Program Description

The Associate in Arts degree in Music is a comprehensive course of study preparing the student to transfer to a four-year institution in music or a music related field, or to enter the music industry or a related field upon completion. Foothill's Music Department offers a wide variety of courses to satisfy the diverse interests and needs of its students. In addition to core courses in comprehensive musicianship and history/literature, the department also offers courses such as Music of American Cultures, Music & Media: Hendrix to Hip-Hop, and many others. The department's award-winning faculty are active as composers, authors, performers, arrangers, and publishers in the Bay Area and throughout the U.S. The department has some of the newest and most comprehensive facilities in the country. Our performance facilities have been newly renovated and all of our classrooms are equipped with Steinway pianos and/or top of the line sound reinforcement/multimedia delivery systems. The Interdisciplinary Electronic Arts Center has many new features such as a new media classroom with MIDI keyboard stations fully equipped with the latest in recording and sound production design.

Learn more about the program on the Music website. 

Program Learning Outcomes

• Through the study of music history/literature, students examine music masterpieces from multiple eras and cultures, synthesizing information and making judgments as they evaluate how music reflects individual composers' lives, as well as the contemporary social/historical context in which the compositions were created and performed.
• Through music theory/composition, students analyze the structure of music and learn to create their own original works satisfying specific and complex compositional requirements.
• Through music performance, students learn how to apply and express their historical, theoretical, and artistic understandings in a presentation addressing an appropriate audience.
• Using this three-lens framework, students increase their community/global consciousness as they learn to appreciate how music is a potent tool for understanding individual and cultural uniqueness within the larger context of our common humanity.

Career Opportunities

Career prospects in the music industry are diverse and abundant. With the advent of digital music delivery systems and alternative media, music is an integral part of the media revolution. Students have the opportunity to enter the industry in a variety of positions directly and indirectly related to this media revolution. Careers are not localized: due to the growth of new media and the communication available via the internet, opportunities exist in many locations.

Award Type(s)

• AA = Associate in Arts Degree
• CA = Certificate of Achievement

Units Required

• Major: 43
• Certificate(s): 25

Associate Degree Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Units
English Proficiency
Select one of the following:
ENGL 1A	COMPOSITION & READING	5
ENGL 1AH	HONORS COMPOSITION & READING	5
ESLL 26	ADVANCED COMPOSITION & READING	5
or equivalent
Mathematics Proficiency
College-level math course at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra

A minimum of 90 units is required¹ to include:

• Completion of one of the following general education patterns: Foothill General Education, CSU General Education Breadth Requirements or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
• Core courses (35 units)
• Support courses (8 units)

¹

Additional elective course work may be necessary to meet the 90-unit minimum requirement for the associate degree.

Note: All courses pertaining to the major must be taken for a letter grade. In addition, a grade of "C" or better is required for all core and support courses used for the degree or certificate.

Core and Support Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Units
Core Courses
Select seven courses from the following:		35
MUS 2A	GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
or MUS 2AH	HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
MUS 2B	GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
or MUS 2BH	HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
MUS 2C	GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
or MUS 2CH	HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
MUS 2D	WORLD MUSIC: ROOTS TO CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL FUSION
MUS 3A	THEORY & MUSICIANSHIP I
MUS 3B	THEORY & MUSICIANSHIP II
MUS 3C	THEORY & MUSICIANSHIP III
MUS 3D	THEORY & MUSICIANSHIP IV
Support Courses
Select eight units from the following:		8
MUS 1	INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC
MUS 2F	HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE
MUS 8	MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES
or MUS 8H	HONORS MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES
MUS 9B	MUSIC & MEDIA: HENDRIX TO HIP-HOP
MUS 10	MUSIC FUNDAMENTALS
MUS 11B	FUNK, FUSION & HIP-HOP
MUS 11E	HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC: 1970-PRESENT
MUS 12A	BEGINNING CLASS PIANO
MUS 12B	INTERMEDIATE CLASS PIANO
MUS 12C	ADVANCED CLASS PIANO
MUS 13A	CLASS VOICE I
MUS 13B	CLASS VOICE II
MUS 13C	CLASS VOICE III
MUS 14A	BEGINNING CLASSICAL GUITAR
MUS 14B	INTERMEDIATE CLASSICAL GUITAR
MUS 14C	ADVANCED CLASSICAL GUITAR
MUS 15A	BEGINNING ACOUSTIC GUITAR TECHNIQUES
MUS 15B	INTERMEDIATE ACOUSTIC GUITAR TECHNIQUES
MUS 15C	ADVANCED ACOUSTIC GUITAR TECHNIQUES
MUS 47A	INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
or THTR 47A	INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
MUS 47B	INTERMEDIATE MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
or THTR 47B	INTERMEDIATE MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
MUS 47C	ADVANCED MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
or THTR 47C	ADVANCED MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
MUS 47D	ADVANCED MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP II
or THTR 47D	ADVANCED MUSIC THEATRE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP II
MUS 48B	SINGING TECHNIQUE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE
or THTR 48B	SINGING TECHNIQUE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE
MUS 48C	MUSICAL THEATRE REPERTOIRE FOR SINGERS
or THTR 48C	MUSICAL THEATRE REPERTOIRE FOR SINGERS
Total Units		43

Certificate Requirements

Certificate of Achievement in Music History and Literature

• Units: 25

Course List

Code	Title	Units
MUS 2A	GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES	5
or MUS 2AH	HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
MUS 2B	GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES	5
or MUS 2BH	HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
MUS 2C	GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES	5
or MUS 2CH	HONORS GREAT COMPOSERS & MUSIC MASTERPIECES
MUS 2D	WORLD MUSIC: ROOTS TO CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL FUSION	5
MUS 8	MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES	5
or MUS 8H	HONORS MUSIC OF AMERICAN CULTURES
Total Units		25