Transformations in Music Studies at Carolina
Transform your music studies via our degree programs for the Bachelor of Arts in Music, Bachelor of Music, and Music Minor.
Conquer your scholarship and performance goals with our revitalized catalog of courses.
Study and perform bluegrass, experimental, hip hop, jazz, opera, popular music, western art music, and more from across the globe.
Welcome to the homepage of the undergraduate music curriculum at Carolina! The Department of Music offers Carolina students a broad, substantive, and welcoming educational experience. Any student who wants a life in music or music in their life can find the degree path —Bachelor of Arts in Music (B.A.), Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.), and Minor in Music— to meet their artistic and academic needs. On this page, explore our new offerings, discover rich possibilities in musical studies, and get all your questions answered.
At UNC, music students explore the histories, cultural contexts, and meanings of music and learn varying modes and methods of music creation, communication, and dissemination. They also develop analytical and performance skills in traditions including bluegrass, experimental, hip hop, Latin, jazz, opera, popular music, western art music, and more from across the globe. The study of music in our department also complements students’ work in other humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences disciplines.
We understand the need for twenty-first-century musicians to be conversant across multiple styles and practices and familiar with disparate geographic and historical traditions. As a music major or minor, you’ll explore the significance, cultural diversity, and intellectual richness of music traditions across historical and cultural contexts. At the same time, your artistic, intellectual, and technological curiosities will be refined, helping you create, investigate, and/or perform music at the highest collegiate level.
Are you…
- an incoming or prospective music student?
- a current student?
- searching for answers to other questions?
Navigating Music Studies at Carolina
What does the curriculum offer?
We want all students to begin their studies with MUSC 120 Foundations of Music. A simple question animates this class: what does music mean? This is actually not a simple question because it requires us to think about music from a variety of perspectives. What music means depends on many factors: the sound and structure of the music, its genre or style, who is performing the music and the way it is performed, the place in which the music is created and heard, the broader cultural contexts in which the music is experienced, and so on. This course’s broadest goal is to deepen your curiosity about music and encourage your critical listening and thinking about music.
Our curriculum has expanded course offerings and opened up more pathways to earn your degree. This includes choices within the theory and musicianship offerings that include more about non-tonal and non-Western notated music. You can satisfy your music theory requirements with courses in jazz theory, popular music theory, tonal (art music) theory, composition, beat-making, and songwriting courses. Our “Critical Approaches” courses address how to understand and interpret music in historical and cultural contexts, and how to do musicological research; these courses are MUSC 270 Object Lessons and MUSC 271 Critical Moves, and the seminar-style MUSC 351 Guided Research. Composers also now have the option to study scoring specifically for film and video games. And all students have access to courses in audio production. Learn more about many of these new courses below.
Our curriculum also requires a senior presentation/recital for B.Mus. degree candidates.
What are some of the new course offerings?
- MUSC 128 Improvisation Without Borders (1 credit)
- This new required course (for both the B.A. and B.Mus.) is a practical exploration of musical improvisation across many different traditions. There are no prerequisites, as it is intended for students from any musical background, and focuses on how we express ourselves broadly through sound. Using the techniques and principles derived from improvisational musical practices and theater, students will develop their creativity, communication, and collaborative skills. Students will work to develop an individualized sound palette, explore close listening through exercises and directed group improvisation utilizing time/rhythm, drones, embellished melodies or melodic fragments, cadenzas, and other improvisational techniques from pop, folk, jazz, and musical traditions around the globe.
- MUSC 129 Aural-based Musicianship (1 credit)
- Co-requisite: Musc 137. Explores how the human brain hears patterns in pitch and time, focusing largely on popular music repertories. Does not rely on western musical notation.
- Music 137 Patterns in Music (3 credits)
- Introduction to music theory—defined as an examination of the underlying patterns deployed by composers, performers, and listeners in creating and comprehending music within a style—for students whose primary interest is in popular music and whose background is primarily aural and/or outside of the notational practices of Western art music.
- MUSC 270 Object Lessons (3 credits)
- Learn to gather and evaluate data on music from a variety of sources, both visual (print, online, images, etc.) and aural (performances, oral testimony, etc.), and how to distinguish between primary and secondary sources. Explore critical approaches to the study of musical transmission (including notation, editions, oral transmission), as well as the study of music as mediated (recordings, performance studies, critical approaches to pedagogy).
- MUSC 271 Critical Moves (3 credits)
- Learn to articulate key issues raised by understanding music (1) as a human activity, including questions of embodiment, (dis)ability, difference, and power, and (2) as a part of society, systems of knowledge production (music theory), and history (including questions of identity, politics, community, technology, etc.). Discover how to formulate research questions about music and be guided toward independent research skills in collaboration with the UNC libraries.
- MUSC 351 Guided Research (3 credits)
- This required, research-based course draws on the skills developed in the previous two semesters (MUSC 270 and 271). It is a stepping stone toward an honors thesis and an opportunity for music majors to have a seminar-like experience (max. 15 students). Study in this course results in an original research paper on a topic of the student’s own development, and oral presentations of the same.
For students entering prior to Fall 2022:
Students who matriculated prior to fall 2022 are allowed to finish their music degrees with the curricular requirements that were in effect prior to Fall 2022. For courses no longer offered, consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to determine appropriate course substitutions
New & Prospective Music Students
View a sample Transformations in Music Studies Academic Plan.
Bachelor of Arts in Music (35 credit hours)
Bachelor of Music (64 credit hours)
View the curriculum requirements here for all our degrees.
INCOMING STUDENTS: Be sure to check out this page for important dates and information needed to begin the academic year!
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the music curriculum fit in with the new Ideas in Action general education curriculum for the College of Arts and Sciences?
Transformations in Music Studies complements the IDEAS in Action general education curriculum through skills-based approaches to music study. Some of the overlapping learning goals include the “Ways of Seeing and Knowing” (Modes of Seeing and Knowing; Knowledge of the Human Past; Global Understanding and Engagement; Power, Difference, and Inequality; Aesthetic and Interpretive Analysis; Active Research Involvement; Upper-Level Communication Intensive) and “Creative Expression, Practice, and Production” Focus Capacities.
How many music credit hours are required to complete each degree?
The department credit hours required to complete each degree program in music are:
- Bachelor of Arts: 35 credit hours
- Bachelor of Music: 64 credit hours
- Minor in Music: 15 credit hours
Do I need to have studied music before studying music at Carolina?
No! Music studies are open to all students at UNC. However, auditions are required for some ensembles and lessons (for placement).
Can I become a music major after my first year at UNC?
Yes! It is not necessary to declare your major as music in the first year. However, it is recommended that if you’re considering majoring in music, take MUSC 120, MUSC 128, and a lesson and ensemble. The Bachelor of Music requires at least six semesters of lessons and eight ensemble credits, so if you’re contemplating this degree course, we recommend you begin these your first year to stay on track for graduation in four years.
So, how many semesters of lessons and ensembles do I need to take?
The Bachelor of Arts requires:
- 2 semesters of lessons,
- 4 credits of ensembles.
The Bachelor of Music requires:
- 6 semesters of lessons,
- 8 credits of ensembles.
I don’t want to study classical music. Is there a space for me?
Yes! Interested in hip hop, songwriting, bluegrass, or audio engineering, for example? The department offers courses, private lessons and ensembles in many different musical traditions and practices. The new and redesigned theory and musicology courses will also be more applicable to popular musics and musics generally outside of the Western art music (classical) tradition. And we offer a menu of courses in audio production and music technology as well.
Still have questions? Reach out to us at music@unc.edu!
“The culture of a research-intensive university like ours guarantees that course offerings and major programs change frequently, reflecting the dynamic nature of our faculty’s work.”