Majors & Minors

A comprehensive School of Music in the heart of Minneapolis-St. Paul. 

Located at the heart of one of the most vibrant metropolitan centers in the nation, the University of Minnesota School of Music is home to a learning community of 550 music majors and an internationally renowned faculty whose creative, educational, and scholarly endeavors are supported by the College of Liberal Arts and the wider resources and opportunities of Minnesota's flagship university.

The School of Music offers undergraduate programs in the following areas:

Bachelor of Music

The bachelor of music (BMus) degrees are competitive four-year programs of intensive study designed to prepare students for professional lives in music. BMus degrees are offered in the following areas, all of which require formal admission to the School of Music: 

• Music Performance
• Music Education
• Music Therapy

Learn more about the application and audition process. 

Bachelor of Arts in Music

The Bachelor of Arts in Music provides a solid foundation in musical principles while allowing room for focus and exploration through elective coursework. Because coursework in the BA programs is flexible, these programs are excellent choices for students looking to double major in areas outside of music. Guided by faculty advisors, our BA majors bring an astonishingly diverse range of interests and perspectives to our vibrant student community. 

• Applied Emphasis*
• Academic Emphasis

*Admission to the applied emphasis program involves an application and audition, while there is no audition requirement for students interested in pursuing the academic emphasis.

Minors in Music

Students pursuing a major outside of music are invited to add a music minor to their studies. The School of Music offers three minors: an applied music minor that requires an entrance audition and includes one-on-one lessons on a primary instrument, an ensemble-based music minor that requires no audition (select ensembles require auditions for participation), and a world music minor that requires no audition and focuses on ensembles and music from all cultures.   

• Minor in Music (applied)
• Minor in Music (ensemble music)
• World Music Minor 

Licensure and Equivalency Programs

The School of Music offers the Music Education Post-Bac Licensure Certificate program and the Music Therapy Equivalency program for those students who have already completed a music degree with another emphasis but are now interested in entering into one of these two fields of study.