KSAWorks
KSAWorks
Knowledge • Skills • Abilities
Program checklist · B.S.

Music B.S.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · Troy, NY

A checklist is the list of requirements to complete this program and receive the award, as the college publishes it in its catalog. It is the same for everyone. It does not say what you have completed; that comes from applying your own record.

Program
Award
B.S.
Credential class
ceterms:BachelorDegree
Catalog edition
Rensselaer Catalog 2026-2027
Checklist type
degree-program
Description
The B.S. in Music focuses on preparing musicians for careers in creative professions combining depth in music with breadth in the sciences, media, and engineering. It advances music study within the technological university by preparing students for the multiplicity of roles available to musicians in the 21st century.
Identifiers
IPEDS UNITID
194824
CourseShelf checklist
CK_194824_3bad3bd0
CollegeTransfer.Net
Institution Transfer Profile
Source
CourseShelf publish 61

Requirements to complete

Every course or condition the catalog lists, in the catalog's order.

The RPI Experience

0 items

    First Year

    0 items

      Fall

      5 items
      1. HASS Core Elective
        Not resolved to a course
        4
      2. Private Music Lesson or Ensemble
        Not resolved to a course
        1
      3. ARTS 2020
        Music and Technology I
        Not resolved to a course
        4
      4. ARTS 2380
        Music and Sound I
        Not resolved to a course
        4
      5. MATH 1010
        Calculus I
        Not resolved to a course
        or: MATH 1500 - Calculus for Architecture, Management, and HASS
        4

      Spring

      5 items
      1. HASS Core Elective
        Not resolved to a course
        4
      2. (Optional) Private Music Lesson or Ensemble
        Not resolved to a course
        1
      3. ARTS 4160
        Music and Technology II
        Not resolved to a course
        4
      4. ARTS 4380
        Music and Sound II
        Not resolved to a course
        4
      5. MATH 1020
        Calculus II
        Not resolved to a course
        or: MATH 1520 - Mathematical Methods in Architecture, Management, and HASS
        4

      Second Year

      0 items

        Fall

        3 items
        1. HASS Core OR History and Culture Course 4
          Not resolved to a course
        2. Science Core Elective
          Not resolved to a course
          4
        3. *Free Elective
          Not resolved to a course
          4

        Music Practice

        3 items
        1. ARTS 2030
          The Art of Songwriting
          Not resolved to a course
          4
        2. ARTS 2180
          Deep Listening
          Not resolved to a course
          4
        3. ARTS 2700
          Sound Recording and Production I
          Not resolved to a course
          or: Private Music Lesson or Ensemble
          4

        Spring

        6 items
        1. ADMN 1030
          Career Exploration
          Not resolved to a course
          0
        2. Science Core Elective
          Not resolved to a course
          4
        3. HASS Core Elective
          Not resolved to a course
          4
        4. HASS Core Elective or History and Culture Course
          Not resolved to a course
          4
        5. Free Elective
          Not resolved to a course
          4
        6. (OPTIONAL) Private Music Lesson or Ensemble
          Not resolved to a course
          1

        Third Year

        0 items

          Fall

          5 items
          1. ILEA 4400
            The Discovery
            Not resolved to a course
            0
          2. Science Core Elective
            Not resolved to a course
            4
          3. HASS Core Elective
            Not resolved to a course
            4
          4. HASS Core Elective
            Not resolved to a course
            4
          5. Free Elective or History and Culture course
            Not resolved to a course
            4

          Spring

          4 items
          1. ARTS 4390
            Composition Seminar
            Not resolved to a course
            4
          2. ARTS 4880
            Interdisciplinary Research Seminar
            Not resolved to a course
            or: ARTS 4500 - Topics in the History and Analysis of Music
            4
          3. Science Core Elective
            Not resolved to a course
            4
          4. Free Elective
            Not resolved to a course
            4

          Fourth Year

          0 items

            Fall

            5 items
            1. Free Elective
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            2. Free Elective or Culminating Experience
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            3. (​Culminating Experience can be taken in the fall or spring of the final year, see footnote 5 below)
              Not resolved to a course
            4. Free Elective or ARTS 4500
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            5. ​(Students whose semester away was the fall of the junior year will take ARTS 4500 in the fall of their final year)
              Not resolved to a course

            Spring

            6 items
            1. Free Elective or Culminating Experience
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            2. ​(Culminating Experience can be taken in the fall or spring of the final year, see footnote 5 below)
              Not resolved to a course
            3. Free Elective or ARTS 4880
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            4. ​(ARTS 4880 can be taken if a student’s semester away was in the spring)
              Not resolved to a course
            5. Free Elective
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            6. Free Elective
              Not resolved to a course
              4

            Footnotes

            6 items
            1. Students are required to take an Inquiry course during their first year. For more information regarding HASS Inquiry (INQR) courses click here.
              Not resolved to a course
            2. Students should take a HASS Communication Intensive course during their first three semesters.
              Not resolved to a course
            3. The practice requirement of the Music major includes 4 credits. These may be taken with 1-credit repeatable courses such as performing ensembles or private lessons, 4-credit courses, or 4 credits of coursework in creative technologies outside the Department of Arts as approved by special request.
              Not resolved to a course
            4. Music B.S. requires one Music and Culture course that should be taken in any of the first five semesters. See list below.
              Not resolved to a course
            5. Music B.S. requires a 4-credit Culminating Experience. See list below.
              Not resolved to a course
            6. These courses should be completed by the end of the second year / fourth semester. ADMN 1030 (or equivalent) is recommended as a prerequisite to ILEA 4400 ​(or equivalent). While both courses may be taken in any semester, the suggested sequence should be followed when possible.
              Not resolved to a course

            Practice Requirement

            9 items
            1. ARTS 2030
              The Art of Songwriting
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            2. ARTS 2080
              Contemporary Improvisation Ensemble
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            3. ARTS 2180
              Deep Listening
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            4. ARTS 2300
              Rensselaer Orchestra
              Not resolved to a course
              1
            5. ARTS 2310
              Rensselaer Concert Choir
              Not resolved to a course
              1
            6. ARTS 2350
              Chamber Music Ensemble
              Not resolved to a course
              1
            7. ARTS 2600
              Ensemble Nonlinear
              Not resolved to a course
              1
            8. ARTS 2700
              Sound Recording and Production I
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            9. ARTS 2750
              Private Music Lessons
              Not resolved to a course
              1

            Music and Culture Requirement

            7 items
            1. ARTS 2500
              Histories of Western Music
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            2. ARTS 2510
              Histories of Jazz and Improvised Music
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            3. ARTS 2520
              World Music
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            4. ARTS 2540
              The Multimedia Century
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            5. ARTS 2550
              Popular Music and Society
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            6. ARTS 2560
              Game Sound and Musical Play
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            7. GSAS 2560
              Game Sound and Musical Play
              Not resolved to a course
              4

            Culminating Experience

            5 items
            1. ARTS 4160
              Music and Technology II
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            2. ARTS 4390
              Composition Seminar
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            3. ARTS 4500
              Topics in the History and Analysis of Music
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            4. ARTS 4700
              Sound Recording and Production II
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            5. ARTS 4880
              Interdisciplinary Research Seminar
              Not resolved to a course
              4
            Source. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, catalog Rensselaer Catalog 2026-2027 — https://catalog.rpi.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=34&poid=10148&returnto=938. Captured page pages/0086.html.gz. Assembled from the institution's published catalog as captured; every record names its captured page and source URL. Assembled, not asserted.