Jazz Studies - Master of Music

Program Total Credits: 36

The Master of Music in Jazz Studies degree has its roots in three decades of University of the Arts leadership in the field of jazz education, carefully balancing aesthetic goals and a pragmatic approach to vocational responsibility in the context of this American music idiom. Open to a small and highly advanced group of students who have an undergraduate degree in jazz studies, or an undergraduate degree in music with significant experience in jazz and contemporary music, or the equivalent thereof, the program’s primary focus is on encouraging individual career goals while providing  a solid foundation in contemporary music.

Curriculum

Among the one-year, 32-credit program’s unique curricular components are advanced private instruction in the major area to develop professional-level artistry and skills; hands-on internships; ensemble performances; arranging, composing, transcribing and analyzing jazz and contemporary music; study of MIDI and music technology; music journalism, jazz pedagogy, and a final thesis/project/recital that integrates in-depth research on a topic of special relevance with personal musical growth that, culminates in a public performance. Graduate Applied Studies are the core of the Master of Music in Jazz Studies. Additionally, applied study at the graduate level includes a pedagogy component. Teaching is a facet of almost every performer’s and composer’s career. Coursework in the major applied area acknowledges this importance.

Students, in addition to completion of the requisite 32 credits, must take or have taken two corequisite courses of two credit hours each: Recording and The Business of Music.

The Master of Music in Jazz Studies is designed for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance or other applied music with significant experience in jazz/contemporary music studies. The MM can be completed in a one-year, two-semester schedule, provided that all prerequisite skills are satisfied prior to beginning the program. The entrance requirements include advanced technical and stylistic facility on the major instrument or voice, skills in improvisation, jazz theory and ear training, and jazz history. The MM program is intended to dramatically increase the student’s performance abilities, as well as provide a diversity of other professional-level competencies, preparing the student for a career as a music professional or college-level teacher.