Music Department

FAST (4+1) B.A./M.A. Program

Earn both degrees in 5 years

The FAST (Falcon Accelerated Success Track) 4+1 B.A./M.A. lets you complete the B.A. in Music and the M.A. in Music in 5 years. You stay in the B.A., apply in your junior year, and take graduate courses alongside your last undergraduate semesters, with up to 11 units counting toward both degrees. Transfer students who enter at junior standing complete both degrees in 3 years.

You declare one area of emphasis: Performance (Classical or Jazz), Choral Conducting, or Composition.

Eligibility

To apply, you need:

  • current enrollment in the B.A. in Music at CSU East Bay as your first bachelor’s degree (second-bachelor’s students aren’t eligible);
  • music as your only major (double majors aren’t eligible);
  • 60 to 90 program-applicable units completed, including the lower-division core music coursework (15 units) and the lower-division general education requirements;
  • a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

Program-applicable units are the units that count toward the major, general education, and university requirements. Admission is unconditional, and these requirements apply without exception.

If you’re an international student on an F-1 visa, contact the Center for International Education (CIE) before you apply. Moving to graduate status in FAST requires a new I-20 and changes your minimum enrollment from 12 units to 8, and it affects when Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT) are available.

How to apply

Applications are accepted in the Fall and Spring semesters. Your application and both letters of recommendation are due to the Graduate Coordinator by the end of week 7. Apply in the Fall to begin FAST coursework in the Spring, or in the Spring to begin in the Fall. Students who start the B.A. as first-year students usually apply in the Spring of the junior year, and transfer students in their second semester at East Bay.

The application includes the materials required for the M.A. in Music:

  1. A curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé.
  2. 2 letters of recommendation, from teachers or colleagues who can assess your readiness for graduate study.
  3. A statement of purpose (2 pages) describing your objectives for a graduate degree in music and your short- and long-term goals.
  4. Evidence of your abilities in your area of emphasis, as set out under M.A. in Music on the How to Apply page.

The FAST application form has a checklist of everything to send and the form you fill in. Send it all in one email to ines.thiebaut@csueastbay.edu. Your recommenders email their letters to the same address by the same deadline.

The Graduate Coordinator emails you a decision by the end of week 9. If you’re admitted, the Graduate Coordinator files the university FAST Application Form, you and the Graduate Coordinator approve it, and the Office of the Registrar moves you onto the FAST academic plan. Admission takes effect when the form is approved.

Start with the B.A.

FAST is for students already in the B.A. in Music, so admission to the bachelor’s program comes first. If you aren’t yet a music major, apply to the B.A. in Music and follow its application process. Once you’re in the B.A. and meet the FAST eligibility requirements, you apply to FAST. Second-bachelor’s students and double majors aren’t eligible for FAST.

How the 5 years fit together

The FAST 4+1 roadmap lays out the courses to take each semester across the undergraduate and graduate years. Transfer students follow the FAST 2+1 transfer roadmap, which covers the upper-division B.A. and the M.A. across 3 years. Up to 11 units count toward both degrees:

  • MUS 351–355 and/or MUS 360–369, ensembles (4 units), an M.A. requirement that replaces no undergraduate course.
  • MUS 601 Analysis of Musical Styles (2 units).
  • MUS 603 Entrepreneurship in the Arts (3 units).
  • MUS 661–668 Graduate Applied Study (2 units).

The last 7 units, MUS 601, MUS 603, and MUS 661–668, replace undergraduate music electives.

Once you’re in FAST

You meet with the Graduate Coordinator every semester. The full FAST rules are in section 08 of the Undergraduate Handbook:

The Office of Graduate Studies covers FAST programs across the university on its FAST programs page.

Questions

Contact the Graduate Coordinator, Inés Thiebaut, at ines.thiebaut@csueastbay.edu or 510-885-3126, in MB 2012.