Arts Education, Music Concentration, M.Ed.

Graduate Curriculum Committee

Petri Flint, MFA

Jessica Robey, PhD

Amy McGlothlin, DMA

Program Objectives

The Master of Education in Arts Education, Music Concentration is a non-licensure degree program designed to develop excellence in teaching and creative practice among teachers and community workers in the discipline of Music. Graduates of the program can expect to gain a deeper understanding of effective Music teaching practices that they can apply directly in their workplace, as well as a deeper engagement with the content of their creative discipline as musicians. **  

Program Description

The curriculum for the Master of Education in Arts Education, Music Concentration seeks to further develop excellence in teaching through a core of Arts pedagogy courses, while also allowing for deep engagement with creative practice in Music through content courses.  The Arts Education core requirements, which are shared by students in both the Art and Music Concentrations, have an emphasis on Arts pedagogy, and enhance an understanding of best teaching practices in any Arts classroom. The courses study dominant current trends in pedagogical theory and methods in the Arts, and place a strong emphasis on practical application in a classroom setting.  The content area coursework is flexible, and should be customized to suit your own teaching and musical emphasis; these courses are selected to deepen one’s content knowledge and creative practice in Music.  

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• Be able to effectively articulate and apply current educational theory to teaching and learning situations.
• Be able to effectively conduct educational research that fosters reflective teaching and informs best practices in an arts classroom.
• Deepen their engagement as practicing musicians.
• Expand the range of their knowledge about music, to enrich the scope and depth of their teaching and for their own professional advancement.
• Demonstrate awareness of the impact of societal issues on the curriculum as they relate to meeting the diverse needs of individual students.

Admissions Standards and Criteria

To apply for enrollment in the Master of Education in Arts Education program, students must submit documents as outlined in the Graduate Admissions section as well as:

•    An official transcript of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution preferably with (but not limited to) a major or minor in an arts area such as visual arts or music
•    A personal statement of not more than one page outlining the student’s rationale for entering the program

Required Core Courses (9 Credits)

• CRAR 9070 - Creative Arts Curriculum Development and Applications
• EDUC 9300 - Educational Research
• EDUC 9510 - Capstone: Implementation of Best Practices

Music Concentration Courses (12 Credits)

Select four courses in MUSC in consultation with your program advisor from among the following:

• MUSC 7002 - Research on Women, Music, and Society
• MUSC 7011 - Music Teacher’s Methods Toolbox
• MUSC 7003 - Practical Guide to Teaching Music in Our Schools
• MUSC 7020 - Computer Notation of Music with Sibelius
• MUSC 7012 - Music and the Modern Arts
• MUSC 7100 - Music of the Stage
• MUSC 8004 - Intermediate Choral Conducting
• MUSC 8005 - Musical Arranging
• MUSC 8008 - Orchestration
• MUSC 8100 - Instrumental Conducting
• MUSC 8146 - Technology in the Music Classroom
• MUSC 8150 - Graduate Applied Music
• MUSC 8200 - Music Learning Theory and Creativity
• MUSC 9090 - Music Presentation

• MUSC courses numbered 7000 - 9999

Creative Arts Pedagogy Electives (6 Credits)

Select two additional creative arts pedagogy courses from the following in consultation with your advisor. A course can count as both a Pedagogical Elective and a Music Concentration course, but the credits cannot be counted twice for the overall program requirement of 36 credits: 

• CRAR 7100 - Differentiated Instruction in the Arts Classroom
• CRAR 8145 - Celebrating Diversity through the Arts
• MUSC 7011 - Music Teacher’s Methods Toolbox
• MUSC 7003 - Practical Guide to Teaching Music in Our Schools
• MUSC 8146 - Technology in the Music Classroom
• MUSC 8200 - Music Learning Theory and Creativity

Free Elective Courses (9 credits)

Select at least three courses numbered 7000-9999 in MUSC, ART, CRAR, EDUC, EDLM, SPED or another area in consultation with your program advisor. 

Total for Degree, 36 credits

Note:

**For students who will be seeking professional licensure in Music through the MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, the four MUSC-prefix courses in the Music Concentration should satisfy the licensure requirements for content courses in Music. Please verify all specific licensure questions with DESE.