Undergraduate

Courses

To see a listing of all Music courses including course descriptions, prerequisites, and repeat restrictions, visit the Course Catalog in the Berkeley Academic Guide. To know which classes will be offered in a particular semester, visit the Class Schedule and select the appropriate term.

Honors Program in Music

Qualifying for the Honors Program

Students with a 3.5 GPA in the major and 3.3 GPA overall may apply for admission to the Honors Program.

The award of departmental Honors is contingent upon submission of a thesis or project of high quality, based upon independent study with a member of the Music Department’s faculty and marked by satisfactory completion of Music H195. The faculty sponsor will evaluate whether the project is of Honors quality. Departmental Honors designations will be included in the student’s permanent UC Berkeley record. The Music Department maintains a file of...

Major Requirements

To view the procedure for declaring a music major, visit this link. For students who declared prior to Fall 2022, please see the pre-Fall 2022 Music major requirements.

Lower-Division Requirements Music 70 (History of Music) Music 80 (Studies of Musics of the World) Music 90 (Making Music) Upper-Division Requirements

Musicology and...

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a Department of Music and a School of Music?

A Department of Music is likely to be a smaller academic unit, situated within a liberal arts educational environment. A School of Music is essentially a conservatory (i.e.., focused on training professional performers) that is situated within a University A Department of Music such as ours, for example, offers a Bachelor of Arts degree while a School of Music may offer both a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Music degree.

Do you need piano skills to be in the music program? If not, what...

Undergraduate Committee

The Undergraduate Committee represents students in the Music Department and is a forum for advocacy and communication. We hear students’ concerns and work toward solutions while also planning special events that build community. Our goal is to do whatever is necessary to improve our music students’ experience here at Cal.

Committee Members Student Representatives

Study Abroad

The Music Department strongly encourages students to study abroad for one or two semesters whether to pursue studies in music or to take classes outside the major.

The College of Letters and Science’s guidelines for studying abroad can be found at https://lsadvising.berkeley.edu/study-abroad.

In addition, the Music Department has the following guidelines:

Ideally, students should complete lower-division requirements (Music 70, 80, and 90) before studying abroad. Students planning on studying...

Admissions

Prospective students must apply for admission to the University of California Berkeley by November 30th for the following academic year. The website for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions is http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/ and has information on both freshman and transfer admissions.

Non-California residents may phone or FAX the Admissions Office:
(510) 642-3175 (U.S. citizens)
(510) 642-1225 (International students)
(510) 642-7333 FAX

Since applicants are admitted...

Performance Courses

Performance plays an essential part in the life of the department, and all students are strongly encouraged to participate. The Music Department regularly offers the Music 140 series performance courses, as well as a variety of other courses involving performance on a rotating basis. Music majors must enroll in at least three performance ensembles from the Music 140 series, 116, 164, 165, or in conjunction with the 168 series.

Music 140 Series (2 units)

The department’s performance ensembles cater to a variety of interests and are open to all students, most by audition...

Minor Requirements

Note: the Music minor requirements have changed effective Fall 2022. For students who declared the minor prior to Fall 2022, please refer to the pre-Fall 2022 Music minor requirements

Students may choose to complete a minor in Music, which consists of a total of 7 courses (2 lower-division and 5 upper-division courses).

Lower Division Course Requirements

Select one course from:

Music 20 (Introduction to Musicianship) Music 25 (...

Advanced Harmony Placement Exam

The Advanced Harmony Placement Exam (AHPE) is optional, required only for students who plan to take harmony courses (Music 151A-B-C-D) and who have previously studied four-part chorale-style writing. In other words, if you have sufficient background that you think you may place ahead in the harmony sequence, rather than at the beginning of the harmony sequence, this test is for you.

The Advanced Harmony Placement Exam is offered at the start of each semester as a take-home exam. Email the instructor in charge, David Pereira, at dpereira at berkeley.edu with questions or to...