2012-2013

Music Secondary Education, Bachelor of Music Education

School of Music

College of Arts and Letters

This degree prepares you for a secondary education certificate, with a K-12 endorsement in music.

This program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).

  • Available Emphasis Areas:
  • Choral - Emphasis
  • Instrumental - Emphasis

  • To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the liberal studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.

    • All of Northern Arizona University's diversity, liberal studies, junior-level writing, and capstone requirements.
    • All requirements for your specific academic plan(s).
    • At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work.
    • At least 30 units of coursework taken through Northern Arizona University, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300-level or above). This requirement is not met by credit-by-exam, retro-credits, transfer coursework, etc.
    • A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on all work attempted at Northern Arizona University.

    The full policy can be viewed here.

In addition to University Requirements:

  • At least 95 units of major requirements including 71 units of core requirements and 24-30 units of emphasis requirements, depending on your choice of emphasis
  • Be aware that you may not use courses with an MUP or MUS prefix to satisfy liberal studies requirements
  • Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 130 units

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 130 - 136
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 114
Additional Admission Requirements Required
Student Teaching/Supervised Teaching Required
Progression Plan Link Not Available

Additional Admission Requirements

  • Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

  • If you are completing an undergraduate program in secondary education, you must meet the following admission requirements.

    • 45 units of course work
    • EDF 200 with a minimum grade of "C"
    • MAT 110 or  MAT 114 with a minimum grade of "C"
    • MAT 155 with a minimum grade of "C"
    • Complete at least 3 units of concentration major course work
    • A minimum GPA of 2.5 in all content major course work
    • The English foundations requirement (ENG 105 or equivalent) with a minimum GPA of 3.0. (If your English GPA is below 3.0, you may take an approved writing course to achieve the 3.0 GPA.)
    • One of the following grade point average requirements:
      • a cumulative 2.5 GPA in Liberal Studies courses
      • a cumulative 2.5 GPA in all courses
    • A declared a major and minor or extended major
    • Recommendation Form (included in application packet) completed by someone who has directly observed your work with children or adolescents within the ages of pre-school through high school. Such work experience can be either voluntary or paid, but must have occurred in a structured setting for a minimum of 15 hours. Examples of acceptable experiences may include work as a camp counselor, swimming instructor, Sunday school teacher, volunteer in a classroom, or other similar settings
    • Attendance at a teacher-education orientation for Secondary Education
    • A copy of your State-approved Identity-Verified Print (IVP) fingerprint clearance card, obtainable through the Arizona Department of Public Safety (602-223-2279).
    • Be admitted to NAU
Major Requirements
    • Choral Emphasis (24 units)
Teacher Preparation
  • In all of our teacher education programs, you are required to complete a student teaching or internship experience. In addition, a minimum number of units of practicum is required, which involves supervised field experience with a practicing teacher.

    Before being accepted to student teaching, the following criteria must be met:
    • Admission to the teacher education program
    • NAU GPA must be at least 2.5, with a GPA of 2.5 in all teacher preparation courses, with no grade lower than a "C."
    • All education courses and departmental requirements must be successfully completed prior to student teaching.
    • All concentration courses must be completed with no grade lower than a "C." (B.S.Ed. in Elementary and Early Childhood education students only)
    • All education coursework, with the exception of EDF 200, must be completed within the six years prior to student teaching.
    • All candidates must demonstrate social and emotional maturity consistent with professional standards of classroom instruction as well as adequate physical health for teaching.
  • AEPA Requirements

    In order to obtain an AZ teaching certificate, you will need to pass the following exams:
    • AEPA Subject Knowledge Exam
    • AEPA Professional Knowledge Exam
General Electives

  • Additional coursework is required, if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 130 - 136 units of credit.

    You may take these remaining courses from any academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.

    You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.

  • Please note that you may take as an elective POS 220 (or POS 110 and POS 241), which satisfies the state and federal constitution requirement for Arizona certification, or you may meet the requirement by demonstrating proficiency on a special exam.
Additional Information

  • Please be aware that, for the B.M.Ed. degree, you must have the following:

    • A grade of "B" or better for the English foundation requirement ENG 105 or equivalent) (If you don't receive a 3.0, you may complete an additional ENG writing course, at the 200-level or above, with at least a "B," to meet this requirement.)
    • A grade of "C" or better for the mathematics foundation requirement
    • A grade point average of at least 2.5 in all of your Northern Arizona University coursework in order to student teach
    Please note that this plan takes five years (ten terms) to complete.

  • Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.