The Department of Music at Washington University is dedicated to undergraduate instruction for all students at all levels. Music majors, music minors, and other interested students share the same introductory classes, permitting easy interaction between majors and non-majors. We welcome students from all backgrounds who see music as an essential and joyous part of their lives and studies, no matter their future career path.
We offer two majors: a liberal arts program leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, and a pre-professional program leading to a Bachelor of Music degree. Minors are offered with concentrations in jazz studies and classical music.
Our Majors and Minors
Bachelor of Arts in Music
The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Music provides a broad liberal arts education with a foundation in music and can be pursued on its own or as a double major with another discipline. Students pursuing the B.A. degree must complete core requirements in music history, music theory, keyboard skills, and musicianship and take additional music courses, and electives. The B.A. degree culminates in a senior capstone, which may take the form of a thesis, recital, lecture/demonstration, composition portfolio, or 400-level course. Because our students may focus their studies on a variety of fields within music, we do not require a performance audition for admission to the Bachelor of Arts degree.
The Bachelor of Music is a pre-professional degree, which combines core coursework in performance, music history, music theory, musicianship, and keyboard skills with advanced studies in a specific area of interest. Areas for advanced study include performance, music theory, composition, music history and literature, and general studies. Students earning this degree must complete significant coursework in the Music Department according to their area of concentration, and they must pass a piano proficiency exam. The B.Mus. degree culminates in a senior capstone, which may take the form of a thesis, recital, lecture/demonstration, or composition portfolio. All Bachelor of Music students begin their studies as a Bachelor of Arts major. The application (and audition, if appropriate) for the Bachelor of Music degree takes place once the student has been a Bachelor of Arts major for at least one year.
This program requires a core curriculum of courses offered by the Department of Music, including introductory music theory and courses selected from the sequence of music history courses. The requirements also include electives, some of which must be upper-level classes.
The Jazz Studies minor gives students expertise in both the theory and practice of jazz and the social and historical significance of the music. The program offers core and supportive courses on jazz and its extensions in improvised and composed music. The Jazz Studies minor and the optional activities in the Summer Music Seminar study abroad program offer students an informed perspective on the history of jazz in the United States, its long tradition in St. Louis, and its vital international presence today. This program requires core curriculum courses offered by the Department of Music including jazz theory, jazz history, jazz in American culture, improvisation, and an upper-level course selected from a list.
The Department of Music offers both small and large ensemble opportunities for our students. Auditions for each ensemble are held at the beginning of the fall semester.
Want to learn how to play an instrument? Or want to train your voice to hit that high note? We offer lessons each semester for a variety of instruments. Students can choose to take these courses pass/no pass or simply audit if they do not want the course to count towards their degree.
Music majors may take advantage of music-focused study abroad programs in Italy, Ireland, France, and South Africa, or other countries upon request and approval. Summer research projects under faculty direction are also available.
To learn more about these opportunities, please visit Overseas Programs.
