Degrees Offered
- Master of Music
Nature of the Program
The M.M. in Music Education degree is designed to cultivate continued development of professional competence beyond the baccalaureate degree. High levels of musicianship and pedagogical expertise are integrated into a comprehensive program of study. Unique to the degree in music education are four degree options that enable students to pursue individual interests and talents. At the core of each of the 30-hour degree option is coursework that immerses students in the foundations and research of music education, performance studies, music history, and music theory. To complete the degree, students can select from the following four options of coursework and culminating projects:
- Field Study Option: This degree option emphasizes teaching and includes opportunities to integrate performance studies and research with a school-based field study that demonstrates application of knowledge and skills from graduate study as a culminating project.
- Recital Option: This degree option emphasizes performance studies and includes opportunities to integrate research and teaching with a representative public recital that demonstrates advanced performance competence as a culminating project.
- Thesis Option: This degree option emphasizes research and includes opportunities to integrate performance and teaching with an original thesis that demonstrates advanced research and writing competence as a culminating project.
- Certification Option: This degree option is designed for persons who obtained an undergraduate degree in music other than music education. Coursework (including student teaching) leads to a professional certificate (birth-adult music, West Virginia) and is combined with a master’s degree in music education with the generation of a professional portfolio as a culminating project. Students begin the program with a series of undergraduate courses that are necessary for certification. This block of undergraduate courses ranges from zero to twenty credits depending on the student’s previous coursework.
Admissions for 2025-2026
Students applying to the Music Education graduate degree program must:
- Apply to West Virginia University through the Office of Graduate Admissions.
- Submit a current resume to the Office of Graduate Studies in Music.
- Submit an essay to the Office of Graduate Studies in Music describing and discussing your training, experiences, and present interests in the field of Music Education. Also, discuss your career aspirations five years from now as they relate to earning the master’s degree in Music Education.
- Applicants must have had an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 to be considered for admission.
- Submit a video recording of teaching, preferably a K-12 music class or rehearsal, and a lesson plan to accompany the recording. Please submit a detailed lesson plan for each class or rehearsal presented on your video of teaching. Recordings should have been made within the six months prior to the submission of the application. Video recordings must be of high quality. Applicants should review the video recording in its entirety to ensure audio, visual, and technical clarity before mailing to the Office of Graduate Studies in Music. (This is not required if you are applying for the Master of Music, Music Education Certification option.)
Students may find more information about admission to graduate study in Music Education online: https://www.music.wvu.edu/academics/masters-programs
MM Major Code: 3741
Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Ensemble (2 Semesters) | 2 | |
| MUSC 783 | Foundations of Music Education | 3 |
| MUSC 784 | Introduction to Research in Music Education | 3 |
| Advanced seminars * | 6 | |
| Complete one Music Theory course and one Music History course from the following: | 5-6 | |
| Music Theory: | ||
| Upper Division Composition | ||
| Counterpoint, 16th Century | ||
| Counterpoint, 18th Century | ||
| Analysis of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Music | ||
| Compositional Techniques in Contemporary Music | ||
| Electronic Music | ||
| Techniques for Electronic Music Performance | ||
| Jazz and Commercial Music Harmony | ||
| Theory Topics | ||
| Pedagogy of Theory | ||
| Analytical Techniques | ||
| Compositional Techniques in Contemporary Music | ||
| Music History: | ||
| Topics in Popular Music | ||
| Topics in the Study of Western Art Music | ||
| Topics in the History of Jazz | ||
| Topics in Music of Sub-Saharan Africa | ||
| Topics in Musics of the Americas | ||
| Topics in Musics of East Asia | ||
| Topics in Musics of South Asia | ||
| Topics in Gender and Sexuality in Music | ||
| Topics in Race and Ethnicity in Music | ||
| Topics in Musics of the Arab World | ||
| Music of Africa | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Perspectives of Musicology and Ethnomusicology | ||
| Keyboard Literature ** | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Independent Study | ||
MUSC 796 | Graduate Seminar | |
| Field Study, Recital, and Thesis Options *** | ||
| Select 1 of the following options: | 12 | |
| Field Study | ||
| Masters Field Study (4 hours) | ||
Music Electives (4 hours) | ||
| Recital Option | ||
| Master's Recital (2 hours) | ||
Music electives (2 hours) | ||
| Thesis Option | ||
| Research (4 hours) | ||
| Music Electives (4 hours) | ||
| Total Hours | 31-32 | |
- *
Advanced seminars in music education, methods, workshops, and directed studies. (Maximum of two hours from workshops; maximum of two hours from directed studies.)
- **
MUSC 731 Keyboard Literature is open to Keyboard Majors only.
- ***
Certification Option: In lieu of completing the Field Study, Recital, or Thesis Option, students may complete the Core Requirements and the Certification Requirements to earn the Masters Degree in Music Education and be eligible for certification.
Certification Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| C&I 491 | Professional Field Experience | 4 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Educational Psychology | ||
| Psychological Foundations of Learning | ||
| MUSC 200S | Fundamentals of Conducting | 2 |
| MUSC 201S | Conducting and Score Interpretation | 2 |
| MUSC 202S | Conducting and Rehearsing | 2 |
| MUSC 280S | Woodwind Instrument Pedagogy | 2 |
| MUSC 281S | Brass Instrument Pedagogy | 2 |
| MUSC 282S | String Instrument Pedagogy | 2 |
| MUSC 283 & 283S | Percussion Instrument Pedagogy and Percussion Instrument Pedagogy | 2 |
| MUSC 284 | Vocal Pedagogy | 2 |
| MUSC 380 | Instrumental Methods and Technology Applications | 3 |
| MUSC 381 | Choral Music Methods and Technology Applications | 3 |
| MUSC 382S | General Music Methods and Technology Applications | 3 |
| MUSC 487 | Residency 2 Seminar | 2 |
| MUSC 491 | Professional Field Experience | 10 |
| MUSC 500 or MUSC 700 | Performance | 4 |
| RDNG 422 | Reading in the Content Areas | 3 |
| SPED 500 | Legal/Educational Foundations: Special Education | 3 |
| SPED 501 | Academic Interventions for Special Needs | 3 |
| Total Hours | 57 | |
Major Learning Outcomes
Music Education
Students who earn the graduate degrees in Music Education will develop:
- Advanced competencies in music education.
- Graduate-level perspectives on contemporary issues and problems in music education.
- Knowledge and skills in one or more fields of music outside the major such as performance, conducting, theory and analysis, and history and literature.