Program Requirements

The B.A. in Music Education, completion of which enables students to apply for Michigan comprehensive K-12 teacher certification in music, is designed for students desiring to teach in the public schools.

The B.A. in Music provides students with a broad general studies education in the liberal arts combined with comprehensive music studies. The liberal arts emphasis will develop students' collaborative, innovative, and imaginative skills and abilities, which are transferable to many post-graduation settings. Recent graduates with a B.A. in Music have gone on to graduate programs in Vocal Performance, Guitar Performance, Collaborative Piano, and Music Theory.

Planning Your Schedule?

In addition to the above courses, each music major is required to attend (7) concerts per semester that they are not performing in. Also, during their degree program at SVSU, majors are required to perform once in a solo setting and once in a chamber setting.

2024-2026 Course Rotation Document (131KB)

If you are a transfer student, please be in close contact with your advisor and/or the department chair. The SVSU Department of Music has an articulation agreement for transfers with Mott Community Colleges and also has a list of equivalencies for other institutions. Your degree audit may or may not be accurately reflecting those and your advisor and/or the department chair can help clarify your status.

Career Possibilities for the BA in Music:

The B.A. in Music at SVSU is a liberal arts degree with a performance emphasis.   Many students and parents wonder what someone can do with a degree in music.  Here are some alternatives.

A liberal arts degree does not limit a graduate to a specific career path.  Instead, it develops broader skills that can lead to many varied careers.  This may seem daunting to a new graduate who does not know which career path to follow, but in the long term, it leaves the graduate able to change fields more flexibly as the job market changes or their own inclinations develop.  Here are some of the most important skills that a student with a liberal arts degree develops over the course of their college career:

• to communicate clearly in writing and speech
• to think creatively, critically, and analytically                
• to solve problems accurately and imaginatively

Music majors learn other important skills:

• teamwork
• collaboration
• deep focus
• perceptive and acute listening
• disciplined practice skills

The performance emphasis of SVSU’s B.A. in Music allows the student to develop their musicianship and performance technique to a level that means they can successfully enter graduate degree programs in their performance medium, music theory, or music history.

All these attributes also make graduates good candidates for graduate degree programs in other fields.  A careful choice of minor can enhance a student’s chances of success in a musical career as well as job prospects in other fields.  Some of the minors we recommend are Entrepreneurship, Communication, Theatre, French, and Sociology.

Suggested Minors:

Communication: The minor requires 18 credits, with one required course, 6 credits at 200-400 level, and 9 credits at 300-400 level. Recommendations from the Chair of Communication are:

• One course from the Organizational Area:  COMM 325, COMM 352, COMM 415
• One course involving conflict management: COMM 227, COMM 351, COMM 415
• COMM 227: Small Group Communication
• COMM 270: Introduction to Marketplace and Media
• COMM 315: Interpersonal Communication
• COMM 455: Intercultural Communication
• COMM 475: Communication and Popular Culture

Entrepreneurship Minor for Non-Business Majors

French

French (for teacher certification)

Music Theatre for Music Majors: This new minor builds on courses a Music Major takes as part of their major by requiring courses in the Theatre Department and cross-listed courses in dance and the history of musical theatre, for a total of 21 credits.  It focuses on vocal, acting, and dance skills. 

(21 credits required)

The Musical Theatre Minor for Music Majors is an interdisciplinary minor designed to enhance a Music Major’s theory and vocal background with appropriate Theatre courses in musical theatre, acting, and dance.

• THEA 136: Introduction to Acting (3 credits)
• THEA 315: Musical Theatre Dance I (3 cr)
• THEA 316: Musical Theatre Dance II (3 cr)
• THEA 235: History of Musical Theatre (3 cr)
• THEA 340: Musical Theatre I (3 cr)
• THEA 440: Musical Theatre II (3 cr)

• Either MUS 102 or MUS 103 (Voice Class or Beginning Voice Class) (1 or 2 cr)

• 2 semesters of Concert Choir (MUS 181) or Cardinal Singers (MUS 189) (1 credit x 2)

Sociology: for people interested in World Music or Ethnomusicology. The minor requires 18 credits in Sociology courses. Particular recommendations from a sociology faculty member for learning about cultural diversity and identity:

• SOC 112 (3 credits): Introduction to Anthropology
• SOC 280 (CI, 3 credits): Global Cultures
• SOC 341 (3 credits): African American Cultures
• SOC 365 (3 credits): Modern Africa

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Interested in a Masters in Music Therapy?

There are programs in Music Therapy at Eastern Michigan University and at Western Michigan University.  Both lead to a professional qualification in music therapy.  After correspondence with faculty at both universities, and through study of the courses required for the programs, the following are recommended while you complete your degree at SVSU.

Finish your undergraduate degree at SVSU.  If you transfer mid-degree some courses may not transfer, whereas a completed degree transfers whole.

A psychology minor or communication minor would be helpful.

Take lessons in voice, piano, and guitar (at least two semesters), as well as appropriate ensembles.
MUS 103                 Voice class (2 cr.)
MUSE 204               Percussion methods (2 cr.)
BIOL 111A              Principles of experimental biology (4 cr.) GEN. ED. category 4
PSYC 100                General psychology (4 cr.) GEN. ED. category 6
PSYC 346                Neuropsychology (4 cr., PSYCH. 100 is a prereq.)
PSYC 372                Abnormal psychology (4 cr., PSYCH. 100 is a prereq.)
THEA 315                Musical theatre dance I (3 cr.) 
     or
THEA 316                Musical theatre dance II (3 cr.)
TE 430                    Introduction to special education (3 cr.)
COMM 225               Non-verbal communication (3 cr.)