Discover Your
Sound
Shape your creative path with flexible
music degrees, guided by world-class
faculty and a vibrant artistic community.
Programs in Music
The Department of Music at UCI advances the University of California’s mission as a public-serving institution through rigorous study, creative practice and research in music. Our faculty bring expertise across a broad range of traditions spanning stylistic, historical and global perspectives, including Persian music, jazz, Karnatic music and South Indian dance, African American music, the historic Silk Road, European art music from the 17th century to the present, popular music, hip-hop, electronic music and music technology. Students develop the skills to engage deeply with diverse musical practices while critically examining musical materials and research methodologies through multiple analytical frameworks. Our undergraduate degrees (B.A. and B.Mus.) provide a strong foundation in both practical and intellectual approaches to music, supporting the development of critical thinking and artistic fluency. At the graduate level, students work closely with internationally recognized scholars, performers and creative practitioners while pursuing independent research and creative work.
Do you have a question or need help?
Department Chair:
Professor Michael Dessen
mdessen@uci.edu
Undergraduate Director:
Professor Stephan Hammel
hammels@uci.edu
Department Manager:
Peter Chang
pechang@uci.edu
Department Analyst:
Esther Chae
eschae@uci.edu
Undergraduate Programs
The Department of Music is a dynamic center of musical activity, offering degrees in performance, creation and scholarship that feature close engagement with faculty, while also serving the broader campus through wide-ranging classes and ensembles. The department is led by nationally and internationally recognized faculty artists and scholars who are highly active in their professional fields, while also being deeply committed to teaching, mentoring and engaging with the campus and regional community. Many of our alumni enter top-tier music graduate programs and lead successful careers as performers, conductors, composers, technologists and scholars, while others - including many double majors - build on their critical and creative training to pursue professional careers outside of music. Our flexible degree options and our dedicated faculty help students cultivate their own creative identity and professional pathway, and provide a foundation to deepen students' lifelong relationship with music.
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Music
The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree program provides students with a broad foundation in music studies, and its flexibility is especially well suited for students who wish to pursue a second major, study abroad, or other curricular options. All B.A. students complete courses in theory, history, musicianship, keyboard skills, performance, composition/improvisation and technology. In addition, B.A. students complete course requirements and a B.A. Project in an area of emphasis, choosing from two options: 1) History and Theory of Music; or 2) Integrated Composition, Improvisation and Technology. Through upper division emphasis courses, which are often major-restricted with small enrollments, and through designing their original capstone B.A. Project, students have opportunities to develop their individual research and creative interests while working closely with faculty.
Auditions are not required for the B.A. in Music. Prospective students applying to UCI may select the B.A. in Music option on the application.
Students who are currently enrolled at UCI or entering UCI must complete a set of core lower-division course requirements to enter the B.A. in Music.
B.A students complete course requirements and a B.A. Project in an area of emphasis, choosing from two options: 1) History and Theory of Music; or 2) Integrated Composition, Improvisation and Technology. Through upper division emphasis courses, which are often major-restricted with small enrollments, and through designing their original capstone B.A. Project, students have opportunities to develop their individual research and creative interests while working closely with faculty.
Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.)
The Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.) degree program provides pre-professional training in Western classical music performance and is designed for students who aspire to work as professional musicians. Three B.Mus. specializations are offered: piano, vocal arts, and strings (violin, viola, violoncello, and double bass). Students in this program receive weekly private instrumental or vocal instruction, with quarterly juries (performance exams), and present a public solo recital during their senior year; vocal arts and strings students also present a junior recital.
Admission to the B.Mus. degree program is by audition. Auditions are held in late January each year and all students (including new applicants, transfer applicants, and currently enrolled UCI students wishing to add the B.Mus. as a second major) must audition at that time, for entry into the B.Mus. degree in the following fall. For information on audition requirements and scheduling, please see the Auditions page.
In addition to completing the Common Curriculum, students in the B.Mus. program must pass the B.Mus. piano proficiency examination, perform a senior recital (and, for students in the voice and strings specializations only, a junior recital), and complete the course requirements as indicated in the UCI Catalogue.
Minor in Music
The Minor in Music consists of 32 units of coursework, including five lower-division lecture classes (Fundamentals A and B; Classical Tradition 1 and 2; and Music and Computers) and an additional 12 units of upper-division MUS courses (which can include any combination of both ensembles and lecture classes).
The minor in Music is open to all UCI undergraduates.
For certification in a minor, a student must obtain a minimum overall grade point average of C (2.0) in all courses required for the minor program. No more than two courses applied to a minor may be taken Pass/Not Pass. Completion of the minor is noted on a student’s transcript. (Students are not required to minor in a program in order to graduate from UCI.)
The minor in music consists of 32 units of coursework.
- MUSIC 25A – Fundamentals of Music I
- MUSIC 25B – Fundamentals of Music II
- MUSIC 39A – The Classical Tradition I
- MUSIC 39B – The Classical Tradition II
- MUSIC 51 – Introduction to Music Technology
- 12 additional units of upper-division MUSIC courses (numbered 100-199, excluding MUSIC 199)
Download a PDF planning document for the Music Minor
Please visit the UCI Catalogue for full coursework requirements.
For all course descriptions, please visit the UCI Catalogue.
Do you have a question or need help?
Department Chair:
Professor Michael Dessen
mdessen@uci.edu
Graduate Director:
Professor Kojiro Umezaki
kumezaki@uci.edu
Department Manager:
Peter Chang
pechang@uci.edu
Department Analyst:
Esther Chae
eschae@uci.edu
Graduate Programs
Graduate Program Update
The History and Theory of Music, Ph.D. program and the Music, M.F.A. programs are currently not admitting students for this application cycle.
Application Deadlines
- Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology, Ph.D. – December 1, 2025
- History and Theory of Music, Ph.D. – No longer accepting new students
- Music, M.F.A. – Not accepting students this cycle
Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology, Ph.D.
The Ph.D. program in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT) is taught by a core faculty whose work embraces diverse forms of music making, challenging conventional distinctions between classical composition, computer music, improvisation, and jazz. Students will receive close personal attention from faculty, and are encouraged to work on interdisciplinary projects. Applicants should possess an undergraduate degree in music or an equivalent level of training and should demonstrate potential for creative and innovative work integrating a wide range of contemporary music and ideas. In addition to the core ICIT faculty, the Music Department includes many other performers, musicologists, theorists, and historians, making for a rich environment in which to develop critical skills that are essential for the 21st-century musician.
Learn more about the Ph.D. program in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT)
In addition to meeting all general requirements for admission to graduate study, applicants should normally hold a B.A. in Music or a B.Mus. A master's degree is not required, but students with prior graduate study may request course requirement waivers as detailed below under Course Requirements. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in vocal or instrumental performance commensurate with at least two years of individual undergraduate instruction, including exposure to improvisation and non-notated music.
The online application must be submitted and all supporting materials must be received by December 1. Supporting materials must include the following: Composition portfolio, Academic writing sample, three letters of recommendation, and Performance audition (video).
Applicants are expected to have good general knowledge of music history and music theory and competence in basic musicianship skills. Entering students will be given diagnostic tests in these areas prior to the beginning of classes and will be expected to remedy any evident deficiencies during the first year in residence.
Please see the UCI General Catalogue for current requirements for the ICIT Ph.D.
History and Theory of Music, Ph.D.
The History and Theory of Music, Ph.D. program is no longer accepting new students.
Music, M.F.A.
The Music, M.F.A. is not accepting students this cycle.
The Department of Music offers an M.F.A. in Music with emphases in Choral Conducting, Collaborative Piano, Guitar/Lute Performance, Instrumental Performance, Piano Performance, and Vocal Arts. The graduate curriculum provides courses in music analysis, history, theory, critical studies, and research in addition to intensive performance training.
In addition to meeting all general requirements for admission to graduate study, applicants should hold a B.A. in Music, a B.Mus., or the equivalent.
The online application must be submitted and all supporting materials must be received by January 15. Late applications cannot be considered. Supporting materials must include three letters of recommendation and at least one substantial writing sample, preferably on a musical subject. This requirement may be fulfilled by the submission of an undergraduate paper of appropriate scope, preferably on a musical topic.
Applicants must audition for members of the Music faculty by February 1. In exceptional cases (as approved in advance by the departmental graduate advisor), a recently recorded performance may be accepted in lieu of a live audition. Applicants in composition must, in addition, submit a representative sample of scores and recordings of their works.
Applicants are expected to have good general knowledge of music history and music theory, competence in basic musicianship skills, including sight-singing, written and keyboard harmony, dictation, and basic keyboard facility (including sight-reading). Entering students will be given diagnostic tests in music theory prior to the beginning of classes and will be advised to remedy any evident deficiencies during the first year in residence by registering for the appropriate undergraduate courses or through other appropriate means. Credit earned in such courses cannot be counted toward fulfillment of any degree requirement.
Please see the UCI General Catalogue for current requirements for the M.F.A. in Music
For all course descriptions, please visit the UCI General Catalogue.
