The School of Music offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Western classical music with an emphasis on composition and performance, as well as specialized undergraduate programs in music education, and in partnership with UCLA's Herbie Hancock Institute for Jazz Performance, also offers jazz performance at the graduate level.
The four-year Bachelor of Arts in Music curriculum combines practical training and individual study with theoretical and historical background and the development of the artistic imagination to prepare students for professional success in an ever-changing musical world. Designed for students who seek both exceptional musicianship and academic excellence, the major is centered around a core curriculum of academic music courses, individual instruction with artist-directing faculty, and opportunities for peer collaboration in large and small ensembles.
In addition to these foundational music studies, the Music Education major provides professional preparation to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree and teaching credential in just four years. Students develop the pedagogical skills and innovative insight into theory and practice essential to teaching music to California's diverse student population and to assume leadership roles in the field of arts education.
At the graduate level, specialized studies lead to the Master of Music (MA) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Composition, the Master of Music (MM) and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degrees in all classical solo instruments, vocal music and conducting, and the Master of Music in Jazz Performance.
Students who want to major in music history and music literature should consider majoring in musicology, and students who want to major in world music should consider majoring in ethnomusicology.
The School of Music works in partnership with the Department of Ethnomusicology and Musicology at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to foster creative collaboration between performance and scholarship, cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of diverse forms of musical expression, and transformative engagement with fellow artists, audiences, and local and global communities. In short, we strive to equip students to make the music the world needs, now and in the future.