Admission to the music major by audition (either Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Music) is required. Students may not self-declare a music major. Admission to the B.A. music major is selective; admission to the B.M. program is highly selective. Consequently, it is not unusual for the B.M. applicants to be admitted to the B.A. music major initially. These students would begin the core music major coursework in the fall of their first year and may re-apply for admission to the B.M. program after they begin their studies at St. Olaf.
A liberal arts degree with approximately one-third of the course work in music, the music major is offered alone or with the following emphases:
• Composition
• Musicology
• Theory
The structure of the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements makes it feasible (indeed common) for students to complete the requirements for a double major in four years. This option is especially suitable for students who wish to study music and a second major without the commitment to a five-year double-degree program.