Department of Performing Arts

American Musical Culture (A.B.)

The A.B. in American Musical Culture is designed for students interested in pursuing careers and/or graduate study in: American Studies, arts management, cultural criticism, entertainment law, media studies, music journalism or musicology. Requirements for the degree consist of ten courses, including: Writing About Music (MUSC 161); two music theory courses (MUSC-141 and an additional course that falls within course number range MUSC 240-259 or MUSC 340-359); at least three of the four Core Courses in Music (MUSC-114, 115, 116, 117), which cover the department’s general areas of music history distribution (Western European Tradition, Multi-cultural Traditions, Jazz, and Popular Music); three upper-level courses in music history and culture or music theory; and one course credit based on four terms in a single section of MUSC-100 Music Performance.

Completion of a Senior Capstone Project is also required for the major. Students may choose between a research project (i.e. a thesis, documentary, or lecture recital) or a semester/summer internship related to their academic interests (i.e. Lauinger Library; NPR, Library of Congress, Smithsonian, The Washington Post).

Potential majors are advised to take Writing About Music (MUSC-161), Diatonic Harmony (MUSC-141) and at least one of the three core courses during the first two years, since these are prerequisites for most upper-level courses.

Major Academic Requirements
(10 Music Courses; 30 credit hours + Senior Capstone Project)

Music Minor

The Music Program at Georgetown currently offers a minor, which consists of courses in music history, criticism, theory, composition, audio technology and performance. Students electing this minor are given the opportunity to specialize in a broad array of musical forms associated with American Culture, including: jazz, rock, dance, film, popular musics from around the world and music stemming from the Western European Tradition (from the 17th century to the present).

Minor Academic Requirements
(6 Music Courses; 18 credit hours)

Performing Arts Minor

The Department of Performing Arts also offers an Interarts minor with a concentration in any of its constituent arts. This may be earned by taking three courses in one field (music, theater or dance), and three courses chosen on an elective basis from any of the areas in the Department of Performing Arts.