School of Music

Graduation requirements and regulations for every academic program are provided in this catalog; however, this catalog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract. Degree and program requirements and course descriptions are subject to change.

In most cases, you will use the catalog of the year you entered KU (see your advisor for details). Other years’ catalogs»

Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts in Music
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre-Voice
Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music in Bassoon, Clarinet, Flute, Oboe, Saxophone
Bachelor of Music in Double Bass, Harp, Viola, Violin, Violoncello
Bachelor of Music in Euphonium, French Horn, Percussion, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba
Bachelor of Music in Jazz
Bachelor of Music in Musicology
Bachelor of Music in Music Composition
Bachelor of Music in Music Theory
Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy
Bachelor of Music in Organ and Church Music
Bachelor of Music in Piano
Bachelor of Music in Voice
Bachelor of Music Education in Music Education
Minor in Music
Undergraduate Certificate in Music Enterprise
Undergraduate Certificate in Music Recording
Master of Music Master of Music in Conducting
Master of Music in Musicology
Master of Music in Music Theory or Composition
Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy
Master of Music in Music Performance: Brass and Percussion
Master of Music in Music Performance: Organ, Church Music, and Carillon
Master of Music in Music Performance: Piano
Master of Music in Music Performance: Strings
Master of Music in Music Performance: Voice and Opera
Master of Music in Music Performance: Woodwinds
Master of Music Education in Music Education or Music Therapy Music Education M.M.E. Program
Music Therapy M.M.E. Program
Doctor of Musical Arts Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition
Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting
Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance: Organ and Church Music
Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance: Brass and Percussion
Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance: Piano
Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance: Piano Performance and Pedagogy
Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance: Strings
Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance: Voice
Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance: Woodwinds
Doctor of Philosophy Doctor of Philosophy in Music
Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education
Graduate Certificate in Music Enterprise
Graduate Certificate in Music Performance
Graduate Certificate in Music Recording
Graduate Certificate in Piano Pedagogy

The School of Music

The School of Music at the University of Kansas ranks among the finest in America, offering comprehensive programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.

The school nurtures and advances the art of music through creation, performance, scholarly inquiry, entrepreneurship, and enhancement of the artistic skills and experiences of the university and regional cultural communities.

The school is a major contributor to the arts community through the student, faculty, and professional performances in the Swarthout Recital Hall (remodeled in 2015), Bales Organ Recital Hall, the Robert Baustian Theatre, and the Lied Center of Kansas.

The School of Music is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music. The entrance and graduation requirements in this catalog conform to the published guidelines of that organization.

Degrees

Undergraduate Degree Programs

The degree of Bachelor of Music is granted with majors in bassoon, clarinet, double bass, euphonium, flute, French horn, harp, jazz, musicology, music therapy, oboe, organ and church music, percussion, piano, saxophone, theory, composition, trombone, trumpet, tuba, viola, violin, violoncello, and voice.

The degree of Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts in Music is offered for students with interests in any area of music who also want to pursue a second degree or minor not in the School of Music.

The degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts is granted with a major in theatre and voice.

The degree of Bachelor of Music Education is granted with a major in music education.

Requirements for Graduation

Degrees from the School of Music are conferred on candidates who have satisfactorily completed a minimum of 120 credit hours for the B.A., B.M., B.F.A., and B.M.E. degrees, including required subjects. 45 credit hours must be in junior/senior-level courses, numbered 300 and above. A minimum 2.0 grade-point average, both cumulative and in KU courses, is required for graduation. Four (4) hours of the total in each case, except the Music Therapy B.M. and the Music Education B.M.E. degrees, may be in physical education activity courses.

Remedial Courses

Remedial courses listed in the catalog and Schedule of Classes are numbered below 100. Such courses include, but are not limited to, MATH 2.  Remedial courses do not count toward graduation in the School of Music and may not be counted as distribution courses or electives.

Facilities

Murphy Hall

Murphy Hall, named for former KU Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy, houses the School of Music. It is a 5-level facility with offices for faculty members in applied music, music theory and composition, musicology, opera, music education, music therapy, and ensembles. Designed for music and theater, it contains 4 performance areas.

  • Crafton-Preyer Theater provides a venue for plays, operas, musical theater shows, and concerts. It is a fully equipped, 1,188-seat proscenium stage facility.
  • William Inge Memorial Theater is an intimate black-box facility with seating for up to 125, suitable for plays and small opera productions.
  • Swarthout Recital Hall, a 273-seat facility with exceptional acoustics, is dedicated to faculty and student solo and chamber music presentations and occasional opera productions. Swarthout Recital Hall has been fully remodeled and re-opened to public performances in April 2015.
  • The Baustian Theater, a black-box facility for opera and musical theater productions, seats 125 and has a dressing room and wardrobe area, set construction and storage area, and office and performance control areas.

Murphy Hall also houses classrooms, practice rooms, rehearsal halls, and storage facilities for instruments and sheet music. The Electronic Music Studio contains a digital workstation for the recording and production of electronic music and video.

The Thomas Gorton Music and Dance Library in Murphy Hall houses more than 111,000 scores, books, sound recordings, videos, and serials, and has the leading music collection in the Great Plains. It features a public computer lab (with both Windows and Macintosh workstations); study carrels; comfortable seating; and public display of new acquisitions, current periodicals, and special exhibitions. Students can make full use of music and dance information resources. The Library also features a high-quality overhead scanner, a listening room with a vinyl record player, a multi-function printer, and an ADA-compliant workstation designed for use by those with impaired vision. The library’s computer lab features a full suite of programs, including Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, and music notation programs such as Sibelius, Finale, and Musescore. Students may also reserve our four meeting rooms for individual study and group meetings by submitting a request at lib.ku.edu/study.

The Music Education and Music Therapy Complex in Murphy Hall contains a model music education classroom, a general music instruction classroom, large and small music therapy clinical spaces, three research spaces (Human Learning Lab, Music Behavior Observation Lab, and Perception & Cognition Lab), faculty offices, and the MEMT Computer Lab. In addition, the complex houses a Vocology Laboratory, which affords excellent resources for research-based understanding of singing voice phenomena. The stationary lab facilitates acquisition and analysis of voice data in a controlled environment. It also provides mobile configurations of resources for field-based research and pedagogy in voice studios, choir rehearsal areas, classrooms, and music therapy clinics. Interactive distance delivery of specific music education and music therapy graduate courses are taught on campus and anywhere in the world.

Lied Center

The Lied Center of Kansas is a 2,020-seat performing arts hall. On KU’s west campus at Irving Hill Road and Constant Avenue, it is the venue for the Lied Center Series. It also presents School of Music productions, Student Union Activities shows, and university and community events. The performing arts hall offers excellent acoustic quality and technical production capabilities. The stage features a 56-foot-wide proscenium opening, resilient wood floor, counterweighted rigging system, and ample wing space. There is a full complement of backstage support areas including seven dressing rooms, dance rehearsal studio, two warm-up rooms, a Greenroom, and a production office.

The Dane and Polly Bales Organ Recital Hall is acoustically designed for the teaching and performance of organ music. It has seating for 200 and is attached to the Lied Center main lobbies at two levels. It houses a 45-stop mechanical key-action (electric stop-action) organ built by Hellmuth Wolff et Associés, one of the finest builders of organs in the world. The hall is available to organ students for practice, lessons, and recitals. Its aesthetics are enhanced by three magnificent stained glass windows designed by Peter Thompson, former Dean of the School of Fine Arts.