University of Arts Philadelphia
| University of the Arts’ mission is simple: to advance human creativity. UArts believes creativity is the most essential skill for success in today’s society and has educated generations of groundbreaking artists, performers, designers and creative leaders for more than 141 years. After being granted university status in 1987, University of the Arts became the largest institution of its kind in the nation, offering programs in design, fine arts, media arts, crafts, music, dance, theater and writing. It now features 30 undergraduate arts majors, 15 graduate programs and the nation’s first PhD program in Creativity. |
Degree
| Music – Composition (BM) | Our Composition majors have composed for live performances and studio recordings. They’ve re-scored films and recorded them using virtual instruments and samples. They’ve designed soundscapes for city-wide light shows. And they’ve collaborated with ProJazz in Santiago, Chile, and the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts in the U.K. Each semester, a professional chamber music ensemble visits UArts to perform and record students’ work, which is a great way to learn how professional musicians bring your creations to life. |
| Music – Instrumental Performance (BM) | As an Instrumental Performance major at UArts, you can choose to learn one or many musical instruments including bass, drum set, guitar, percussion, piano, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, vibraphone and woodwinds. If you consider your instrument to be a true extension of yourself and your personality, if jazz or contemporary musical performance is what you want to do for a living, and if you’re a creative and critical thinker, then our Instrumental Performance program is a good fit for you. UArts will help put you on track to become a professional touring and recording musician, arranger, producer or music director. |
| Music – Vocal Performance (BM) | UArts’ Vocal Performance program offers you much more than just a solid foundation in proper vocal techniques: In our jazz- and contemporary-based curriculum you can also explore a variety of genres, including pop, rock, a cappella, country, salsa and more, through our more than 40 ensembles. |
| Music Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology (BS) | In the Music Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology (MBET) program, you’ll learn the fundamentals of the music business in the context of an arts-based education. Available as a major or a minor, our comprehensive coursework takes place in and out of the classroom, and you’ll network and make connections through internship placements at some of Philadelphia’s most reputable institutions. Our goal is to empower the artists and engineers who will create the technologies of the future. |
| Music Education (BM+MAT) | Undergraduate students focus on music education by majoring in instrumental performance, vocal performance or music composition and completing the Music Education minor. Students who successfully complete the minor at UArts will then be able to complete the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Music Education degree and receive teacher certification in just one additional academic year. This “4 +1” option allows students to earn a music education minor, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and teacher certification in only five years. Coursework is based on current Pennsylvania Department of Education teacher certification requirements. This program may be revised as needed to accommodate new state requirements. |
| Theater – Directing, Playwriting & Production (BFA) | If you’re a creative, self-starting collaborator with an interest in theater making and management, the Directing, Playwriting + Production program at the University of the Arts’ Ira Brind School of Theater Arts is the best place for you. |
| Theater – Musical Theater (BFA) | As part of the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts community at the University of the Arts, you’ll study on Philadelphia’s famed Avenue of the Arts, home to the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Academy of Music, the Wilma Theater, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre and the Merriam Theater, and within three blocks of the Forrest Theatre, the Walnut Street Theatre, and the Theatre at the Drake, home to four resident companies. |
| Theater Design & Technology (BFA) | Apply your creativity and problem-solving skills to the world of theater production—lighting, costume, scenery, projection, sound design and technical direction—through the Theater Design & Technology program in the University of the Arts’ Ira Brind School of Theater Arts. |
| Film (BFA) | Film programs at UArts offer a behind-the-camera experience unlike any other. You can choose to study film through a variety of creative avenues, including film and video, film production design, animation, and photo and film media. There are no limits to the career options you’ll have as with a degree in film—our programs are designed to teach you how to reach your unique goal. Our graduates become directors, editors, cinematographers, art directors, and photographers, to name a few. If you’re interested in filmmaking and all that is involved with it, look no further than studying at UArts. |
| Film & Animation (BFA) | The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Film & Animation at University of the Arts in Philadelphia allows you to study both ways to use moving images—whether you want to create narrative, documentary or experimental film, or traditional, stop-motion or computer-generated animation. You’ll learn film and animation techniques, explore various genres and styles, and create a capstone project that combines film and animation in innovative ways. UArts encourages its students to cross disciplines and media. It also features courses in all kinds of other areas you might be curious about through Critical Studies courses, including writing, science, the history of your artistic discipline, and dozens of other areas that will sharpen your critical thinking skills, communication and research toolkits, and knowledge of the history and criticism of creativity. |
| Graduate | |
| Music – Composition (BM) | |
| Music – Instrumental Performance (BM) | |
| Music – Vocal Performance (BM) | |
| Music Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology (BS) | |
| Music Education (BM+MAT) | |
| Theater – Musical Theater (BFA) | |
| Theater Design & Technology (BFA) | |
| Jazz studies | The Master of Music in Jazz Studies is a highly selective degree program open to candidates who have an undergraduate degree in jazz studies or an undergraduate degree in music with significant experience in jazz and contemporary music. The 32-credit degree program can be completed in one academic year. Open only to a limited number of students, the program provides a solid foundation in contemporary music and encourages a primary focus on your individual career goals. |
| Music Education | The Master of Music in Music Education is designed for music teachers desiring a master of music degree and others interested in studying music education at the graduate level. The degree can be completed in as few as three to four summers but must be completed within seven years of matriculation. |
Administrative links
Admissions graduate