Popular Music Program

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A Bachelor of Arts or Science degree with a Popular Music provides students with a comprehensive course of study focused on songwriting, music production, music performance, music theory, and popular music history and culture. It can also include preparation for music entrepreneurship through coursework in marketing, business, and law. Students choose from a variety of performance ensembles, including gospel choirs, a hip hop ensemble, and popular music combos, among others. They can use elective requirements to deepen their engagement with a variety of subjects, including music production, jazz, electronic music, and the history and culture of popular music. 

The Popular Music degree program has a flexible curriculum that can be completed in as little as two years or as many as four, depending on a student’s personal interests and goals.  The School of Music and Dance is available to help each student construct an individualized curriculum. For questions about this, students may contact either the Music and Dance Undergraduate Music Advisor or Popular Music Chair Toby Koenigsberg

Music Production Concentration

In the sophomore year, Popular Music majors who wish to spend their third and fourth years of study focusing on producing, recording, mixing, and mastering music may apply to the Music Production concentration, a specialized program within the Popular Music major.

With our comprehensive Music Production concentration, students learn music production by actually producing music. The program offers access to the latest digital technology and a hands-on production curriculum. Students log time in the studio, run cable at concert halls, and operate state-of-the-art mixing consoles in the field. They learn about the science of sound. They even get the opportunity to work with meticulously maintained vintage analog recording equipment. Learn more about Music Production coursework by reviewing our “Challenge Song” Audio Recording Techniques III course, MUS 482

Degree Programs


What can I do with a degree in Popular Music?

Post-graduation opportunities in the field of popular music include performing, songwriting, producing, and working in the music industry in business-oriented roles of various kinds. Some students pursue careers in other fields, utilizing the Popular Music program as a major within the broader context of a liberal education

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Performance Opportunities 

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Scholarships  

School of Music and Dance scholarships and financial aid are available. For complete information about financial aid, including loans, see the Student Financial Aid and Scholarships section of the UO catalog. 

Take the Next Step

Call us, email us, visit us or apply to the program. We’re here to answer your questions about how a degree in music composition can shape your future and positively impact your community.