Majoring and Minoring

For complete information about majoring and minoring, see the online catalog.

The Major Program - 2024/2025 Catalog Requirements

Please note: Music majors who matriculated prior to 2022 should adhere to the requirements of the catalog they started on. Previous catalogs can be found here.

The major requires a minimum of 45 credits, following successful completion of our prerequisite courses (Music Theory Fundamentals and Music Theory 1):

• Two courses in music theory: MUS 200 (Music Theory II) and MUS 250 (Music Theory III)
• Two courses in music history: MUS 162 (History of Western Music I) and MUS 163 (History of Western Music II)
• Four semester credits of a single instrument or voice lessons (please note that music majors are expected to enroll in applied lessons every semester that they are on campus)

• MUP-102: Intermediate Keyboard Skills Class (this appears in WebAdvisor as “Keyboard Skills 2”)
  • Students with prior keyboard experience may take private lessons to fulfill this requirement. Please refer to the college catalog for a list of courses that qualify. Your advisor must approve of a substitution. 

• Six semester credits of ensembles to be distributed as follows:
  • Two credits of Conducted Ensemble courses (Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Voces Aureum Treble Chorus, Community Chorale, Cappella Nova)
  • One credit of Guided Ensemble courses (Gamelan Ensemble, Ghanaian Music Ensemble, Zimbabwean Music Ensemble)
  • One credit of Mentored Ensemble courses (Jazz Combos, Vocal Performance Workshop, Indian Music Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, Chamber Music Ensembles, Accompanying Class)
  • Two credits of ensemble courses, chosen from any category above (Conducted, Guided, or Mentored)

• Four semester credits of world music in our flagship Workshops in World Music course that integrates an introduction to ethnomusicology with three performance sections from different global traditions

• Eight semester credits of upper-division theory or composition: options include orchestration, counterpoint, jazz theory, electronic music seminar, and conducting

• Four semester credits of upper-division music history or ethnomusicology: these research-based seminars have different topics each semester, such as Women in Music, Writing About Music, Portland Music Scenes, and Eco-musicology
• Two semester credits in MUS 490 Senior Project: seniors produce a thesis, performance recital, composition recital, or other culminating project

The Minor Program

Students who wish a basic but thorough introduction to the field of music may choose to minor in music. Minors pursue basic coursework in a variety of aspects of music study, history, theory, and performance.

Minor Requirements

A minimum of 23 semester credits, distributed as follows:

Departmental Honors

To qualify for honors, music majors must have a departmental GPA of 3.500 or higher. They must also produce an exceptional senior project.  All eligible senior music majors are reviewed for possible honors by the faculty, who evaluate the quality of their academic coursework and their senior project.  Students must have completed at least two semesters of coursework at Lewis & Clark before being considered eligible for honors.