Music Industry Studies - Curriculum

The MIS Option resides in a music performance-oriented department and its curriculum reflects the music industry adage: “It’s easier to make a businessman out of a musician, than a musician out of a businessman.” The total 120-unit degree program strikes a balance between general education, traditional music performance, and music business studies. Presented here in an easy-to-read, summarized format, please see the University Catalog for additional detail and information.

1. General Education & Title V courses required of all college students (39 units)

2. Music Core course requirements (27 units)

• MUS 111/L: Musicianship I (2 units)
• MUS 112/L: Musicianship II (2 units)
• MUS 211/L: Musicianship III (2 units)
• MUS 110A*: Keyboard Musicianship I (1 unit)
• MUS 110B*: Keyboard Musicianship II (1 unit)
• MUS 210A*: Keyboard Musicianship III (1 unit)
• MUS 210B*: Keyboard Musicianship IV (1 unit)
• MUS 191/L: Music Technology I (3 units)
• MUS 201: Style and Literature of Western Music I (3 units)
• MUS 202: Style and Literature of Western Music II (3 units)
• MUS 213: Harmony I (3 units)
• MUS 307: Music from a Global Perspective (3 units)
• MUS 483ME/L: Music Entrepreneurship (2 units)

3. Lesson and Ensemble requirements (8 units)

• Individual Lessons (4 units)
• Performance Ensembles (4 units)

 4. Music Industry Studies Option requirements (33 units)

• MUS 293/L: Early Field Experience in the Music Industry (3 units)
• MUS 303A: History of Popular Music in America I (3 units)
• MUS 303B: History of Popular Music in America II (3 units)
• MUS 391/L: Music Technology II (3 units)
• MUS 397R/L: Sound Recording (3 units)
• MUS 393A: Music Industry Studies I (3 units)
• MUS 393B: Music Industry Studies II (3 units)
• BLAW 280: Business Law (3 units)
• MGT 360: Management and Organizational Behavior (3 units)
• MUS 493C: Music Industry Practicum (2 units) or MUS 494A: Internship in Music (2 units)
• MUS 494AC: Internship in Music – Capstone Experience (4 units)

 5. Electives (13 units)

 * The following four courses substitute for the core requirements of MUS 110A, MUS 110B, MUS 210A and MUS 210B for students who auditioned for the degree option on piano.

• MUS 235A: Contemporary Keyboard Styles — Latin (1 unit)
• MUS 235B: Contemporary Keyboard Styles — Jazz, Rock, and Pop (1 unit)
• MUS 235C: Contemporary Keyboard Styles — Afro-Cuban (1 unit)
• MUS 235D: Contemporary Keyboard Styles — Gospel (1 unit)

While the total 120-unit Bachelor of Arts in Music – Music Industry Studies Option can be completed in four years (if entering as a freshman) or two years (if entering as a transfer student), due the many networking and internship opportunities in this program, students often elect to take an extra 1-2 semesters to complete their degree. Many find this extra time useful in the development of their professional network. It is often said in the music industry that, “it’s who you know that helps you get your job, but what you know that helps you keep it.” This industry adage illustrates that students not only need to work on the “what they know” (though formal course work), but also the “who they know” (through networking and internships). Taking extra time to complete this degree program is the personal choice of the student.

MIS Option applied music lessons are rooted in classical technique and repertoire. This is not to imply that other styles of music are completely excluded, but merely to acknowledge that pedagogically, the study of classical music is the primary vehicle in which students develop their tone and technique. Only those MIS students admitted on the electric bass guitar are offered jazz lessons (as there is no classical repertoire for the electric bass).

Five of Five Music Entertainment (VVME) is a student-run, faculty-advised music and entertainment label based out of the Music Industry Studies program at California State University, Northridge. Since 1997, VVME has worked with a wide array of developing artists and helped them make their mark in the music industry. Positioning itself as an all-purpose music entertainment company and staffed by this generation’s most aspiring young music industry professionals, VVME provides the production and business expertise necessary for success in today’s music industry.

Experiential learning is a critical component to any music industry education. The MIS Option culminates in a 4-unit internship that requires students to complete a minimum of 12 hours of service per week over a 15-week period. This capstone experience provides valuable on-the-job training and allows the student to experience the industry first-hand. Quite frequently, students find that this internship provides them the necessary stepping-stone needed to transfer from college to full-time employment. In fact, many interns often transition to full-time employment at the same business in which they intern.

 A partial listings of businesses at which MIS students have interned include: