For inquisitive students passionate about music, history, and culture, our program in the PSU School of Music & Theater is a rare opportunity to explore a scholarly career in a vibrant musical environment.
The music history major will give you a strong music foundation with an emphasis on musicology. You’ll take advanced coursework in music history and world music, and receive direct mentorship from faculty as you complete a final research project. You’ll participate in a variety of ensembles, including the opportunity to explore non-western music in our taiko drumming group or Javanese gamelan. You’ll also get hands-on experience through writing and editing work for our scholarly journal Subito.
Completing this degree will give you the skills in musicology and a supportive curriculum to prepare you for continued academic study in the discipline, along with the breadth of knowledge, critical thinking, and expressive skills that can be translated to a wide variety of music-related fields and occupations. Our alumni are accepted into top graduate programs in musicology and ethnomusicology and pursue a variety of careers.
Prospective music majors must apply to PSU, submit a secondary application to the School of Music & Theater, and pass the entrance audition. Learn more about our application process.
As a Music History major, you can gain real-world experience building your writing or multimedia portfolio by contributing to Subito, our School’s scholarly journal, or writing for PSU’s newspaper, the Vanguard. You also have the opportunity to connect with other students in the major through our Musicology Circle and in ensembles ranging from jazz to taiko drumming to gamelan.
We are proud to be a national College of Distinction for our commitment to helping students to succeed. At PSU, you will gain the experience and knowledge you need to make a difference in your career and community.
PSU's Music programs are fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). The school holds the All-Steinway School designation.
Most of our alumni go on to grad school or combine a career as a freelance arts writer with composing, performing, or teaching. Others pursue related careers: arts administrator, arts writer, music critic, music journalist, or educator.
Recent graduates have been accepted into graduate programs at Indiana University, Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Cleveland Institute. Some are performing with Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theater Orchestra, Portland Opera, and Vancouver Symphony. Others hold administrative and educational positions at Kennedy Center, Portland Ballet, All Classical Radio, Portland Youth Philharmonic, and Bravo Youth Orchestras.