B.A. in Music
Study music at Cal State East Bay
Make music from your first semester, across the classical tradition, jazz, experimental and world music, and music technology. The B.A. in Music is for students serious about a life in music as performers, composers, producers, teachers, and scholars, and it prepares you both for a career and for graduate study.
The music side at a glance
The degree is 120 units in total, 54 of them in music. They fall into 4 parts:
| Area | Units |
|---|---|
| Theory, musicianship, and writing about music | 15 |
| History, world music, analysis, and music technology | 18 |
| Applied lessons, major ensemble, and chamber ensemble | 9 |
| Music electives you choose | 12 |
| Total music units | 54 |
The remaining units are general education and university graduation requirements, several of which your music courses can also satisfy.
A typical 4-year path
Here is how the required music courses usually unfold. Your advisor and the roadmaps set your exact plan, so treat this as the shape of the journey rather than a fixed schedule.
| Year | Music courses |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | Music Theory I, Aural Skills I, Keyboard Musicianship I |
| Year 2 | Music Theory II and III, Aural Skills II and III, Keyboard Musicianship II and III, Essentials of Music Technology, Writing About Music |
| Year 3 | Form and Analysis, Topics in Western Music History, History of American Music, 20th and 21st Century Styles and Techniques |
| Year 4 | World Music and Culture |
Alongside these, you take applied lessons and a major ensemble every term, add a chamber ensemble in the final year, and choose 12 units of music electives across the 4 years. General education fills out the rest of the degree.
roadmaps
The full roadmap, music alongside general education, term by term:
Transfer students who arrive with the Associate Degree for Transfer in Music have most lower-division work behind them and follow the 2-year path.
Getting started: auditions and lessons
Official admission offers are sent by the University Admissions office, not the Music Department. If you are admitted to the University, you are admitted into the B.A. in Music.
A few things to know:
- It is required for all B.A. in Music majors to successfully take at least 4 semester units of applied (private) lessons.
- All music majors in the B.A. in Music program require a successful applied area placement to start taking lessons in their primary area of study. Students only do this once. Once in lessons, students follow the applied jury schedule depending on their entry level.
- You don't need to complete your applied area placement right away when you start the B.A. in Music (very common for first-year students, who can build up musicianship before taking lessons), but if you want to graduate in 2 years (most transfer students), you should expect to start lessons right away.
- Scholarship audition materials will be considered applied area placements for those applicants who complete them.
Scholarship auditions have fixed deadlines set in the application season. A standalone applied area placement is more flexible and can happen any time up to the start of the fall or spring semester. If you do not audition for a scholarship, arrange your placement by contacting the music office.
Where it leads
Graduates work as performers in classical and jazz settings, composers, arrangers, conductors and music directors, music producers, sound designers, and teachers in schools and private studios, and go on to graduate programs.
Learn more
For the official course list and unit counts, see the catalog listing for the B.A. in Music. Every music student works with a dedicated music advisor to shape a plan around their goals. The Department is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).
Will My Courses Transfer?
Dedicated information for transfers can be found in the Transfer Requirement portion of the admissions website.
To determine if your courses will transfer and/or satisfy the above requirements (A1, A2, A3, B4) you can use the following resources:
- California Community College Courses: Search for courses in ASSIST.
- Private or out-of-state colleges: CSUEB maintains the TES database of pre-approved transfer courses from private and out-of-state colleges. If you do not see your course listed, it does not necessarily mean it will not be transferable since it only contains courses already reviewed by our staff. You can Search for Courses in TES.