BM: Music

UNDERGRADUATE

Bachelor of Music (B.M.)

The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree is designed for exceptionally-talented musicians who wish to pursue a career in performance. B.M. students will focus in a primary instrument or in voice.

Acceptance to the B.M. program is by audition only. Although auditions for official admission to the B.M. program are open only to registered UCSC students, prospective students may submit a recording to the Music Department (music@ucsc.edu) to receive an informal evaluation of their chances for acceptance. Students must audition prior to their senior year; sophomores and juniors must be advanced when they first audition for the program. A spring audition will be available only to junior transfer students.

Auditions for the B.M. program will be held on campus each November/December. Students should be prepared to play three pieces or movements of a contrasting nature from at least two different stylistic periods. (Two contrasting movements from the same sonata or concerto may count as two of the three required pieces.) Students who have attained an advanced level on a previous audition are still required to audition. Prospective students who wish to submit tapes should also meet these specifications in order to receive an informal evaluation from the Music Department.

The B.M. program differs from the B.A. program in that it requires considerably more performance credits and slightly fewer courses in music history and theory.

B.M. in Music Checklist

UCSC-Music-BM-for-24-25 Download

For more detailed information regarding course requirements, please reference the resources linked below:

Undergraduate Program Learning Outcomes

PLO #	Program Learning Outcomes description
PLO 1	Knowledge about diverse musical practices – Demonstrate critical familiarity with differences and commonalities among musical practices and their material conditions, across a diverse range of genres, cultures, and histories.
PLO 2	Skills for analysis and description of music – Demonstrate familiarity with analytical tools arising in theories of music, including those in music theory, ethnomusicology, and sound studies, as they are applied to musical sounds, practices, and repertoires in diverse musical contexts.
PLO 3	Skills of music literacy and aurality – Demonstrate musicianship skills across diverse oral and notational repertoires.
PLO 4	Proficiency in music performance – Demonstrate performance proficiency on a specific instrument (including voice specializations) across a range of musical genres, periods, and/or practices
PLO 5	Music production, composition and improvisation – Demonstrate skills in music composition, improvisation and/or production including skills in audio technologies.
PLO 6	Research methods – Demonstrate working knowledge of social science, humanities, and/or arts approaches to research in music-relevant topics.This includes qualitative and quantitative research methods for, gathering or obtaining research data, finding/using primary sources, and other research approaches/methods
PLO 7	Effective writing about music and music practices – Demonstrate effective writing and interpretive skills to participate in disciplinary and interdisciplinary dialogue about musical practices, traditions, genres, ideas, and music-making spaces.
PLO 8	Familiarity with multiple languages associated with music performance, scholarship, and composition

Undergraduate Advising

Please contact the Music Department undergraduate advisor:

Cory Graves-Montalbano
Office: 246 Music Center

Email: cgravesm@ucsc.edu