Set within a growing research university that serves over 30,000 students in the heart of a vibrant and diverse urban center of over two million people, UNLV’s School of Music provides a stimulating environment for performers, scholars, composers, and educators. Musicology students and faculty enjoy the benefit of innovative collaborations within the School, as well as interdisciplinary endeavors across the University.
In the UNLV School of Music, more than a dozen degree programs explore Western art traditions, jazz and commercial music, and global practices. Scholarly research is supported by the collections in five campus libraries, including a Music Library. In addition, the School of Music houses the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center, which presents an annual lecture and seminar series that brings scholars and practitioners of popular music and jazz to work with the University community.
Musicology in UNLV’s School of Music Degree Programs
Master’s Degree in Musicology (M.M.)
The M.M. in musicology provides students with advanced training in historical, ethnographic, and other methods in music studies. It is aimed primarily at students who wish to receive preparation for doctoral studies in PhD programs.
For more information on UNLV’s M.M. in musicology, including course requirements and admission information, see the following link:
https://www.unlv.edu/degree/mm#s99
Bachelor of Music (B.M.)
Students in UNLV’s B.M. programs pursue degrees with primarily performance- or composition-focused curricula. All students in these programs complete a music historical survey, including a subset of the following courses:
- MUS 131: Introduction to Music Literature
- MUS 341: Music History I—Survey of Medieval through Baroque Music
- MUS 342: Music History II—Survey of Classical and Romantic Music
- MUS 343: Music History III—Survey of Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Music
- MUS 345: Jazz and Commercial Music History I—Origins through Bebop
- MUS 346: Jazz and Commercial Music History II—Bebop through the Present
- MUS 348: Issues in American Music
For more information on the B.M tracks in the School of Music, see the following website:
https://catalog.unlv.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=39&poid=11348&returnto=11588
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
The Bachelor of Arts in Music allows the student to pursue the study of music within the context of a liberal arts curriculum. The curriculum offers an intensive study of music as both an intellectual discipline and a performance art. In addition to classes, lessons, and performing ensembles common to the Bachelor of Music program, students pursuing the B.A. pursue more advanced music scholarship and research projects, as well as engage with other disciplines relevant to the study and performance of music.
The Musicology Division offers B.A. students the same survey courses as the B.M. students, plus 400-level study:
- MUS 131: Introduction to Music Literature
- MUS 341: Music History I—Survey of Medieval through Baroque Music
- MUS 342: Music History II—Survey of Classical and Romantic Music
- MUS 343: Music History III—Survey of Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Music
- MUS 345: Jazz and Commercial Music History I—Origins through Bebop
- MUS 346: Jazz and Commercial Music History II—Bebop through the Present
- MUS 348: Issues in American Music
- MUS 491: Special Topics—Music History
- MUS 492: Special Topics—Ethnomusicology
- MUS 493: Seminar, Special Topics (may meet with Honors College)
For more information on the B.A. track in the School of Music, see the following website:
https://www.unlv.edu/degree/ba-music
