Music Education

Note that beginning in Fall 2012, the Music Department implemented a new music education curriculum.  Students who entered in Fall 2011 or later should follow the roadmaps below, which are based on CSUSB's 2012-14 Bulletin of Courses.  Students who started before Fall 2011 should contact the department at musicadmissions@csusb.edu for additional roadmaps.

Freshman Roadmap

This roadmap is for new Freshmen music majors (based on CSUSB's 2012-14 Bulletin of Courses).  It presumes that students will need no remedial coursework before pursuing General Education's A.1 'Written Communication' and B.1 'Mathematics' requirements.  'Remedial coursework' describes classes that are required as prerequisites for A.1 and B.1 category courses, but that do not count toward General Education requirements.  Students required to complete remedial coursework should contact CSUSB's Office of Advising and Academic Services for further information.  Music students required to complete remedial courses should consider taking more units than recommended in some quarters, or taking summer courses, in the effort to complete their degrees in four years.

Year 1

¹ All freshmen should take a Theory Placement Exam. Contact musicadmissions@csusb.edu for details.

² All freshmen with prior piano experience should take a Piano Placement Exam. Contact musicadmissions@csusb.edu for details.  Students pursuing piano as a major applied instrument will have the department's Piano Proficiency requirement waived, and so do not need to enroll in class piano courses.

³ All freshmen must perform an Applied Music Placement Audition. Students not placed at in 100-level applied lessons must enroll in prep-level (80-level) lessons. Contact musicadmissions@csusb.edu for details.

⁴ All full-time music majors must enroll every quarter in a major ensemble  (MUS 380, 381, 385, or 386) most appropriate to their applied area of study. Students are considered full-time if they enroll in 12 or more units for a quarter.

⁵ Full-time freshmen music majors should enroll in two general education courses per quarter.  Students should complete all A-category courses, and B.1, before selecting courses from elsewhere in General Education.

Year 2

⁶ Full-time music majors are expected to take at least one 4-unit General Ed class per quarter in their sophomore years. MUS 350 counts as both a music and a general education requirement (in General Ed category G.2).

⁷ Students should complete one music education methods class in this quarter.  Applied voice majors should take MUS 211A Diction I (2) and applied instrumental majors should take MUS 202A Class Woodwinds I (1).  Other methods classes offered in spring include MUS 204B Class Percussion II (1) and MUS 205B Class Guitar II (1).

Year 3

⁸ Methods classes offered in fall include MUS 201A Class Strings I (1), MUS 203A Class Brass I (1), MUS 202B Class Woodwinds II, and MUS 211B Diction II (2). Applied voice majors should take 201A, 203A, and 211B.  Applied instrumental majors should take 201A, 203A, and possibly 202B.  Students not taking 202B in fall should take MUS 205A in winter or MUS 2011A in spring.

⁹ Methods classes offered in winter include MUS 201B Class Strings II (1), MUS 203B Class Brass II (1), MUS 204A Class Percussion I (1), MUS 205A Class Guitar I (1), and MUS 206 Class Voice (1). All music education majors should take 204A and 206, and applied instrumental majors should take either or both of 201B and 203B.  Suggested alternatives to MUS 201B and 203B include MUS 205A and MUS 211A.

¹⁰ Methods classes offered in spring include MUS 202A Class Woodwinds I (1), MUS 204B Class Percussion II (1), MUS 205B Class Guitar II (1), and MUS 211A Diction  (1)I.  Applied instrumental majors not taking MUS 204B can substitute MUS 205A or MUS 211A.

Year 4

¹¹ Students may substitute any of the following for MUS 382:  MUS 387, MUS 391, MUS 392, MUS 397.

Lower-division Transfers

The CSU system classifies applicants with less than 90 quarters hours (60 semester hours) of college credit as lower-division transfers.  As of Fall 2010, the CSU system generally stopped accepting lower-division transfer students.  The rare lower-division transfer admitted to CSUSB should contact the Music Department at musicadmissions@csusb.edu for appropriate roadmaps.

Upper-division Transfer Roadmap

This roadmap is intended for upper-division transfer students, those accepted to CSUSB with 90 or more quarter hours (60 or more semesters hours) of transferable credit.  The roadmap is based on CSUSB/s 2012-14 Bulletin of Courses and uses the following assumptions:

1) Upper-division transfers pursuing a music majors will have already earned credit for all CSUSB music theory courses except for MUS 542, place out of MUS 222 Piano III, and place into 200-level applied lessons. For more information regarding placement tests in those subjects, contact musicadmissions@csusb.edu.

2) All transfer music majors, regardless of coursework completed at other institutions, are required to complete at least 6 units in authorized major ensembles (MUS 380, 381, 385, and 386) and earn 3 quarters of credit in MUS 998 Concert Attendance.

Year 1

¹² Methods classes offered in fall include MUS 201A Class Strings I (1), MUS 203A Class Brass I (1), MUS 202B Class Woodwinds II, and MUS 211B Diction II (2). All transfer music education majors should take at least 201A and 203A.

¹³ Methods classes offered in winter include MUS 201B Class Strings II (1), MUS 203B Class Brass II (1), MUS 204A Class Percussion I (1), MUS 205A Class Guitar I (1), and MUS 206 Class Voice (1).  All transfer music education majors should take at least MUS 204A and 206.  Applied instrumental majors should take either or both of MUS 201B and 203B.  Alternatives include 205A, 205B (offered in spring), and 211A (offered in spring).

¹⁴ Methods classes offered in spring include MUS 202A Class Woodwinds I (1), MUS 204B Class Percussion II (1), MUS 205B Class Guitar II (1), and MUS 211A Diction I (1).  All transfer music education majors should take 202A, all applied vocal majors should take 211A, and applied instrumental majors should consider taking 204B.  Applied instrumental majors not taking 204B can substitute MUS 205A (offered in winter), 205B, or MUS 211A.

Year 2

¹⁵ Methods classes offered in fall include MUS 201A Class Strings I (1), MUS 203A Class Brass I (1), MUS 202B Class Woodwinds II, and MUS 211B Diction II (2).  Applied voice majors should take 211B, and applied instrumental majors should consider taking 202B.  Alternatives to 202B include 205A (offered in winter), 205B(offered in spring). or MUS 211A (offered in spring).

¹⁶ Students may substitute any of the following for MUS 382:  MUS 387, MUS 391, MUS 392, MUS 397.

¹⁷ All transfer students must complete CSUSB's General Education courses in categories B.5. C.5, D.5, and F.