Jazz Studies

Career - what can you do with a jazz studies degree?

Alumni from the jazz performance department are numbered throughout the world in the music profession as performers and educators. Notable alumni include trumpeter Tim Hagans and saxophonist Rich Perry. Each year graduating seniors are accepted into prestigious graduate programs and pursue successful performance careers.

Curriculum

Jazz performance students receive private lessons on their main instrument, participate in small and large ensembles, work with world-renowned jazz artists, take supporting courses in pedagogy and repertoire and complete the music core (music theory, aural skills, music history). The capstone experience for performance majors is their senior recital.

Required courses

College of Musical Arts Admissions

All students who wish to major or minor in music must audition before being accepted to the College of Musical Arts. Students first apply to the University, then select that they want to be a music major. They then must submit an Audition Reservation Form to schedule their audition date. More information about applying.  

In the College of Musical Arts we believe that success is based on both musical and academic ability. While your audition is the primary consideration in your application for admission, your academic portfolio is also of great importance. This includes ACT or SAT scores, high school GPA, and your background and experiences in music.

Although the College of Musical Arts has no official test score requirements, we have found that acceptance into the CMA, and academic success in music classes, is most likely to be achieved by students with ACT scores of 22 or higher (1030 SAT). The average student ACT score in the College of Musical Arts is currently 26 (1190 SAT).