Careers & Degrees
Music plays a large role in your life. A music degree will help keep it that way!
Careers
Performance will likely be a part of any profession you choose. Many musicians form their specific career goals only after entering a degree program. With a huge array of possible careers from which to choose, this is often a very practical path.
Some of our students are drawn to the teaching profession. After graduation, they become school band, orchestra, or choir directors. Some become elementary music teachers. And others become university professors. Students drawn to performing pursue a performance degree, which can lead to a variety of realistically attainable careers in instrumental music, vocal music, and conducting.
Many other careers are possible, some of which focus on neither teaching nor performing. Here are some careers that perhaps you have not yet considered:
- Combine music with helping people by entering the rapidly growing field of music therapy.
- Be a studio teacher in your home, either full-time or part-time.
- Enter the music business, in a store, with a company, or online.
- Become a music librarian, combining knowledge in music history, performance, and languages.
- Work in the world of arts administration, perhaps working with a symphony or concert hall.
- Pursue the field of music ministry, with its many opportunities for singers, instrumentalists, conductors, and composers.
Read our alum page to learn about recent Wittenberg graduates who have successfully entered all of these fields and many more. And you may wish to check out MENC’s publication “Careers in Music” (PDF).
Degrees
Wittenberg is one of the only small colleges in Ohio to offer three different undergraduate degrees in music:
- The Bachelor of Music degree provides concentrated study in performance, church music, or composition to prepare students for professional careers.
- The Bachelor of Music Education degree focuses on teacher training for choral, instrumental, and general music, leading to certification for public school instruction.
- The Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Music allows students considerable flexibility in course selection in music history, music theory, and applied music. Students often combine this degree with a major or minor in another discipline, such as management or psychology.
A music minor is also possible. It requires several courses in music, as well as work in music performance.
See Wittenberg’s Academic Catalogue for detailed information on music degree requirements and for descriptions of the courses listed below.
Courses
All students, regardless of major, are eligible to receive applied music instruction, as long as registration space is available. Instruction is provided in voice, piano, harpsichord, organ, string and wind instruments, percussion, and composition.
General Classes
100: Fundamentals of Music, Studio
101: Elementary Music Theory
102: Basic Music Theory and Skills
110: Understanding Music
112: Topics
113: Jazz Styles
116: Music in Contemporary Cultures
203: The Beatles and Their Predecessors: Musical Style and Social Context
205: Women in Music
207: American Music, 1620-1900
208: Twentieth-Century American Music
209: Bach and Handel
210: The Symphony
212: Topics
216: Musics of the World
217: Aesthetics and Psychology of Music
220: Introduction to Church Music
301: History of Western Music to 1750
302: History of Western Music, 1750-1900
303: History of Western Music from 1900
Intensive Classes
120: Functional Keyboard Skills
155: Intermediate Music Theory I
156: Intermediate Music Skills I
199: Music Practicum
221: Advanced Keyboard Skills and Improvisation
235: Introduction to Vocal Pedagogy and Diction
236: Foreign Language Lyric Dictions
251: Beginning Composition with the Computer
257: Intermediate Music Theory II
258: Intermediate Music Skills II
259: Post-Tonal Music Theory
350: Introduction to Conducting
351: Choral and Instrumental Conducting
352: Advanced Composition with the Computer
355: Studies in Counterpoint
357: Orchestration
380: Topics in Music
421: Practical Church Music I
422: Practical Church Music II
450: Form and Analysis
470: Problems in Pedagogy and Literature
490: Independent Study
491: Internship
495: Senior Recital and Paper
496: Senior Recital and Paper with Honors
497: Senior Portfolio Review
498: Senior Project
499: Honors Thesis/Project
Music Education Classes
165: Introduction to Music Education
231: Teaching Methods: Woodwind Instruments
232: Teaching Methods: Brass Instruments
233: Teaching Methods: Percussion Instruments
234: Teaching Methods: String Instruments
235: Introduction to Vocal Pedagogy and Diction
250: Technology for Music Educators
463: General Music Methods
464: Choral Music in the School
465: Instrumental Music in the School
466: Marching Band Techniques
