Commercial Music Program in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at
Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University’s Department of Music offers a Bachelor of Music Degree with a Major in Commercial Music, a Master of Arts Degree with a Concentration in Commercial Music (Creative Track only) and a Master of Science Degree in Music Business Administration. (The Master of Science Degree in Music Business Administration is a partnership with the Kaye College of Business. Students do not have to be musicians to be accepted.) Students in the Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degree programs are required to take standard core courses in music in addition to commercial music courses. Students are able to choose from a variety of approved electives. We also offer a Minor in Commercial Music. (Students do not have to be musicians to be accepted as a Minor.) All students interested in majoring in the Commercial Music Program are required to audition for the Department of Music.

Headed by award-winning composer, arranger and producer Michael Zager, Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in the Performing Arts, the program includes lectures and master classes with nationally and internationally known musicians and music industry professionals.

The undergraduate degree is divided into 3 tracks: Creative, Technology, and Business. Courses include: Music Production, Music Composition for Film, Composing & Arranging for Television and Radio Commercials, Computer Music Sequencing, Sound Recording, Live Sound Reinforcement, Legal Issues for the Musician, Music Publishing and Copyrights, Music Marketing and Public Relations, Introduction to Music Business, World Music Ensemble and the Commercial Music Ensemble. The program requires majors to work at Hoot/Wisdom Recordings, a student-operated, faculty-supervised record label.

For more information on the program, contact us at 561-297-0600 or e-mail Fookloy Ford at fford@fau.edu. Brochure