The goal of the Western music minor is to provide a focus for musicmaking activities, as well as provide a background in music theory and history.
Course Requirements
Complete the following requirements. All upper-division courses attempted toward the minor must be taken for a letter grade. Lower-division courses can be taken for a letter grade or Pass/No Pass.
Lower-Division Courses
Lower-Division History
Take one of the following courses
Lower-Division Theory
Take all of the following courses. Students are accepted to MUSC 30A if they have taken MUSC 14 at UCSC and received an "A" or "A+", or have tested in via the Theory Placement Exam. See the Music Department website for more information on the TPE.
| MUSC 30A | Theory, Literature, and Musicianship I | 5 |
| MUSC 30B | Theory, Literature, and Musicianship II | 5 |
| MUSC 30C | Theory, Literature, and Musicianship III | 5 |
Lower-Division Keyboard and Musicianship
The following courses should be taken alongside MUSC 30 series classes.
MUSC 60 enrollment may be waived by instructor approval, or if the student is taking piano lessons from a UC Santa Cruz instructor.
Lower-Division Applied Lessons
Take three quarters of applied lessons from any course type on this list, on your primary instrument or voice.
| MUSC 61 | Individual Lessons: Half Hour | 2 |
| MUSC 62 | Individual Lessons: One Hour | 3 |
| MUSC 63 | Group Instrumental and Vocal Lessons | 2 |
Lower-Division Performing Ensembles
Take three quarters of performing ensembles from any course on this list, on your primary instrument or voice. All courses may be repeated for credit.
Students who are taking applied piano lessons with UCSC faculty members can participate in ensembles on an instrument other than piano.
Upper-Division Courses
Upper-Division Performing Ensembles
Take three quarters of performing ensembles from any course on this list, on your primary instrument or voice. All courses may be repeated for credit.
Students who are taking applied piano lessons with UCSC faculty members can participate in ensembles on an instrument other than piano.
If no upper-division ensembles are available for your instrument/voice type, you can petition additional quarters of lower-division ensembles. Contact the Music Department for more information.
Students can petition to take additional lower-division ensembles, if there are no upper-division ensembles available for their instrument/voice. Petitions can be sent to music@ucsc.edu.
Upper-Division Applied Lessons
Take three quarters of applied lessons from any course type on this list, on your primary instrument or voice.
Upper-Division Electives
Take two (2) courses from the following list
Planner
The table below is for informational purposes and do not reflect all university, general education, and credit requirements. See Undergraduate Graduation Requirements for more information.
Two-Year Western Music Minor Plan
*Satisfies the lower-division history requirement; can be replaced with MUSC 11B or MUSC 11D.
^Satisfies upper-division elective requirement; can be replaced with other courses from the elective list.
General Education (GE) Codes
MUSC 11A satisfies the IM GE code, MUSC 11B satisfies the ER GE code, and MUSC 11D satisfies the CC GE code.
Most, but not all, ensembles satisfy the PR-C or PR-E code GE requirement. Students should check to confirm which courses from the ensembles course list satisfy GE codes.