Music

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

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, see the Music Department website.

Requirements

In addition to completing the Common Curriculum (in section A of the B.A. in Music requirements), 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 following course requirements:

Courses listed in the core requirements and under a specialization requirement may not be used to satisfy both requirements.

Piano Specialization

Voice Specialization

Strings Specialization (Violin, Viola, Violincello, and Double Bass)

NOTE: To help support the extra cost of individual lesson instruction, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts charges a quarterly laboratory fee for students enrolled in those courses (MUSIC 65-68, MUSIC 165-168).

Honors Program

Departmental Honors Program in Music and Culture

The Honors Program in Music and Culture is designed to challenge superior students in the B.A. or B.Mus. program beyond the academic requirements of the Music major. It provides them with the opportunity to advance their knowledge in the scholarly fields of music while developing their writing, analytical, and research skills. The honors program is ideally suited for students who wish to study music at the graduate level, but not in performance, and who may be preparing for graduate work in arts criticism, the humanities, the social sciences, and the law.

Eligibility requirements are (1) completion of the core requirements for the major; (2) an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher; and (3) completion of the eligibility form (available for download through the Departmental website).

Admission to the Honors Program in Music and Culture is competitive. Students must apply no later than the spring quarter of their junior year. The application should be accompanied by two substantial writing samples. These may represent work done for courses at UCI. Only truly exceptional students may undertake Honors projects.

Students who are admitted to the Honors Program, regardless of whether they are in the B.A. or B.Mus. program, are required to complete three additional courses in categories 1 and 2 under Additional Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree beyond those taken in fulfillment of the core requirement; all three must be upper-division courses (numbered 100 or higher). Relevant upper-division courses in other departments may be taken to fulfill this requirement by approval of the Department Honors Committee.

The capstone project is a senior thesis, an extended original research project prepared under the supervision of the faculty advisor on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with that advisor. The thesis topic must be approved by the Departmental Honors Committee prior to the end of the fall quarter of the senior year. Students develop their topic during an ensuing two-quarter sequence of Senior Thesis (MUSIC 195A-MUSIC 195B). Upon successful completion of the thesis, a single grade is applied for both quarters and 4 units (total) are posted to the student’s record (2 units each for and MUSIC 195B).