ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study is to examine the educational systems for higher education in music and undergraduate music curricula in America. Institutions of higher music learning in America may be divided into the following three categories according to the educational aims and curricular structure : 1) conservatories of music which were founded largely in the European tradition of training the performing musician, 2) departments of music which were influenced by the European university system emphasizing academic approaches for music study with humanistic traditions, and 3) schools of music which were developed by incorporating the above two systems during the late decades of the 19th century and have been regarded as a typical educational system of America for training the performing musician and also for providing music courses in theoretically oriented studies. As the basis to determine the curricular structure of undergraduate music programs, the following components are discussed in detail : 1) the types of the baccalareate degrees confered by the institutions, 2) the areas of specialization, 3) minimum credit hours for general studies and required music courses and percentages of two areas of study in relation to the total program, 4) the core curriculum for basic musicianship, 5) minimum credit hours for ensemble, key board study, and music electives, 6) the required number of credit hours for private applied study, and 7) the course titles of the required music courses for each spe챠alization. It is discovered that higher learning institutions in America award various baccalareate music degrees according to the educational goals and objectives of the individual institution. The curricular elements such as major areas, character of the program, and the proportion of music courses to total curriculum are also considered as the determinant factors in designating the titles of music degree. The baccalareate degrees confered to music majors are as follows : Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music Education, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Musical Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music Therapy, and Bachelor of Science and Outside Field. In addition to the above degrees, institutions offer the undergraduate non degree diploma program, double-major programs, and double-degree programs, joint-degree program, and accelerated bachelor`s/master`s program. Diploma program is usually a three - year program of study for the few very gifted undergraduate students in performance areas, concentrating almost exclusively on performance with the exception of general studies. Among several double-major programs which most likely require a total of five years for completion, the most common type is the program which offers studies in professional audio recording skills as an adjunct to a major program in performance, composition, theory, history, or jazz. The study shows that institutions offer a broad range of specialization for music majors. The areas of specialization offered at undergraduate level are as follows: performance, composition, theory, music history, early-music instrument, jazz studies, music education, piano pedagogy, piano accompanying, music theatre, eurhythmics, music therapy, music-technology, audio-recording, contemporary media, media arts, music industry, and string instrument technology. One of the characteristics common to all American institutions examined in the study is that core curriculum consists of a sequence of courses especially designed to unify, coordinate, integrate, and interrelate basic studies in music theory including ear-traing, counterpoint, harmony, keyboard harmony, form, analysis, music history, literature, and orchestration. This unified core curriculum is largely organized into three subject areas including `Aural Skills`, `Music Theory`, and `Music History`. It is recommended that four-year undergraduate institutions in Korea reorganize their music curriculum a