Bachelor of Music Education

We are a vibrant community of passionate young musicians and adept professional educators helping everyone to become active music makers. Teaching music offers a richly rewarding career in a field with great need, and the importance of arts education in the lives of children and youth has seldom been as well understood as it is today. In fact, Wisconsin’s present shortage of licensed teachers virtually guarantees a position for the best and brightest music educators. UW Oshkosh has a heritage of preparing successful teachers who make a difference in the communities they serve. Contact us to schedule a visit or to learn how you can join us!

Students study in their major performing area with skilled faculty instructors in applied music, they choose from a wide range of large and small performing ensembles, and they are enriched though a remarkable annual schedule of resident and visiting performing artists. They receive core music instruction and select from a variety of required and elective course options. Specialized professional coursework and school-based field experiences give students a broad foundation for success. Special opportunities include international, urban/tribal, and out-of-state field placements and internships. Field work is supervised by university faculty members and a network of cooperating teachers with extensive teaching experience and a strong commitment to student success. As students, music education majors regularly fulfill leadership roles in school and community music-making, including working as teaching assistants in area schools, teaching music in early childhood care centers and youth centers, directing church music, summer music camps, and leading special groups such as the VSA Arts Choir. The UWO ArtsCore program for arts integration provides immense opportunities for internships and special experiences.

At UW Oshkosh, a complete curriculum prepares music educators in areas of professional knowledge, skill, and musicianship, within the framework of a liberal arts education. Bachelor of Music Education graduates are licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to teach PK-12 (EC-AD) choral, instrumental, and/or general music. All music education students complete the requirements for the general music license in complement to the instrumental or choral music license. This offers full preparedness and places graduates in a strong position as job seekers, since school hiring preferences favor music teacher candidates with multiple licenses and specialty areas.

Graduates from UW Oshkosh are highly regarded in the teaching profession. Many successful music education graduates have gone on to earn advanced degrees, serve in state and national leadership roles, and contribute as authors, composers, and teacher educators. They are employed in schools across Wisconsin and the nation. The Professional Education Program in the UW Oshkosh College of Education and Human Services is among the largest and most progressive in the state, with thousands of graduates teaching worldwide. First job profiles for music education graduates include a wide range of teaching configurations in early childhood, elementary, middle, and secondary school music settings.

The UWO Collegiate Chapter of NAfME: The National Association for Music Education has received five annual membership growth awards since 2004 and has been among the state’s largest and most active chapters. The chapter hosts numerous campus events, organizes member attendance at conferences, encourages professional development, partners with area schools and businesses to promote music education, and contributes to the Department of Music through a variety of student-led initiatives. Leadership skills developed in NAfME Collegiate enhance students’ abilities to succeed in many other settings and jump-start professional networking opportunities. Students also hold membership and leadership roles in other professional associations including the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Band Association, the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association, and Wisconsin Music Teachers Association.

UW Oshkosh hosts special events and programs related to music education including an ongoing series of workshops and guest presenters on every topic. Each April the Department of Music partners with The Wisconsin School Music Association as one of twelve regional sites of the Wisconsin State Music Festival, bringing 3,000 talented middle and high school musicians to our campus. A statewide leader in teacher licensure, in 2009 the Department of Music partnered with the Center for Additional Teaching Licenses in the UW Oshkosh College of Education and Human Services to begin an alternative add-on licensure program in general and choral music for qualified practicing music teachers, through intensive summer workshops and blended instruction. The Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators, Wisconsin Music Educators Association, Wisconsin Music Teachers Association, North Central Wisconsin Orff, J.W. Pepper, and other special guest presenters have held recent events at UWO.