Lab IV	4
Principal Ensemble		8
MUSC 3_20 or MUSC 4_20 Additional Applied Music		8
MUSC 4451   & MUSC 4452	History of Music to 1750    and History of Music since 1750	6
MUSC 1016	An Introduction to Computer Applications in Music	1
Music Electives		3
MUSC 1001	Professional Orientation and Seminar for Music Majors	0
Other Supporting Courses
Select one of the tracks listed below 2		20
Foreign Language 1		6
Total hours required for the degree		120

General Track

Upper Division electives or Minor 2

20

 Education Track

MUE 3000	Introduction to Music Education	2
MUE 3650	Conducting	3
MUSC 3100	Arranging for Band, Chorus, and Orchestra	2
MUSC 3131   & MUSC 3132	Class Piano III    and Class Piano IV	2
Music Guided Electives		2
EDUC 2120	Exploring Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Diversity	3
PSYC 3110	Educational Psychology	3
SPEC 3000	Serving Students with Diverse Needs	3
Total Hours		20

Jazz Track

MUSC 1171   & MUSC 1172	Theoretical Foundations of Jazz Improvisation I    and Theoretical Foundations of Jazz Improvisations II	2
Upper Division Electives 2		18
MUSC 3870 is the principle ensemble for the BA-Jazz Track
Total Hours		20

1	See University Foreign Language Requirements
2	Must include at least 6 hours of courses numbered 3000 or above in a single discipline outside of Music.