Postgraduate music courses allow students greater breadth and depth of study.
Graduating with a bachelor's degree in music doesn't have to signal the end of your musical studies. Colleges and universities offer master's and doctoral degree courses for those looking to expand their areas of expertise within music, deepen their study of a particular focus within the industry or broaden their possible job horizons.
Education
Faculty members who teach music at colleges and universities must obtain postgraduate degrees, so many colleges offer master's and doctorate programs that focus on music education. Students in these programs take music history courses as well as those that focus on teaching methods with titles such as technology and the music educator, choral and instrumental methods, curriculum and supervision, music research and foundations in music education. Students must also take field experience classes if they want teaching certification.
Conducting
Postgraduate courses for those who want to become conductors include music history, musicology, applied instruction and ensemble work, typically with either choral or instrumental focus, although some programs allow students to work with both. Advanced courses also teach research methods in music and give students the opportunity to write a master's thesis. Most conducting programs also require applied instruction and practicum. As part of the final coursework, students must lead an orchestra or choral group in an actual performance.
Performance
Performance courses at the post-graduate level focus on a particular instrument with applied instruction and performance. Students also take music history, literature that focuses on their instrument of interest (such as literature for piano), pedagogy, coaching and musical languages classes. Voice performance classes also teach diction, and voice performance students may be required to take French, Italian and German for graduation. Like the conducting degree, performance degrees may require a written thesis and a performance for completion.
Composition
Music composition courses at the post-graduate level teach music theory, music and technology, music history, ensemble, research, pedagogy, composition analysis and applied composition. Some schools, such as the University of Colorado-Boulder (colorado.edu), offer degrees that blend music and modern technology, so courses for such degrees may include more seminars and special topics courses that blend these concepts. Instead of a traditional thesis, music master's degree programs in composition require students to create and sometimes present a finished work.
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