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 Arts (B.A.) in Music
The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Music provides students many opportunities for personal growth as a musician, while also pursuing a broad liberal arts education. The B.A. gives students the flexibility to explore special interest areas that are in line with their career and educational goals. Examples of careers for which this degree prepares students include performance, arts administration, music business/industry, education, composing/arranging, and further study at the graduate-level.
- Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Composition
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Composition provides exceptional individualized applied studio instruction, large and chamber ensemble performance experiences as both composers and performers, and supportive courses in piano and music theory and history. In addition, the program provides multiple avenues for students to diversify their studies with elective classes and professional skills that are relevant to their areas of interest. The B.M. in Composition prepares students for professional endeavors in a myriad of fields and equips them with exceptional skills for enjoyable and successful careers.
- 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, multiple opportunities as performers and conductors in diverse ensembles, technology-based experiences, and supportive courses in music theory and history. Our Music Education graduates who seek a teaching position enjoy a 100% placement rate. Students may elect to pursue one of three concentrations.
-
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.
-
The B.M. in Music Education, Instrumental Music Education Jazz 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.
-
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.
- Bachelor of Music (B.M.), Music Recording Emphasis
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) with an Emphasis in Music Recording Program provides students with the knowledge and experience to thrive in a dynamic and ever-evolving industry. Our students have access to cutting-edge equipment, technology, and facilities—they learn by doing. They 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.
Music Recording in the Dana School of Music gives our students opportunities to build skills through personal experiences that offer a competitive edge in the rapidly expanding fields of music business/industry that offers countless opportunities to create a lifelong career in the field of music recording and sound production.
- Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Music Performance
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Music Performance provides exceptional individualized applied studio instruction, solo and ensemble performance opportunities, and avenues for students to diversify their studies with elective classes and professional skills that are relevant to their areas of interest. World-class experiences allow students to further their personal aspirations, thus enabling them to pursue a variety of professional opportunities in multiple contexts. Students are encouraged to develop their own specialized interests, including additional studies; involvement in competitions, festivals, or recordings; or focused repertoire studies. The B.M. in Music Performance prepares students to develop careers in a myriad of fields, helps them define future professional goals, and equips them with exceptional skills for a successful career.
-
The B.M. in Music Performance, Jazz Track 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, 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 Performance, Piano Program offers a broad range of performance experiences that include diverse repertoire and provide professional training as soloists and collaborators. Chamber Ensembles provide students the chance to form groups that explore varied literature and entrepreneurship, and many groups are active playing gigs and concerts throughout the region.
-
The B.M. in Performance, Voice Program provides opportunities for students to build a large repertory of performance literature. Students work with faculty to become expressive, communicative, and versatile artists and build skills applicable to a variety of professional opportunities.
Minors
- Music Minors
Minor in Interdisciplinary Game Studies Minor
- The Minor in Interdisciplinary Game Studies Minor is offered by the Dana School of Music and the Departments of Art and Computer Sciences and Information Systems. The curriculum allows students can focus on their area of interest while also broadening their collaborations with colleagues in other areas.
Minor in Music
- The Minor in Music provides opportunities to develop musical knowledge and skills at a basic collegiate level. Evolving economic, demographic, and technological conditions provide increased incentives for creativity and leadership in society. Students electing applied study and/or ensembles should contact Shannon Holdridge at smholdridge@ysu.edu for audition information.
Graduate Program
- Master of Music (M.M.)
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. Students develop advanced competencies in their degree majors—which includes an M.M. in Performance, Education, Composition, and Jazz Studies—and have opportunities to diversify their portfolios with elective courses and specializations across other areas that are relevant to their field.
