Your undergraduate music engineering program may offer a Bachelor of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in Music or a Bachelor of Science in Music; the Bachelor of Music program expects an audition and continued instrument studies, while the Bachelor of Science stresses the science and technology of sound recording and the Bachelor of Arts emphasizes interdisciplinarity. The University of Miami’s Frost School of Music offers both bachelor's and master's programs in Music Engineering Technology, emphasizing sound recording and traditional music studies. Some liberal arts colleges, like the music department at Skidmore College, encourage students to declare self-designed majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts in Music Production and Engineering.
Coursework beyond the music core will include an introduction to music engineering and production, music technology and composition. The composition courses may include electroacoustic music, computer music or both. Some programs require a course in music business, whereas others will require an introductory course in the music industry. At the Berklee College of Music, some of the learning outcomes for their program include learning how to multitrack record, edit and mix in addition to learning how to develop a business plan and make both technical and musically aesthetic decisions. All music engineering programs will expect studio work.
Classes in music engineering typically explore state-of-the-art sound recording technology as their focus. During studio time, you will learn to record, edit, mix and compose music for individual and group projects. Though classes mostly focus on digital equipment, some classes allow you to explore analog and dated equipment for the purpose of teaching recording, historical and aesthetic concepts. You may also be required to take some more generalized audio engineering courses, which will give you the opportunity to do music engineering for film, television and radio projects.
The most important aspect of your undergraduate experience as a music engineering major is your studio work and experience, both in classes and as an intern. Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music offers a Bachelor of Science in Recording Arts, which treats your entire four years as a sound recording studio internship. In the studio, you will learn how to maintain and manage equipment and studio responsibilities. As an intern, you will have the opportunity to work with people in the music industry and will gain perspective about the professional role of music engineer.