B.A. in Music

Saint Xavier University provides students with various resources. Students have access to instrument lockers, a music lounge, practice rooms with pianos, a computer lab with the latest music software, and much more. Saint Xavier University offers peer academic tutoring in music through the Center for Learning and Student Support. The center also provides other academic resources and services.

First-Year Experiences, Learning Communities and Collaborative Assignments and Projects

• All music majors take a common core of musicianship classes together (Music Theory, Aural Skills, and Keyboard Skills).
• Through music ensemble experiences, students build a strong sense of community.

Diversity/Global Learning

• All music majors must take a World Music course.
• Jazz emphasis majors must take a Jazz History course.

ePortfolios

• Students will be able to add recorded performances of solo performances, music concerts and recitals to their eportfolios. 

Undergraduate Research (individualized instruction)

• Applied Lessons -- one-on-one music lessons
• Pedagogy classes -- supervised teaching

Capstone Courses and Projects

• Junior and senior recitals or senior projects
• Student teaching for music education students

Common Intellectual Experiences

• Attendance at performances, practicums (weekly recital class), student and faculty recitals, and guest artists/clinicians

Saint Xavier University Music

Saint Xavier University is dedicated to providing top-quality education that is intentionally designed to develop your skills and expertise as you prepare for the next step in your education or career. The learning outcomes reflect the specific competencies that you will gain from our Music program while the curriculum map portrays how these competencies will shape and prepare you for the real world.

• Performance: Students will develop knowledge and skills in one or more areas of music, beyond basic musicianship, at a level consistent with a liberal arts degree and will understand procedures for realizing a variety of musical styles.
• Musicianship: Students will develop the ability to identify and work conceptually with elements of music and read and understand musical notation.
• Composition: Students will understand compositional processes, aesthetic properties of style, and the ways these shape and are shaped by artistic and cultural forces.
• History and Repertory: Students will be acquainted with a wide selection of musical literature, the principal eras, genres and cultural sources.
• Synthesis: Students will develop and defend musical judgments.

Why study Music at SXU?

• Study at one of the most affordable Catholic universities in Illinois, according to CollegeNavigator.gov.

• You will be eligible for up to $24,000 in music awards over your four years studying at Saint Xavier University.

• You will further develop your passion for music by refining and enhancing your musicianship through weekly private lessons, music classes, and ensemble rehearsals.

• Small class sizes allow for more individualized instruction and planning tailored to your needs.

• Study with experienced music professionals who are actively performing around the Chicagoland Area with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Elgin Symphony Orchestra and more.

• Earn a job or continue onto a graduate music program soon after graduation.

Students may choose to minor in music, complementing another degree program such as psychology, business, computer science, elementary education or other areas of study. Minoring in music while studying psychology, for example, could lead a student into the music therapy profession. Adding music to a business degree program will not only help the student to be more liberally educated but provide a possible career path in the field of music business. The computer science and music combination is an essential one for studio and professional recording work. It is possible for elementary and secondary education majors to minor in music and apply for a secondary certification for teaching.