What You'll Study
As a student in the Dana School of Music, you’ll have extraordinary educational opportunities, study with world-class faculty who are award-winning performers, composers, and scholars, experience numerous diverse performance opportunities, learn from internationally acclaimed visiting artists, and perform in exquisite historic venues.
For over 150 years, the Dana School of Music has offered a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs, integrating advanced musical training with professionally oriented experiences. No matter where your aspirations lie, you’ll connect with a community of mentors and colleagues committed to helping you succeed.
In the Dana School of Music, we honor the traditional while embracing the experimental. Those rich experiences will prepare you with the diverse musical skills you’ll need for a fulfilling career and life-long artistic and professional growth.
Our alumni are everywhere
Dana School of Music students and alumni regularly earn national and international recognition in performance, teaching, and research. They have won competition awards, been accepted to prestigious graduate programs, and been awarded fellowships and internships. They are Grammy® Award winners, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame members, performers with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, award-winning producers and arrangers, and academic faculty across the globe. Our graduates may be found in every segment of America’s musical life. Our graduate and undergraduate degrees will further your success and prepare you to thrive within the ever-evolving field of the musical arts.
Undergraduate Programs
- Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Audio + Music Production
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Audio + Music Production major provides students with the knowledge and experience to thrive in a dynamic and ever-evolving industry. Our students learn by doing and are prepared to build enjoyable, productive careers as audio engineers in record production through engineering, producing, mixing, and mastering; in live sound as engineers or technicians; in media (e.g., TV, film, gaming) roles in composition, sound design, or Foley sound; as well as forensic audio, restoration, and more. Students gain professional experience through internships and working with faculty, students, and professionals to record, produce, and distribute music for our student-run record label, Dana Records.
- Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Music Education
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Music Education provides exceptional instruction that prepares students for licensure as music teachers in the public schools and careers as music educators in all learning environments. Music Education students are musicians who want to teach, and the comprehensive curriculum includes significant applied studio instruction and multiple opportunities as performers and conductors with diverse ensembles, as well as courses in composition and songwriting, popular and contemporary music, and musical theatre. Music Education students are encouraged to pursue the Audio and Music Production Pedagogy Certificate concurrently. Our Music Education graduates who seek a teaching position enjoy a 100% placement rate. Students may elect to pursue one of three concentrations.
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The B.M. in Music Education, Choral Program provides hands-on experience that allows students to specialize in idioms that focus on choral and vocal music, including concert choirs, Musical Theatre, Jazz and Pop, contemporary ensembles, and various commercial and chamber ensembles.
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The B.M. in Music Education, Instrumental Program provides hands-on experience at all levels that allows students to specialize in idioms that focus on instrumental music, including concert band, orchestra, marching band, and various jazz, commercial, and chamber ensembles.
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The B.M. in Music Education, Instrumental Jazz Program curriculum emphasizes collaborative interaction, individual creativity, musical proficiency, and pedagogy as well as historical and cultural perspectives through a unique jazz curriculum which is integrated into the Music Education degree.
- Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Music Performance
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Music Performance provides exceptional individualized applied studio instruction and offers comprehensive study in areas necessary to prepare for careers as performers, educators, arrangers, producers, and more. The curriculum includes multiple diverse ensemble offerings, and students may diversify their studies with elective classes and professional skills, such as audio and music production, composition and songwriting, and career development in music. The curriculum goes beyond traditional artistic training --incorporating a strong emphasis on innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset --and includes certificates or minors such as Audio + Music Production, Non-Profit Leadership and Digital Market Strategy within the degree program. The dynamic and innovative B.M. in Music Performance at Youngstown State prepares students for careers in a myriad of fields and is dedicated to the success of our graduates in a competitive and diverse professional landscape.
- The B.M. in Music Performance, Instrumental Program offers students a broad range of opportunities to perform in world-class ensembles that program diverse repertoire and provide professional training as soloists and ensemble members.
- The B.M. in Music Performance, Jazz Program emphasizes collaborative interaction, individual creativity, musical proficiency, and pedagogy as well as historical and cultural perspectives through a unique and comprehensive curriculum.
- The B.M. in Music Performance, Piano Program offers a broad range of performance opportunities that include diverse repertoire and provide professional training as soloists and collaborators.
- The B.M. in Music Performance, Voice Program allows students to build a large repertory of performance literature and build skills applicable to a variety of professional opportunities in multiple contexts.
Minors + Certificates
- Music Minors + Certificates
Minor in Interdisciplinary Game Studies Minor
- The Minor in Interdisciplinary Game Studies is a collaboration between the Department of Art, the Dana School of Music, and CSIS. Students who pursue this minor will take courses across all departments, learning a combination of different creative and technical skills. Our minor also expands students' understanding of how game studies and design can intersect with other fields and allows them to develop additional skills that complement the marketable competencies and knowledge they acquire in their majors.
Minor in Music
- The Minor in Music is designed for students who are interested in supplementing their prior experiences in music or wish to gain a broad introduction to the study of music. The program provides opportunities to explore diverse areas in music—traditional through contemporary—with multiple course options from which to choose, including private music lessons and participation in ensembles. Students electing applied study and/or ensembles should contact Shannon Holdridge at smholdridge@ysu.edu for information.
Certificate in Audio + Music Production
- Our Certificate in Audio and Music Production equips music students with the skills necessary to professionally record and produce music in commercial styles, including hip hop, rock, pop, ambient, country, EDM, experimental electronic, film, and video game music. Students who earn this certificate are expanding their career pathways significantly and gaining knowledge about an expansive and innovative area that influences multiple fields within music and beyond.
Certificate in Audio + Music Production pedagogy
- This certificate prepares music education students with the concepts and skills needed to provide a quality audio and music curriculum to diverse populations, including those who are interested in creating music through technology or professionally recording music within a wide variety of musical genres. Students who earn this certificate are expanding their career pathways significantly and gaining knowledge about an expansive and innovative area that influences multiple fields within music and beyond.
Graduate Programs
- Master of Music (M.M.)
The Master of Music (M.M.) degree offers exceptional advanced training for performers, teachers, composers, and scholars. The M.M. provides individualized instruction that focuses on the professional development and unique career goals of each student. Working closely with a world-class faculty, students develop advanced competencies in their majors—which includes a 100% online M.M. in Music Education and a M.M. in Performance. The dedicated faculty in the Dana School of Music are actively engaged in helping students successfully transition into a wide range of careers nationally and across the globe.
