Music Education at Carolina

Want to teach music in the public schools?  Become part of a community that views performance as education?  You can achieve your goal through a combination of the Bachelor of Music degree in the Music Department and the Master of Arts in Teaching program sponsored by the School of Education.  Future music educators at UNC are trained first as musicians in their own right through the undergraduate Bachelor of Music degree.  Then, in a fifth year, in the Master of Arts in Teaching Program, they learn how to engage the next generation of musicians and pass along their own love for and commitment to music to others.  Counting MAT students, in any given year, there is a community of approximately 35 students taking courses that prepare them for teaching.

Bachelor of Music, concentration in music education
(Offered through and administered by the Music Department)

A concentration in music education is one of several possible options within the Bachelor of Music degree program.  Students generally begin their concentration in music education in the fall of the junior year, but can do so as early as their sophomore year if they plan a study abroad experience.  They may also begin as late as fall of their senior year if they selected the music major as a freshman, followed the ordinary course sequence and have the option of summer study between their junior and senior years.  (see note about advising below)  Beyond the core courses that comprise the Bachelor of Music degree program, students who plan to apply for admission to the Master of Arts in Teaching should include the following courses among their electives:

•    MUSC 167:  Instrumentation (3 hrs., offered fall semester only)
•    MUSC 168:  Basic Conducting (3 hrs., offered spring semester only)
•    MUSC 226:  Woodwind, brass and percussion techniques (3 hrs., offered fall semester only)
•    MUSC 227:  Piano, voice, strings techniques (3 hrs., offered fall semester only)
•    MUSC 228:  Advanced problems in the student’s most likely area of concentration, band, choral or general, or orchestral. (3 hrs., offered spring semester only)

In addition, we strongly recommend that you have the following experiences or take the following courses:

•    MUSC 308:  Intermediate Conducting
•    Additional piano instruction
•    Diction for singers
•    Recital

It is important to note that the completion of the concentration in music education does not qualify a candidate for NC licensure.  Many students take one or more of the courses above simply because they have interest in the material being taught or the experiences included.  In addition, the number of MAT programs (or similar kinds of licensure plus masters programs) is growing across the state and nation.  Taking the pre-MAT courses will prepare students for application to any such program wherever they may find themselves.

Advising

Students interested in the MAT Program itself, or in the pre-MAT concentration of the BM are urged to contact either Professor Negrete or Professor Huff as early as their freshman year for preliminary advising.  In addition, Professor Negrete is a University Advisor and can assist students in coordinating general degree requirements with the pre-MAT coursework. 

Master of Arts in Teaching
(Offered through and administered by the School of Education)
The Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) program prepares students for initial licensure to teach music grades K-12 in North Carolina.  The program is fully accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, so music candidates for the MAT can apply for jobs in all states of the US.
Alumni of the program are making a difference in schools and classrooms and in the lives of young people in states ranging from California to Louisiana to New York.  A number have become principals, entered graduate programs in music performance, education, conducting, theory or church music. The faculty in the MAT includes nationally noted educators and scholars in their respective fields. Our strengths include not only the academic and professional quality of our program but also the community spirit that is part of being a University of North Carolina Tar Heel.
The curriculum includes a year of course work (40 graduate credits) and field experiences that begin and end in late June. Students must enroll full-time and complete the program in sequence. The courses are traditionally labeled as the study of methods and foundations and are integrated with field experiences in the schools. In the spring semester, candidates have a thirteen-week, full-time internship in a classroom under the supervision of both university and school-based mentors.
The curriculum meets both the initial and advanced Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards as well as those of the state of North Carolina and includes creation of a portfolio and its presentation, as well as advanced course work.

The application process for the Master of Arts in Teaching Program begins in the fall semester of the senior year.  Minimum admission requirements for the MAT are as follows:

•    A bachelor's degree completed before graduate study begins or its international equivalent with an accredited institution (based on a four-year curriculum)
•    An average grade of B (cumulative GPA 3.0) or better

Along with these minimal requirements, admission decisions are based on a number of factors, including academic degrees and record, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, test scores, and relevant work experience. There are currently no residency quotas for graduate admission.

For complete information about the Master of Arts in Teaching Program, including coursework, a faculty listing and links for the admission process, please go to:
http://soe.unc.edu/academics/mat/

Music Education faculty:
(Full faculty biographies available through the Music Department website)

Daniel M. Huff, Area Head, Choral and General Music Education
Music Department
CB # 3320, Hill Hall
(919) 962-4219
dhuff@email.unc.edu

Mérida Negrete, Instrumental Music Education, Academic Advising
Music Department
CB # 3320, Hill Hall
(919) 962-3501
mnegrete@email.unc.edu

rev. 9/1/09