2014-2015

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).

  • 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 65 units of core requirements and 30-36 units of emphasis requirements, depending on your choice of emphasis

  • Up to 9 units of major prefix courses may be used to satisfy Liberal Studies requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy major requirements.

  • For this major the liberal studies prefixes are MUS and MUP

  • Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 130 units

Candidates in this program are required to demonstrate content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills, professional knowledge, and professional dispositions to be eligible to enter student teaching or internship placements.

Content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge or skills, and professional dispositions are demonstrated through candidate performance on key assessments embedded in the following course(s):

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
Fieldwork Experience/Internship Required
Student Teaching/Supervised Teaching Required
University Honors Program Optional
Progression Plan Link Not Available

Additional Admission Requirements

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

  • To be eligible for admission to the program, candidates must meet the following requirements:

    30 units of coursework which includes:

    • MAT 110 or MAT 114 with a grade of "C" or better
    • MUS 200 
    • 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.)

  • A minimum GPA of 2.5 in all content major coursework (must have taken at least 3 units) and a cumulative 2.5 GPA in all courses.

  • Additional requirements:

    • You must be declared in this major.
    • In order to declare a Music Major, you must apply and be accepted to the School of Music.  Please visit the School of Music website.
    • Completion of a teacher-education orientation for Secondary Education
    • Submission of a copy of your State-approved Identity-Verified Print (IVP) fingerprint clearance card, obtainable through the Arizona Department of Public Safety (602-223-2279)
Major Requirements
    • Choral Emphasis (30 units)
      • MUP 111 (1 unit each), MUP 211 and MUP 311 (2 units each). Private Lessons: Students enroll in private-lesson instruction for a minimum of 6 terms: 2 terms each of 111, 211, 311. (10 units)
      • MUP 160, MUP 260, MUP 360, MUP 460 (1 unit each). Chorale/Vocal Ensembles: Students enroll in large conducted ensembles for a total of 8 terms. To satisfy this requirement, choose from Shrine of the Ages Choir, Men's Chorale, and Women's Chorale. (8 units)
      • MUS 161, MUS 162, MUS 421 (4 units)
      • MUS 410 (3 units)
      • MUS 499 (1 unit each). To satisfy this requirement, students enroll in Choral Arranging and two additional topics of their choice. (3 units)
      • MUP 435 (2 units)
    • Instrumental Emphasis (36 units)
      • MUP 111, MUP 211, MUP 311 (2 units each). Private Lessons: Students enroll in private-lesson instruction for a minimum of 6 terms: 2 terms each of 111, 211, and 311. (12 units)
      • MUP 170, MUP 270, MUP 370, MUP 470 Instrument Ensembles: Students enroll in large conducted ensembles for a total of 8 terms. To satisfy this requirement, choose from Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, and Symphonic Band. Guitar majors must take Guitar Ensemble, and Piano majors must take Piano Ensemble. For Wind, Brass and Percussion majors, 2 of the 8 terms required must be Marching Band. (8 units)
      • MUP 107, MUP 108, MUP 109, MUP 110, MUP 207, MUP 208 (required for wind majors only), MUP 209, MUP 210 (Techniques courses)  (8 units)
      • MUP 433 (2 units)
      • MUS 410. To satisfy this requirement, students enroll in the Orchestration topic. (3 units)
      • MUS 499 (1 unit each). To satisfy this requirement, students enroll in any three topics of their choice. (3 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 music courses, with no grade lower than a "C" in the major.
    • Complete all plan requirements.
    • All major coursework, with the exception of MUS 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.

  • Arizona Teacher Certification

    In order to obtain an Arizona teaching certificate you must pass both the appropriate National Evaluation Series subject matter test and the National Evaluation Series Secondary Assessment Professional Knowledge.

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 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.