Overview
The music composition degree lays a foundation of staff-based notation for composition, including a variety of approaches to notation, rhythm, harmony, texture and orchestration. At the same time, electronic music courses inspire you to apply current music technology to your work in innovative ways. You’ll explore digital audio, analog synthesis, surround sound and spatialization, creative applications of recording and editing, algorithmic composition and computer programming for audio.
There are many opportunities to develop and showcase your work as you progress through the program, with regular student and guest artist reading sessions of student compositions, collaborations with UWM’s New Music Ensemble and Present Music, and UW-MESS (UWM Electroacoustic Sound Studios).
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Faculty and Staff
Our inspirational faculty and staff make sure students feel welcome and empowered to think outside the box and explore all possibilities of making art at UWM. Visit the Peck School of the Arts directory to meet these artists, explore their biographies and engage with recent work.
Scholarships and Aid
Financial constraints shouldn’t hinder your artistic dreams. Our comprehensive range of scholarships and aid programs is designed to empower and support artists like you.
Study Abroad
We believe that a complete education in the arts should take you beyond the classroom and the local community. By studying abroad, you’ll gain more than a change of scenery. You’ll embark on a transformative educational experience and bring a global perspective to your field of study. Explore upcoming trips offered in partnership with the Center for International Education.
Requirements
Admission Requirements
Undergraduate applicants must meet general University admission requirements in addition to specific program requirements found on the Peck School of the Arts apply page.
Undergraduate Advising
Academic advising is a collaborative process that empowers students to realize their maximum educational potential. Students are encouraged to visit the Peck School of the Arts Advising & Student Services page to meet with your advisor prior to each semester’s registration period. Advisors provide students with individualized appointments to assist with degree requirements, course selection, campus resources, college success strategies, graduation assessment, academic policies and more.
Laptop Requirement
Preparing for a future defined by digital technology is an important step in developing artists. Our digitally integrated curriculum helps you achieve a professional level with leading art-related software and practices.
Laptop ownership is strongly recommended for all students. However, it’s required for most majors. For more information, please visit the Peck School of the Arts admission page.
Degree Requirements
Music Theory and History Requirements
The Music Theory core comprises a four-semester sequence of Materials of Theory concurrently with three semesters of Aural Theory. The Music History core comprises a three-semester sequence of the General History of Western Music. See individual programs for details.
Lessons, Studio Class, Convocation
Music performance instruction on the primary instrument consists of three components each week: a private lesson with the studio instructor (scheduled independently), a studio class with other students on the instrument, and a department-wide recital on Friday (Convocation) with a rotating selection of student performers.
Students are required to participate in an approved performing organization in each semester in which the student is registered for music performance instruction in the major instrument.
Performance Ensembles
Students pursuing a music degree are required to participate in performing organizations during their course of study. Students must be registered in an approved ensemble concurrent with each semester of private study in lessons. Directors make ensemble assignments at the beginning of each semester. Only one approved ensemble credit per semester may apply toward degree requirements. The Department of Music recognizes the following approved ensembles: Alta Voce, Bella Voce, Concert Chorale, Kameraden Chorus, Symphony Band, Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. Other performance ensembles may be approved for music minors, students with provisional admission or in certain degree programs.
Credits from an accredited college/university for performing organizations may be granted for undergraduate students as follows:
- All transfer students to UWM, regardless of entry level, must take at least two semesters of an approved major performing organization. The performing organization must conform to the individual degree requirements: instrumentalists take band or orchestra; vocalists take choral ensembles.
- Entering sophomores with 30 or more earned credits may only transfer up to two completed semesters of an approved performing organization from another university; and
- Entering juniors with 60 or more earned credits may only transfer up to four completed semesters of an approved performing organization from another university.
Advance to Major and Retention
Students declared provisional at the time of auditions can achieve Music major status based on a successful jury performance at the end of the first semester. Students not performing a successful first semester jury will not be allowed to continue as a Music major and will be dropped from the Music Department. Provisional students must take all required first-semester Music courses during the provisional semester.
Students accepted through auditions who lack basic aural, theory, and/or keyboard skills must successfully complete MUSIC 1 and/or MUSPERF 1 in their first year of study. A final grade of B or higher is required to enroll in the subsequent Music Theory and Piano courses.
A Music major who has a studio performance grade of C or lower for two consecutive semesters may be placed on probation. Students then have the opportunity to re-audition or attain a passing grade for the performance lessons. Final jury is attained during the probation semester along with a 2.0+ cumulative GPA.
Credits and Courses
University Core
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Requirements 1 | ||
| Competencies | ||
| Oral and Written Communication – Part A and Part B 2,3 | ||
| Quantitative Literacy (QL) – Part A and Part B 2,3 | ||
| Foreign Language 2 | ||
| Distribution Requirements 1 | ||
| Humanities | 6 | |
| Natural Sciences (Must include one lab) | 6 | |
| Social Sciences | 6 | |
| Cultural Diversity 2 | ||
| Electives | ||
| Electives Outside Peck School of the Arts | 12 | |
| Electives in Peck School of the Arts 4 | 12 | |
| Electives Outside Discipline | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 45 | |
- 1
See General Education Requirements for more information.
- 2
Credits may be utilized in required curriculum areas.
- 3
OWC Part A and QL Part A should be completed within the first two semesters of pursuing a Music program.
- 4
9 credits are required in 3 of the 4 other departments in PSOA, outside of the student's discipline: Art and Design, Dance, Music, Theatre, or Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres.
Music BFA Requirements
The minimum number of credits required to complete the Bachelor of Fine Arts is 130. Students who need background preparation courses in math, English, foreign language, and chemistry may need additional credits.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Music Department Competencies | ||
| Theory Fundamentals | ||
| Fundamentals of Piano: | ||
| Music Theory | ||
| MUSIC 123 | Aural Theory I | 1 |
| MUSIC 124 | Aural Theory II | 1 |
| MUSIC 127 | Materials of Theory I | 2 |
| MUSIC 128 | Materials of Theory II | 3 |
| MUSIC 225 | Materials of Theory III | 3 |
| MUSIC 226 | Aural Theory III | 1 |
| MUSIC 421 | Materials of Theory IV | 3 |
| Music History | ||
| MUSIC 106 | Foundations of Music | 3 |
| MUSIC 211 | General History of Western Music I | 3 |
| MUSIC 212 | General History of Western Music II | 3 |
| Total Credits | 23 | |
Music Composition and Technology Requirements
Required Composition and Theory Background
All potential Composition majors must show evidence of compositional ability before acceptance to the program. Each applicant must submit a Composition Portfolio of previous compositional work to the Composition faculty. The portfolio acts as the equivalent of an audition. Prospective students seeking to enter this program must also be able to begin by enrolling in the MUSIC 123 and MUSIC 127 series, as determined by the Theory Placement Exam. Those students who do not meet this criterion may be advised to enter the program on a Provisional basis, but must take MUSIC 1, receive a final grade of "B" or better, and resubmit their Composition Portfolio before a final admission and placement decision is determined by the Music Composition Area.
Composition Portfolio
The Composition Portfolio should contain the applicant’s best three to five representative works. At least one copy of a written score is required. The score may be of any ensemble configuration, from large ensemble to piano solo. Computer-generated scores, or digital software compositions are accepted but not required. Evidence of audio recordings in an appropriate digital audio format, fixed media, web-based, or comparable format is expected. The compositions on the recordings may or may not be the same compositional scores submitted with the portfolio. Other possible formats for compositions are Standard MIDI File, an image file or movie of a composition’s performance, or soundtrack to a video work. This latter may be a collaborative work with video artist(s). Group compositions are not acceptable. There is no particular style requirement for applicants, nor is there is a duration requirement for their representative works. However, they must be complete works.
Required Piano Proficiency
Depending upon audition results, students may be required to enroll in MUSPERF 1 for up to two semesters or until they can pass a satisfactory piano audition through the Piano faculty. Those who place at the 100 level must take a minimum of 4 semesters of piano. All students entering at the 300 level must take 2 semesters of piano. Piano proficiency at 300 level is satisfied by demonstrated ability to play works of moderate difficulty, such as Bach's Two-part Inventions, Bartok's Mikrokosmos Book IV, Schumann's "Kinderszenen", or Easy to Intermediate Classics. Deficiencies are made up without credit.
A student who is deficient in any of the above may be admitted Provisionally, but only after evaluation and approval by the Composition Area. Contact the Composition Area for further information.
Graduation Requirements
Completion of the BFA in Music Composition and Technology will require each student to compose a minimum of five compositions over the lifetime of their program. While a minimum of three works must be written for solo or small ensemble, and one work for solo electronic or combined electronic and acoustic instrument(s), one work may be for large ensemble (orchestra, chamber, wind symphony, or choir). Of the five works required, three works must be presented publicly, each a minimum of nine minutes in duration.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Lessons in Principal Instrument | ||
| MUSPERF 461 | Lessons in Composition (enroll in 2 credits for 8 semesters) | 16 |
| Piano Lessons 5 | ||
| Students must take 4 credits of MUSPERF 101 or MUSPERF 301 depending on placement | 4 | |
| Lessons in Piano (4 semesters) | ||
| Lessons in Piano (2 semesters) | ||
| Performance Ensemble 6 | 8 | |
| Alta Voce Singers | ||
| Bella Voce | ||
| Kameraden Chorus | ||
| Concert Chorale | ||
| Music Technology | ||
| MUSIC 220 | Introduction to Computers and Music | 3 |
| MUSIC 327 | Studio Techniques | 3 |
| MUSIC 328 | Interactive Electronic Music | 3 |
| MUSIC 420 | Advanced Electronic Music and Sound Art: | 3 |
| Conducting | ||
| MUSIC 353 | Conducting | 2 |
| Additional Music Theory and History Requirements | ||
| MUSIC 314 | Music since 1900 | 3 |
| MUSIC 321 | Counterpoint | 3 |
| MUSIC 323 | Instrumental and Choral Orchestration | 3 |
| Music Electives | 4 | |
| General Electives | ||
| General electives (any area including Music) | 5 | |
| Senior Recital or Thesis 7 | ||
| MUSIC 660 | Senior Recital: | 2 |
| Total Credits | 62 | |
- 5
Piano proficiency and subsequent MusPerf series is based on a student's Piano Proficiency placement. See above for additional details.
- 6
Students must complete a minimum of 7 credits of any approved music ensemble. Other approved music ensembles are: University Band, Symphony Band, University Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. Additional credits may be taken and/or serve as electives in New Music Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Collegium Musicum or Guitar Ensemble.
- 7
In the semester the student intends to graduate, they must either register for Senior Recital or Senior Thesis. Registering for Senior Recital stipulates a public recital of the student’s compositions lasting a minimum of one hour in duration. Registering for Senior Thesis requires the student to submit the following to the Composition Faculty: a final composition portfolio, which consists of the five required compositions, along with recordings (as available). Additionally, printed programs representing the public presentation of three works are required.
Music, BFA: Music Composition and Technology Learning Outcomes
Students graduating with a BFA in Music Composition and Technology will be able to:
- Recognize and distinguish music from all periods of European art music history, and from a variety of other world cultures and traditions, based on musical and stylistic features.
- Recognize compositional techniques employed in all periods of European art music, and organizing musical principles that shape music of other cultures.
- Recognize assumptions, concepts, models, and various methods in musicological and ethnomusicological work and in their own thinking and will be able to choose the most appropriate analytical tools and concepts to examine specific music.
- Interpret, analyze, critique, and reflect on art music from different critical perspectives and aesthetic viewpoints.
- Express ideas about music in written form demonstrating a mastery of factual knowledge, bibliographic resources, analytical method, critical thinking, and the ability to construct a coherent and well-organized argument.
- Compose music employing one or more compositional approaches to make a convincing statement.
- Recognize a range of rhetorical strategies employed by composers to construct persuasive and well-supported arguments employing a range of these strategies.
- Compose music for groups of different sizes, from solo and chamber music to large ensemble, and to reflect critically on that work in ways that accommodate the needs of the performers or the constraints of the medium.
- Present their work in public performance.
Policies and Regulations
Academic Regulations
For information on University-wide Academic Action Policy and honors for scholarship, see Academic Policies.
Auditing Courses
No studio or performance courses may be audited.
Declaration of Submajor
In most instances, after two years of basic preparatory courses in the major, students choose an area of specialization within their respective departments, known as a submajor. Students must declare a submajor after they have accumulated 45 to 75 credits to assure completion of the appropriate curriculum requirements for graduation.
Grievance and Appeal Procedures
If you have concerns about a class or a grade, or if you’ve been dropped from a program and would like to appeal, follow the grievance procedures found under the resources section on the Peck School of the Arts Advising & Student Services page.
Independent Study
Under special conditions, juniors and seniors are permitted to take courses in independent study. For regulations on independent study, see the departmental advisor.
Program Changes
All program changes must be signed by the instructor and the Peck School of the Arts Office of Student Services. Certain other courses may also require this approval indicated in the semester's Schedule of Classes.
Second Bachelor's Degree Candidates
Students with good scholastic records who wish to earn a second bachelor's degree in the Peck School of the Arts must obtain the recommendation of the Peck School of the Arts department in which they wish to major before they can be accepted. Upon acceptance, students must earn in residence a minimum of 30 credits beyond the studies for the first degree and must satisfy all curriculum requirements.
Semester Credit Load
A full-time Peck School of the Arts student is one who takes a minimum of 12 credits per semester. Typically, Peck School of the Arts students are not permitted to carry more than 18 credits per semester. Students who have a 3.0+ cumulative GPA may, with the permission of the Peck School of the Arts Office of Student Services, carry up to 21 credits per semester.
Transfer Students
Transfer students from other universities and colleges or UWM units are accepted by the Peck School of the Arts provided they meet the UWM admissions criteria and have a 2.0+ cumulative GPA.
Honors in the Major
- Honors in the Major is granted to students who have earned a GPA of 3.500 or greater in the major and the academic department's recommendation.
- High Honors in the Major is granted to students who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.500 or greater and the academic department's recommendation.
- Departmental Honors are granted to students recommended by their academic department for Honors excellence in performance not reflected in the GPA.
- Dean's Honors are granted to students with major achievements in one or more of the arts.
College of the Arts and Architecture Dean's Honor List
GPA of 3.750 or above, earned on a full-time student's GPA on 12 or more graded credits in a given semester.
Honors College Degree and Honors College Degree with Distinction
Granted to graduating seniors who complete Honors College requirements, as listed in the Honors College section of this site.
Commencement Honors
Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.500 or above, based on a minimum of 40 graded UWM credits earned prior to the final semester, will receive all-university commencement honors and be awarded the traditional gold cord at the December or May Honors Convocation. Please note that for honors calculation, the GPA is not rounded and is truncated at the third decimal (e.g., 3.499).
Final Honors
Earned on a minimum of 60 graded UWM credits: Cum Laude - 3.500 or above; Magna Cum Laude - 3.650 or above; Summa Cum Laude - 3.800 or above.