Global and Contemporary Jazz Studies, M.Mus.
Student Learning Outcomes
It addresses the growing field of jazz and world music with a degree program that addresses our graduate students’ needs for productive professional lives in this growing field. The goal of the program is to offer advanced training in jazz performance, history, arranging/theory, pedagogy, technology, and music industry practice. The program’s unique focus is on the intersection of various forms of jazz originating in the United States with the music of Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Mid‐East, and southern Asia. In addition to offering traditional approaches to jazz performance practice, theory, and history, our global scope emphasizes rhythm configurations, tonal systems, and improvisation practices not associated with European based music.
The technologies of music composition, performance, and dissemination have seen radical developments in recent years. The continuing phenomenal increase in computer power and the influential innovations it has brought--such as the Internet, MP3 files, and the iPod--has contributed to significant increase in musical culture and musical style during this period.
Requiring 35 graduate credits over the course of 2 years, which represent the program’s common core, and elective courses, allowing students to tailor their programs to their specific educational and professional needs.
Need for the Graduate Degree and Employment Opportunities
The current cultural landscape of jazz calls for a new generation of jazz players and teachers who are versed in performance techniques, theory, history and pedagogy that move beyond the traditional US-centric Jazz Studies major. A broader global perspective is necessary to prepare students for careers as professionals in the field of twenty-first century jazz.
The ability to specialize in music is increasingly important as job opportunities are defined in new ways. Some common areas of expertise include solo and ensemble performance, conducting, arranging, composing, teaching, producing, and recording. A degree in Global and Contemporary Jazz Studies encompasses these job titles and creates an advantage for our students that a degree in performance alone may not foster.
