Mission Statement and Program Learning Objectives

Music is essential expressions of human experience.

The purpose of the School of Music is to:

• Prepare, inspire, and motivate students for excellence in professional careers in teaching, performance, composition, research, and related fields;
• Engage a diverse university population in experiences that foster life-long learning and a greater understanding of music;
• Provide and sustain a unique performing arts culture for the university, Silicon Valley, and the greater Bay Area;
• Generate creative activities and scholarship in music that have local, national, and international significance.

 B.M. in Composition
 
The program learning objectives for the Bachelor of Music in Composition include:
 
1. Developing proficiency in melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements of music, including sight-reading, keyboard skills, and analysis.
2. Gaining knowledge of Western art music history, traditions, practices, and cultures, as well as related non-Western music.
3. Performing repertoire appropriate for a university music program.
4. Working with basic music technology and its applications in their specialization.
5. Completing a capstone experience in their area of specialization.
6. Performing standard repertoire competently and expressively, both as soloists and in ensembles.
7. Identifying and discussing repertoire in their major performance area, culminating in a senior recital or composition portfolio.
 
B.M. in Performance
 
The Bachelor of Music in Performance program aims to prepare students for careers as professional singers or instrumentalists. Key objectives include:
 
1. Mastering weekly 60-minute private lessons.
2. Participating in large ensembles such as choirs, bands, symphony orchestra, and opera theater.
3. Performing regularly as soloists and chamber musicians.
4. Presenting both junior and senior recitals.
 
B.A. in Music
 
The Bachelor of Arts in Music program offers a liberal arts education with a music major. Learning objectives include:
 
1. Completing core music classes.
2. Selecting electives from at least two categories in consultation with an advisor.
3. Completing four lower-division semesters of applied lessons.
4. Participating in ensembles as a co-requisite of applied lessons.
5. Completing a senior project (MUSC 182)

Learning Outcomes for the MM and MA-MusEd Degrees

The goals of the Master's program are to prepare students for professional careers in performance, conducting, composition, teaching, and scholarship, while also preparing them for further music study in doctoral programs.

• Master of Music
  • 1. Perform, compose, conduct, or research at a professionally competent level, to be assessed in the final recital or project
    2. Have an increased breadth of knowledge and skills beyond the undergraduate level in the foundational areas of music theory and history and in other areas related to their music concentration, assessed with final projects in 201, 202, 203 and the WCE for music theory and history.
    3. Identify and use standard digital and paper research tools in music and produce a comprehensive bibliography that shows their ability to utilize standard scholarly tools relevant to their concentration area according to standards set in a research and bibliographic rubric, to be assessed in final projects for 200 and WCE.
    4. Produce an independent creative or scholarly product that demonstrates technical proficiency in their concentration area and effective artistic and intellectual judgments, assessed in final projects for 203, 201, 200, 202, WCE, and in-class participation.
• Master of Arts in Music Education
  • 1. Perform, compose, conduct, or research at a professionally competent level, to be assessed in the final recital or project (final semester of 224).
    2. Have an increased breadth of knowledge and skills beyond the undergraduate level in the foundational areas of music theory and history and in other areas related to their music concentration, assessed with final projects in 201, 202, 203 and the WCE for music theory and history.
    3. Identify and use standard digital and paper research tools in music and produce a comprehensive bibliography that shows their ability to utilize standard scholarly tools relevant to their concentration area according to standards set in a research and bibliographic rubric, to be assessed in final projects for 200 and WCE.
    4. Produce an independent creative or scholarly product that demonstrates technical proficiency in their concentration area and effective artistic and intellectual judgments, assessed in final projects for 203, 201, 200, 202, WCE, and in-class participation.