College of Performing Arts

The Master of Music in Jazz Studies and Master of Arts in Teaching in Music Education programs are designed to prepare students for careers as performers, arrangers, composers, and teachers. Through a wide range of performance and classroom experiences, the graduate programs prepare talented students to take their place as professionals alongside the very best in today’s varied contemporary music fields.

A dedicated and renowned faculty of performers who enjoy active careers as jazz and contemporary music performers, theater and show musicians, composers, orchestral musicians, and leading pedagogues mentor graduate students seeking to refi ne and focus their careers. Many of these faculty are well-known for their affi liations with major recording labels. Consequently, students are challenged on a daily basis in preparation for real-world encounters. Low student-faculty ratios provide graduate students with the nurturing experience important to their professional growth. The studio/performance faculty, working closely with a strong academic faculty, provide the well-balanced curriculum necessary to ensure that graduates are exceptionally prepared for successful careers. Graduate teaching assistants receive valuable classroom experiences that enhance their employment potential in the academic marketplace.

The advantages offered by Philadelphia’s urban setting, with its thriving music scene and the arts-centric university community, combine to create an incomparable environment for the study and practice of contemporary music. Collaborations with numerous other arts disciplines represented at UArts are commonplace, enriching the opportunities to stretch one’s perspective while expanding possibilities and potentials.

Richard Lawn
Dean of the College of Performing Arts