New Music Production Courses Debut at University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota School of Music is excited to announce new music production courses available for undergraduate students of all majors! These new courses will be introduced to the catalog for the Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 semesters.
As the music production industry continues to grow, it offers rewarding career opportunities in artist support and publishing across all genres. Whether a student's passion lies in electronic, popular, or classical music, these new academic offerings provide diverse paths for specialization tailored to unique professional interests.
In a digital landscape focused on streaming, these music production courses offer a glimpse into the fascinating world of modern music production. Students will develop a skill set that supports their own entrepreneurship as artists, music creation, and even songwriting. With support from our faculty experts and industry guest lecturers, students will step onto this trending career path and gain important insights to support their future careers.
These courses are open to students of all majors.
Fall 2026
MUS 3950/5950: Music Careers & Entrepreneurship (Jenny Klukken)
MW 11:15 AM - 12:40 PM
Students will learn the foundational concepts of entrepreneurship and career development in the music industry, gain an understanding of careers within the music industry, and evaluate their skills and aspirations in order to craft an actionable career plan.
MUS 3950: Electronic Music Productions and Composition (Hugh Simons)
MWF 10:10 AM - 11:00 AM
Students will learn the techniques used in popular and electronic music production including beat making, recording, sequencing, and arranging original music using the Ableton Live software.
SPRING 2027
MUS 3950: Song Writing
Coming Spring 2027
This course helps student songwriter-performers hone their music and learn about songwriting practices. Topics include lyrics, text setting, genres, forms, melodies, harmonies, and grooves in historical and recent musics, and songwriting vis-à-vis recording engineers, music PR experts, instrumentalists, videographers, etc.
