Master of Arts in Music (Accelerated)

Western Michigan University

The Master of Arts degree is a graduate research degree culminating in a written thesis and public presentation. Examples of areas of focus can be music history, music theory, ethnomusicology, historical performance practice, or music technology. Interdisciplinary collaboration with subjects related to music is encouraged. The MA may be completed as a stand-alone, two-year masters degree or as part of a 5-year accelerated degree program combined with a bachelor’s (BA in Music, BM, BMA, or BS in Multimedia Arts and Technology) degree.The School of Music at Western Michigan University offers an Accelerated Graduate Degree Program (AGDP) in the Master of Arts in Music.This innovative program allows completion of both a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in just five years. Qualified students in the Bachelor of Arts in Music (BA), Bachelor of Music (BM), Bachelor of Musical Arts (BMA), or Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Arts Technology (BS) programs take graduate-level coursework in music theory, ethnomusicology, and/or music history during their senior year as substitutes for undergraduate requirements or electives in theory, global music cultures, or history, and then complete the remaining coursework for the Master of Arts in Music (MA) degree in their fifth year after acceptance into the graduate program.Undergraduate students can apply for admission to the accelerated master's degree program once they have completed thirty (30) credit hours in their bachelor’s degree program, typically in their third year. With senior standing (88 total credits) and provisional acceptance into the program, qualified undergraduate students can take up to twelve (12) credits of graduate level coursework and apply for the graduate program during their fourth year. Acceptance into the graduate program allows students to complete the remaining graduate coursework required for the MA in their fifth year.