B.A. in Music | SUNY Potsdam

The Loading... is the only liberal arts music degree at SUNY Potsdam and the Crane School of Music. It is a versatile and flexible degree designed to provide a well-rounded education with an emphasis in music, and students leave with an array of skills – observation, analysis, communication, research, and judgement - which are adaptable to diverse careers.

Entrance to the B.A. in Music degree requires an audition. In addition to the traditional studio areas available to all music majors, Crane offers the Electronic Digital Instrument (EDI) as an auditioning pathway for B.A. Music students whose primary instrument is the laptop and/or other technology-centric instrument. This option is only available for students in the B.A. Music degree.

Compared to the more music-intensive and more prescriptive Bachelor of Music degrees the Crane School of Music offers, the B.A. in Music offers many elective options so students can personalize their course selection. Students have:

15 credits of free music electives,
9 credits of music history and theory electives (with many different course options to choose from), and
roughly 36 credits of free non-music electives.

In addition to completing the general education requirements at SUNY Potsdam, the required coursework is limited:

one year of theory and aural skills
at least two years of lessons on their primary instruments or voice, and participate in at least 4 ensembles
one year of keyboard courses (which can be tested out of; pianists are exempt from these)
World Music Cultures and either Music History I or II
a Capstone Project.

The flexible Capstone Project is designed to allow the student to reflect the focus of their degree. It can be in one of many formats, such as a recital performance or lecture/recital; a written or presentation-based research project; an internship; a recording project; or a composition project, just to list some of the possibilities. Students discuss their project plans with their advisor in the semesters leading up to it and work one-on-one with faculty in the semester they complete their Capstone Project.

Many students in the B.A. Music degree pursue a second major or minor outside of music, which is ideal as students in the program must take about half of their credits outside of their major area, music. Thanks to this broad liberal arts experience and flexibility in music coursework, graduates find diverse career pathways, blending their passion for music with other interests. Students in the B.A. Music degree have gone on to graduate degrees in Music Therapy, Music History or other fields; behind-the-scenes work in the music industry or in audio technology; to performance and/or studio teaching careers; and many other fields, often in ways that combine music and other disciplines.

With all of the options possible in the B.A. Music degree, students should consider organizing their electives so that they leave SUNY Potsdam with the knowledge and skills they wish to have. Below are some ideas we have put together to help students begin to think about these elective hours. In most cases, the suggestions below combine courses in music with a related area outside of music. These are not degree tracks, so feel free to take from them what you wish - hopefully these suggestions will spur other ideas for how this flexible degree might work for you.

Music courses: the Loading... (12 credits)

Courses outside of music: the Loading... (22 credits)

For those interested in a license in Music Therapy, the requirement is a Masters degree. Note that any undergraduate degree in music is appropriate in order to apply for entry to a Masters in Music Therapy degree program.

Music Courses: consider the Special Education - Music Concentration or related coursework, such as MUCE 448 Psychology of Music

Courses outside of music: the Psychology Minor or the Pre-Creative Arts Therapy Minor.

Music Courses: Use the electives in music history and theory to take courses relevant to your desired focus within music history. These could be courses in Classical music, jazz, popular music, musical theatre, ethnomusicology or other genres (or a mix of these).

Consider selecting ensembles which reinforce your emphasis.

Take MUCR 410 Music Bibliography to better prepare for a research project as a Capstone.

Courses outside of music: consider the History Minor, the Art History Minor, or the Anthropology Minor.

Music courses: the Music Business Minor (23 credits)

Courses outside of music: For the Business of Music minor, three business courses are required. Students could opt to take additional courses in this area, or even choose to complete the Business Administration Minor. Other non-music coursework (such as COMP 322 Grant Writing or ARTS 319 Graphic Design and Media Arts) might depend on the student’s focus within the wide range of possibilities in the music industry.

Music courses: the Loading... (19 credits)

Courses outside music: no particular suggestions.

Music courses:

Consider one of these minors/concentration, or coursework selected from among them;

For music history and music theory electives, take courses associated with vernacular music (MUCH 440 Historical Development of Jazz, MUCH 441 American Musical, MUCT 441 Analyzing Musical Theater Song, etc.)

Courses outside of music: consider the Writing Minor or courses in creative writing and poetry.