Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024

Music (Liberal Arts), Bachelor of Arts (583)


Program Coordinator

John E. Martin, john.martin@wku.edu, (270) 745-6890

The Bachelor of Arts, major in Music, is a Liberal Arts degree that allows for a strong liberal arts education with a non-professional emphasis in music that can be combined with other fields of study such as: advertising, art, business, communications, English, foreign languages, history, journalism, marketing, philosophy, psychology, religion, and sciences. WKU students earning this degree have moved on to graduate study in Music (history, theory/composition, performance), Performing Arts Management, medical school, retail and banking positions, and university staff positions in admissions, graduate studies, development, and alumni relations.


 

Concentrations

  • Music Extended (MUSE)
  • Music General (MUMM)

Program Requirements (36-48 hours)

A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.

Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.

The major in music (liberal arts) requires 36-48 hours of music (at least 18-24 of these must be at the upper-division 300- & 400-level) and leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. The 36 hour Music-General program requires a second major or minor. The 48 hour Music-Extended program does not require a second major or minor.  No music course with a grade below a “C” may be counted toward this major.

Requirements for Both Concentrations¹

Music Theory and Literature
MUS 100Theory I2
MUS 101Theory II2
MUS 200Theory III2
MUS 201Theory IV2
MUS 110Aural Theory I1
MUS 111Aural Theory II1
MUS 210Aural Theory III1
MUS 211Aural Theory IV1
MUS 326The History of Music I3
MUS 327The History of Music II3
Conducting
MUS 317Conducting I2
Ensembles
6 semesters of appropriate major ensembles6
Performance Attendance
MUS 155Performance Attendance (6 semesters)0
Total Hours26
1

Colonnade Program: Students must take PHYS 130 and fulfill the University's World Language Requirement.

Electives: Select electives as needed to meet the 120 hour degree minimum.

Additional Requirements Specific to the Music-Extended (48 hour) Program

Applied Music
MUS 153Applied Music Principal (4 semesters)8
MUS 353Applied Music Principal (2 semesters)4
MUS 160Group Piano I 11
MUS 161Group Piano II 11
Music Electives
8 hours selected from Theory/Composition, History/Literature, ensembles, applied lessons, conducting, methods, or techniques. 8
Total Hours22
1

Students whose major/principal instrument is piano may substitute MUS 360 in place of group piano (MUS 160, MUS 161).

Additional Requirements Specific to the Music-General (36 hour) Program

Applied Music
MUS 153Applied Music Principal (2 semsters)4
MUS 350Applied Music Secondary (4 semesters)4
MUS 160Group Piano I 11
MUS 161Group Piano II 11
Second Major or Minor
Courses and credit hours as defined by that program
Total Hours10
1

Students whose major/principal instrument is piano may substitute MUS 360 in place of group piano (MUS 160, MUS 161).

Additional Baccalaureate Degree Requirements for ALL Music Programs

  1. Applied Study: Students pursuing the Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Arts degree are required to enroll for private instruction in their principal or major instrument or voice and an appropriate major ensemble during each semester until requirements have been fulfilled.
  2. Recital Performance: Students matriculating for the Bachelor of Music (music education concentration) must perform on Friday recital labs at least one time in each of their last four semesters of applied study. Music education majors may perform a portion of a junior and/or senior recital in lieu of the recital lab performance requirement if approved by the appropriate applied music jury in the semester prior to the anticipated performance date. Students matriculating for the Bachelor of Music (performance concentration) must perform recitals as required by that degree program.
  3. Piano Proficiency: All students pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree are required to pass a piano proficiency examination or complete the fourth semester of group piano. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music are required to pass a piano proficiency examination or complete the second semester of group piano.  
  4. Ensemble Requirements:

    Bachelor of Arts: Students are required to participate in one major ensemble appropriate to their applied principal area for each semester for a total of 6 semesters.

    Bachelor of Music: Performance concentration students are required to participate in an appropriate major ensemble each semester for a total of 8 semesters and complete 2 semesters of elective ensembles.

    Bachelor of Music: Music Education concentration students are required to participate in an appropriate major ensemble each semester for a total of 7 semesters, excluding the semester in which student teaching is undertaken. Two semesters of ensembles in the opposite performance area are required for the integrated track.

    Required Major Ensembles (linked to applied principal / major and degree program):
    • Winds and Percussion: Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble or Marching Band (Marching Band is required for wind/percussion Music Education majors in the Fall until the 2 semester requirement is met).
    • Voice: Chorale, Choral Society, or University Singers
    • Piano and Organ: Must declare and maintain Instrumental or Vocal status for the purpose of determining ensemble requirements
    • Guitar: Guitar Ensemble (for AB and Music Performance degrees). Guitarists on the Music Education Track must declare and maintain Instrumental or Vocal status for the purpose of determining major ensemble requirements and fulfill 7 semesters in that major ensemble category.
    • Strings: University Orchestra
    • Opposite Area (vocal) ensembles are Chorale, Choral Society, University Singers, Men’s Chorus, and Women’s Chorus. At least one of the 2 required Opposite Area ensembles must be an SATB chorus.
    • Opposite area (instrumental) ensembles are Orchestra, Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band.
  5. Concert and Recital Attendance: Students majoring in music are required to attend 14 departmental and university-sponsored recitals and concerts each semester for a total of 6 to 8 semesters, as defined by the degree.  Students register for MUS 155 to meet this requirement. The course is graded as pass/fail at the end of each semester.
  6. Semester Juries and Capstone: Students majoring in music are required to perform for a jury panel at the end of each semester of Applied Study. A Capstone Project is required in the final semester of Applied Study (performance majors may elect to present their Capstone Project in the 7th semester).
  7. Revisions of Requirements, Policies, and Regulations: The Department of Music updates the Student Handbook each year, and it can be found at http://www.wku.edu/music.

Finish in Four Plan - Music, Extended Concentration (583)

First Year
FallHoursSpringHours
MUS 1002MUS 1012
MUS 1101MUS 1111
MUS 1532MUS 1532
MUS 1550MUS 1550
MUS 1601MUS 1611
Ensemble (MAJOR)1Ensemble (MAJOR)1
MUS 379 (Studio Ensemble)1Colonnade: Social & Behavioral Science (E-SB)3
MUS 120 (for majors, E-SB)3MATH 109 (F-QR)3
ENG 100 (F-W1)3COMM 145 (F-OC)3
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3 
 16 16
Second Year
FallHoursSpringHours
MUS 2002MUS 2012
MUS 2101MUS 2111
MUS 1532MUS 1532
MUS 1550MUS 1550
Ensemble (Major)1Ensemble (MAJOR)1
MUS 379 (Studio Ensemble)1Elective MUS Course/Ensemble(s)3
MUS 3263MUS 327 (K-SC)3
ENG 200 (F-W2)3100-200 Minor or Elective Course3
PHYS 130 (E-NS, SL)3 
 15 15
Third Year
FallHoursSpringHours
MUS 3532MUS 3532
MUS 1550MUS 1550
MUS 3172Ensemble (MAJOR)1
Ensemble (MAJOR)1Elective MUS Course/Ensemble(s)3
Elective MUS Course/Ensemble(s)1HIST 101 or HIST 102 (F-SB)3
100/200 Minor or Elective Course3Colonnade: Natural & Physical Science (E-NS)3
100/200 Minor or Elective Course3ENG 300 (F-W2)3
100/200 Minor or Elective Course3 
 15 15
Fourth Year
FallHoursSpringHours
Colonnade: Connections (Systems) (K-SY)3Elective MUS Course/Ensemble(s)2
Colonnade: Connections (Local to Global) (K-LG) 3300/400 Minor or Elective Course3
300/400 Minor or Elective Course3300/400 Minor or Elective Course3
300/400 Minor or Elective Course3300/400 Minor or Elective Course3
Elective MUS Course/Ensemble(s)2300/400 Minor or Elective Course3
 14 14
Total Hours 120

Finish in Four Plan - Music, General Concentration (583)

First Year
FallHoursSpringHours
MUS 1002MUS 1012
MUS 1101MUS 1111
MUS 1532MUS 1532
MUS 1550MUS 1550
MUS 1601MUS 1611
Ensemble (MAJOR)1Ensemble (MAJOR)1
MUS 379 (Studio Ensemble)1Colonnade: Social & Behavioral Science (E-SB)3
MUS 120 (for majors, E-SB)3MATH 109 (F-QR)3
ENG 100 (F-W1)3COMM 145 (F-OC)3
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3 
 16 16
Second Year
FallHoursSpringHours
MUS 2002MUS 2012
MUS 2101MUS 2111
MUS 3501MUS 3501
MUS 1550MUS 1550
Ensemble (Major)1Ensemble (MAJOR)1
MUS 379 (Studio Ensemble)1MUS 327 (K-SC)3
MUS 32632nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3
ENG 200 (F-W2)32nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3 
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3 
 17 14
Third Year
FallHoursSpringHours
MUS 3501MUS 3501
MUS 1550MUS 1550
Ensemble (MAJOR)1Ensemble (MAJOR)1
MUS 3172ENG 300 (F-W2)3
HIST 101 or HIST 102 (F-SB)3Colonnade: Natural & Physical Science (E-NS)3
PHYS 13032nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course32nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3 
 16 14
Fourth Year
FallHoursSpringHours
Colonnade: Connections (Systems) (K-SY)32nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3
Colonnade: Connections (Local to Global) (K-LG) 32nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course32nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course32nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3
2nd Major/Minor/Elective Course3 
 15 12
Total Hours 120