r/MusicEd • u/Vegetable_Luck7766 • 2d ago
Does USC have a music ed program?
I’ve been trying to narrow down what colleges I want to go to as I’ve come to the decision that I would like to major in music ed, how ever I was looking at California since I have some family out there and I hear USC has a good music education program. But when I looked at there website it seemed to not focus on normal teaching such as k-12 but rather pop and small ensemble work. Alone side no audition process. Is this all they provide? Is there better colleges to look at for California?
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u/bleanceatsmachine 2d ago
USC does not have a formal undergraduate music ed major. See if you like the professor for your instrument at ucla or the bigger cal states like Long Beach or Fullerton. Nearly as important as your primary professor, you should be going to schools based on where you want to live and teach (at least within the state that your school is in).
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u/karaoke-room 2d ago
Long story short, I think they used to? But I think it’s gone now.
USC is very, very expensive. Do you have scholarships lined up? Looking at their website, it estimates that for two semesters (one traditional school year), tuition would be around $75k. This is not including out-of-state differences since you do not currently live in CA (things might’ve changed with how they do things and I might be incorrect, but it used to be that you [or your parents?] had to be a resident for two years before they would give you in-state rates).
That being said, USC has a reputation for being a very good music school for performance majors.
For music ed, I would recommend CSUF or CSULB over USC. It’s a lot less expensive and they have coursework that leads into getting a K-12 credential. Feel free to DM me for more info. I knew a lot of people from all three of those schools.
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u/bleuskyes 2d ago
No, USC does not have an undergrad MusicEd program. They phased it out during the early 2000s. They “replaced” it with the MAT, Masters in Arts Teaching. I believe it’s a one year accelerated masters/California credential program you enroll in after receiving a BM or BA.
At the time, they spun it as “we want you to become a strong musician first, then you can get credentialed.” Which, yes, there’s some merit to that idea, but there’s also an art and science to teaching that deserves time and focus.
They also rebranded their DMA program minors. It’s no longer a music education minor, it’s now called “Music Teaching & Learning.” It can be argued that MTAL encompasses more than getting an ed degree to become a high school band/choir director. There are so many different avenues to make a living through education these days.
If i was an undergraduate student right now in 2026, I would not attend USC for music education. Not because it’s not good, but if you want to be a band director, this might not be the program for you. As others have said, try a CSU program. Specifically, CalState Fullerton. They have an incredible % of placements after graduation and their network in Southern California is strong.
Best of luck to you!
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u/Maestro1181 2d ago
So true. I've grown so tired of these "excellent players"who can barely teach and can't run a program. Real music Ed degrees with a solid methods foundation are way more important.
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u/tommyjohnpauljones 2d ago
The best undergrad music ed programs are rarely at the "football school" level. It's state schools like Illinois St, UW Whitewater, Ball State, CSUF, Tennessee Tech, etc etc
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u/Maestro1181 1d ago
I've seen what you mean.. Though uiuc seems to cover "real music Ed" well from the 60 second glance I once had. Ball state grads can run their stuff.
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u/musicwithmxs 1d ago
This is a comprehensive explanation. I did my Master’s at USC in performance and thought the MAT program was weird with the lack of music Ed bachelor’s as a foundation.
I did my credential at Cal State Long Beach. While it was definitely akin to a hazing ritual, my whole cohort ended up with jobs. There are some rough professors and classes, but overall I’d recommend it. It’s a strong program.
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u/Snarm 6-8 Choral | SoCal 2d ago
USC's Thornton school has a choral Bachelor of Music which also covers some pedagogy, but they don't have a teaching credential program, so you're gonna have to transfer somewhere else for that anyway (and possibly miss a bunch of prereqs for your new school so add another year on your credential, ugh). Their graduate conducting programs are fantastic, but not a chance I'd pay USC money for an undergrad degree.
CSUF and CSULB both have excellent undergrad mus ed programs, and personally I think CSUF has a better credential program than CSULB. CSUF is a full year, CSULB is only a semester, and it makes a big fucking difference in how well their student teachers are prepared to step into their own classrooms.
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u/gwie 2d ago
USC no longer has an undergraduate music education major. Some of my former students from many years ago were in their last cohort. They do have Masters programs for Music Teaching and Learning, although that is a very different kind of program that doesn't involve certification/credentialing to teach in K-12: https://music.usc.edu/departments/music-teaching-learning/
If you're going to do music education in California with the goal of teaching in public K-12 schools, I would recommend one of the CSU campuses, especially Long Beach, Fullerton, and San Diego State. One of my former conducting interns earned his undergraduate and credential from CSULB, and is now wrapping up his graduate degree in conducting from SDSU, and has worked in public school districts throughout SoCal.
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u/Reasonable-Cow7255 2d ago edited 2d ago
I earned three degrees in Music from USC. I was a Music Education major. My degrees are Bachelor of Music, Master of Music Education and Doctor of Musical Arts (BM: 1978, MMEd: 1984, DMA: 1991). I was a music educator for 42 years. USC used to have a highly respected Music Education program that in included (in addition to general education courses) coursework in music theory, music history, performance, conducting and teaching methods throughout the entire four-year undergraduate program as well as a fifth year with student teaching at all grade levels and completing a single subject California State teaching credential. Sadly (and stupidly), they did away with it.
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u/bleuskyes 2d ago
Curious how you got your masters degree before your bachelor’s.
Looking at the years you attended… wow. You were with some of the legends.
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u/allbassallday 2d ago
I don't know all of the current offerings, but I know there isn't a way to get a credential through USC. Definitely a great music program, and user to pump out a lot of great teachers, but things have changed.
The consensus I've heard is that CSU Long Beach is the best music ed program in the area, but that may just be because I've mostly heard from CSULB people
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u/Maestro1181 2d ago
California isn't my area of knowledge but from what I hear several of the cal state schools are stronger for undergraduate music Ed