4+1 MBA - Music

About the Program

The traditional Bachelor of Arts in Music with a music management concentration is a four-year major with a curriculum based in music, liberal arts, sciences, and business courses focusing on music and the music/arts administration industry. Among the 124 credits necessary for bachelor’s degree completion, students are required to participate in a semester of a music/arts administration-related internship that prepares them for the increasingly challenging and complex music/arts administration industry. A planning guide that lays out the sequence of courses to be taken is available; if followed, it ensures that students may complete their undergraduate degree program in four years.

Students in the 4+1 program enroll in more business electives and specified mathematics courses. As a result, these students will have very strong business management skills to complement their knowledge of operations and best practices in the music industry. Their enhanced business skills may result in an accelerated opportunity for growth into executive-level positions with comparable financial incentives.

The four-year curriculum for the Bachelor of Arts in Music with music management concentration contains required courses and electives that qualify as prerequisites for the MBA curriculum. With this 4+1 plan and the proper scheduling of MBA classes, music students have the opportunity to enter immediately into the MBA program full-time with the possibility of completing it within one year.

Requirements

The MBA degree consists of 48 credits (generally 16 courses). In the 4+1 program, you may waive up to four of the six courses listed in the MBA Program Matrix. For a course to be waived, you must earn a grade of B or better in two undergraduate courses in that subject area, at least one of which must be at the intermediate level. After the four course waivers, 36 credits (generally 12 courses) can be completed during a one-year period with proper planning. Music students who have been granted “provisional admission” to the MBA may begin taking graduate business courses in their senior year if they have the written permission of the chair of the Music Department. Students who have taken at least four graduate-level courses in their senior year and waived at least one graduate-level course based on their undergraduate coursework, may be able to complete the MBA within one year.

Provisional admission to the MBA program may be obtained in the spring of a your junior year. You may then be admitted on a provisional basis by the Office of Graduate Studies. Once your bachelor’s degree is earned, the provisional status is removed. Admission is based on the results of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), GPA, work experience, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, maturity, and a personal interview. If you wish to enroll in the MBA program, you should take the GMAT in your junior year. Those accepted into the MBA program may be considered for graduate assistantships, Corporate Associates, and graduate fellowships upon earning their bachelor’s degree.

Bachelor of Arts in Music students who are admitted are required to have completed a music management internship of relevant and substantive experience in an arts organization during their undergraduate work with three credits.

Applicable fees are those for matriculated undergraduate students for the first four years. During the fifth year of study, and any subsequent period if it becomes necessary, applicable fees are those for matriculated MBA graduate students. The MBA degree is granted upon completing all requirements with a grade point average of at least 3.0, participating in required activities and becoming an active member of the MBA community. The work toward the MBA degree may also be pursued part-time over a longer period of time.

More Information

For more information, contact Mary Dunnack, coordinator of Music Department recruiting (302 831-8426), or the Graduate & Executive Programs Office (302 831-2221).