Overview
With over 1,000 music majors, the USC Thornton School counts among its alumni collegiate and public school music educators across the country serving as role models for excellence in musicianship and music education worldwide. Graduates from the USC Thornton School are consistently the first choice by professional performing ensembles and schools looking for the finest musicians and teachers. The music education program offers three degrees, the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Music, the Master of Music in Music Education and the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Education.

Degrees Offered
MAT, MM, DMA

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Music

In the USC Thornton Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Music program, the Thornton School of Music and the Rossier School of Education have developed an intensive plan that prepares outstanding musicians to become exceptional music educators through an immersive 13-month, 39-unit program. The MAT degree leads to both a Master’s degree and a California single subject certification to teach music in public schools, preK-12.

For more information on the program, please click here.
For frequently asked questions, please click here.
For further questions, please contact Dr. John Whitener at whitener@usc.edu.

Master of Music

The goal of this professional degree is to prepare the student for an advanced level of pre-college teaching and leadership in the music education profession by developing core knowledge and expertise in pedagogical skills and scholarship. It provides a seamless transition into the DMA in Music Education, with most units being transferable to the DMA requirements.

Doctor of Musical Arts

The DMA curriculum has been designed to extend beyond the public school setting and prepare students for collegiate teaching in both traditional and alternative settings (such as community-based and on-line programs). Further, the degree offers innovative courses on teaching at the college level. Students have the opportunity to intern with university professors in music education methodology classes. The program also includes core scholarly subjects, such as research, sociology, philosophy, psychology and history of music education. The focus goes beyond the traditional band/orchestra/choir model and extends to additional areas especially relevant to the current diverse and technologically proficient student population.

The professional degree stresses teaching with cutting-edge technological tools while developing core knowledge and expertise in pedagogical skills and scholarship. Students will acquire writing and design skills for a wide range of multimedia publications, while being able to pursue a choice of research activities or advanced creative work that will enable them to lead our profession to new heights. USC is one of the few universities that equally values students being able to declare elective fields in areas outside of music education, while also achieving rigorous scholarship, writing and multimedia design skills, and gaining pedagogical experience that prepares them for collegiate teaching in a rapidly changing society.

Faculty
Robert Cutietta
Christine DeMore
Susan Helfter
Beatriz Ilari
Dean Raymond Immel
Lisa Smith
Tina Vartanian
Peter Webster
John L. Whitener
Paul Young

Contact
Department of Music Education
USC Thornton School of Music
Los Angeles, California 90089-0851
(213) 821-6003
helfter@usc.edu