Music, BI | Visual & Performing Arts

Program Delivery: On Campus, Online, Hybrid
Total Credits: 120 Credits

About the Program

The Bachelor of Innovation Music Program within the Department of Visual & Performing Arts at UCCS offers majors the chance to focus on a targeted range of specializations in performance, improvisation, composition, sound design, film scoring, music theatre, entrepreneurship, and more.

Individual mentoring experiences are a particular focus of the curriculum. Music majors work with renowned visiting guest artists every semester and perform alongside faculty in the Peak FreQuency Creative Arts Ensemble.

There are many opportunities to collaborate with other programs on campus, such as Dance, Film Studies, Museum Studies & Gallery Practice, Theatre, Visual Arts, and more.

Focus of Study

The Bachelor of Innovation in Music is a cross-disciplinary program that combines music, engineering and business to prepare students for a variety of careers in the broad spectrum of music including performance, composition, recording arts, and the global business world.

Students can reach their highest potential as performers through our scholarship-driven Chamber Music program that includes: brass and woodwind quintets, string quartet, jazz combos, and small vocal groups. Other ensembles include Jazz and Improvisation, Creative Music, Electroacoustic, University Choir, Music Theatre, and Theatreworks student productions.

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Innovation (BI) in Music requires the following:

120 credit hours
Minimum of 32 credit hours of MUS course work and an additional 6 hours of auxiliary course work within VAPA, plus an additional 24 credits of BI Innovation Core and an additional 15 hours of BI Cross-discipline Core
Requires a minimum of 18 credit hours of upper-division (3000+ level) MUS/VAPA course work
2.0 CU cumulative GPA, with a grade of C or better in each course within the major and auxiliary VAPA courses
Residency: Last 30 credit hours of degree must be completed while registered in the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at UCCS
NOTE: BI Music students should decide on a general focus depending on their areas of interest, such as music business and entrepreneurship or music technology, and work with the BI Music faculty advisor for course recommendations in the electives, private lessons and recitals.

For details on degree requirements, please visit the Academic Catalog.

Program Coursework

Music Core Courses	21 Credit Hours	MUS 1010 - Music Theory I: Systems of Pitch and Representation MUS 1030 - Aural Skills I (1 credit hour) MUS 1040 - Class Piano (1 credit hour) MUS 2010 - Music Theory II: Styles of Counterpoint MUS 2030 - Sight Singing and Ear Training II (1 credit hour) MUS 2850 - Topics in Music History and Research I MUS 4980 - Music Capstone: Senior Thesis
Ensemble	2 Credit Hours	Complete 2 hours from the following Ensemble courses: MUS 1310 - University Choir MUS 2210 - UCCS Wind Ensemble MUS 2250 - Jazz and Improvisation Ensemble MUS 2300 - Electronic Acoustic Ensemble MUS 2310 - VAPA Vocal Ensemble MUS 2400 - Chamber Music Ensemble MUS 3450 - Advanced Musical Theatre: Performance and Practice MUS 4300 - Creative Music Ensemble: The Score and Composition
Lower-Division Music Electives	3 Credit Hours	Complete 3 hours from the following lower-division (1000- and 2000- level) MUS courses: MUS 1600 - Applied Music - Private Instruction MUS 2150 - Electronic and Computer Music I MUS 2450 - Music Theatre Performance and Practice MUS 2500 - Music Composition and Songwriting I MUS 2600 - Private Instruction: Advanced MUS 2950 - Audio Engineering and Production I
Upper-Division Music Electives	12 Credit Hours	Complete 12 hours from the following upper-division (3000+ level) MUS courses: MUS 3010 - Music Theory III: Sound in Time, from Rhythm to Form MUS 3030 - Sight Singing and Ear Training III MUS 3150 - Introduction to Ethnomusicology MUS 3200 - Electronic and Computer Music II MUS 3320 - The Business of Music: Individual Career Design and Professional Skills MUS 3410 - Sonic Landscapes: Ecoacoustic Music, Geography, and Environment MUS 3500 - Music Composition and Songwriting II MUS 3600 - Private Instruction: Junior Recital MUS 3700 - Film Scoring and Music Composition MUS 3850 - Topics in Music History and Research II MUS 4250 - The Business of Music: Entrepreneurship and Creative Enterprise MUS 4600 - Private Instruction: Senior Recital MUS 4750 - Contemporary Music: Cultures, Designs, and Aesthetics MUS 4960 - Advanced Special Topics Note: MUS 4300 may be taken up to two times to apply to Ensembles and/or upper-division MUS electives.
VAPA Core Courses	6 Credit Hours	Complete one of the following 1000-level VAPA courses: VAPA 1005 VAPA Foundations: Sound, Listening, and Imagination VAPA 1020 Ethnography of Performing Arts VAPA 1050 Visual and Performing Arts Foundation VAPA 1100 Art in Time and Space VAPA 1200 - All Arts Excursions VAPA 1300 - American Identity on Stage and Screen VAPA 1500 Arts Innovations: Methods and Practices Complete one of the following 3000-level VAPA courses: VAPA 3900 Theory and Practice in the Visual Performing Arts VAPA 3910 Animating the Human VAPA 3920 Traditional and Folk Arts, Folk Expressions & Folkscapes VAPA 3950 Sound Art: Creative Sonic Worlds and Practices VAPA 3955 Theory and Practice of Cinema and Painting VAPA 3960 Nationalism, Romanticism, and Melodrama VAPA 3970 The Nordic Legacy VAPA 3980 The Manifestoes of the Avant-Garde VAPA 3990 Performance Art
BI Innovation Core Courses	24 Credit Hours	Complete all of the Bachelor of Innovation Core courses below: BLAW 2010 - Business and Intellectual Property Law ENTP 1000 - Introduction to Entrepreneurship or ENTP 1001 - Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship ENTP 4500 - Entrepreneurship and Strategy INOV 1010 - The Innovation Process or INOV 1011 - Social Innovation INOV 2010 - Innovation Team: Analyze and Report INOV 2100 - Technical Writing, Proposals, and Presentations INOV 3010 - Innovation Team: Research and Execute INOV 4010 - Innovation Team: Design and Lead
BI Cross-Discipline Core Courses	15 Credit Hours	Complete one of the Cross-Discipline Cores listed below. Each Cross-Discipline Core consists of 15 credit hours. BI Business Core BI Engineering Technology Core BI Globalization Core BI Inclusive Education Core BI Custom Core (for Veteran and Transfer students only)

For details on program coursework, please visit the Academic Catalog.

Admission Details

To learn more about admission requirements and the application process, please visit the UCCS Admissions page.

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