All music majors at Dickinson will take a six-course core curriculum including Music 101 & 102, 125 & 126, and 245 & 246, plus one course from Music 351-354.

To complete the major a student may choose from four options:

1. Music Composition emphasis: 255, 256, 491, 492. The 300-level seminar must be 354 or another seminar by permission of the Department Chair.
2. Music History emphasis: Two additional courses from 351-354, and either Music 495 or 496 (senior seminar) by advisement, culminating in a research paper.
3. Music Theory emphasis: 255, one additional course from 351-354, and 493 or 494.
4. Music Performance emphasis: one additional course from 351-354, and 323-324 (culminating in a junior recital), and 423-424 (culminating in a senior recital). Majors with this emphasis must also pass an upper divisional jury at the end of the 4th semester of study (214) in order to continue in this emphasis. Those who wish to apply for study abroad in the junior year must have their advisor’s permission to pursue the Performance Studies emphasis before the end of fall semester, sophomore year.

In certain cases, a student may obtain permission from the Department Chair to count a course from Music 103-110 towards the major; typically such a course is taken in lieu of a 300-level seminar (351-354), in which case students will be expected to do 300-level work (including a 300-level research paper), and faculty members are expected to provide for this. One seminar from the Music 351-354 series is offered each semester (the current schedule is 352/354 2004-05; 353/351 2005-06, etc.), and while all four courses are offered every two years, this means that any given course is offered only once every two years. Students (particularly Composition majors who must take Music 354, and Theory majors who must take the relevant 300-level seminar) are responsible for planning with this in mind.

Music majors who wish to study abroad during their junior year need to take particular care in planning their schedule (see Four-Year Plan and Study-Abroad Programs), and in general are required to complete the six core requirements before their junior year.