Southwestern College in Phoenix is a private Christian college with a history in the state of Arizona that traces back to 1960. Originally founded as Southwestern Conservative Baptist Bible College, the college changed its name in 1964 with the opening of its present campus. The music program is integral to the mission of Southwestern College: to produce trained and educated musicians who can serve the Christian mission. Bachelor's degrees offered include music education and music performance. Concentrations within the performance major include Christian ministry, praise and worship and music performance. In the area of education students may pursue concentrations in choral music and instrumental music. All students take various instrumental courses and receive one-on-one mentoring from faculty members throughout their educational experience.
Southwestern College
2625 E. Cactus Road
Phoenix, AZ 85032
602-489-5300
swcaz.edu
International Baptist College (IBC), in Chandler, is a second option for those wanting to pursue studies in music at a Christian college. IBC offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of bible and church music. The degree program requires 146 credit hours for completion. Aside from general education requirements, students take courses in Christian service, Bible and theology and music education. Of these, the music education portion of the degree comprises 70 of the 146 credit hours. Like the program at Southwestern College, the IBC program emphasizes a combination of music theory with instrumental music. Students take courses in core areas such as applied music, fundamentals of conducting, sight singing and ear training, history of music, philosophy of music, church music and hymnology. The school also offers a bachelor's degree in Christian service with an emphasis in church music.
International Baptist College
2211 W Germann Rd
Chandler, AZ 85286
800-422-4858
ibconline.edu
Also located in Phoenix, Grand Canyon University (GCU) presents students with a third opportunity to study music at a private Christian college. GCU represents a non-denominational outlook on the Christian faith and incorporates this into the various aspects of its curriculum. GCU offers a number of degree programs through its College of Fine Arts and Production. Aside from its programs in theater, dance and film, the college offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in music (emphasis in piano), music education and music with an emphasis in voice. Although GCU is known for its various online degree programs, all three of these music degree tracks are only offered on-site.
Grand Canyon University
3300 W. Camelback Road
Phoenix, AZ 85017
602-639-7500
gcu.edu