Music Education

Program Mission Statement

 The University of North Florida (UNF) School of Music brings a focused commitment to excellence and the artistic and intellectual preparation of students for the diverse and challenging world in which we live. It aims to provide a high level of professional musical training as well as a sense of relevance regarding the value of music to our society through an active, pluralistic musical environment encompassing western European traditional art music through contemporary music including world music and jazz. The UNF School of Music faculty, excellent instructors evidenced by their innovative pedagogy, scholarship, and research in their respective fields, serve as artist-teachers working with students in large and small performing ensembles as well as through individual applied instruction. Our comprehensive program is complemented by the Ira M. Koger Eminent Scholar Chair in American Music that provides an additional focus on jazz. Our school continues to achieve national and international recognition as a distinguished comprehensive center for the study, creation, and research in music, with emphasis on the contemporary.

The MME program is designed to improve teaching skills, build a foundation of research skills, and prepare future leaders in the music education profession.  Students will experience a wide variety of music education research areas, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, through reading extensively in top-rated peer-reviewed journals, and also by creating original research for presentation and possible future publication. Students will expand their knowledge of pedagogical approaches to music education, especially focusing on student-centered approaches and methods that are centered on creativity and expression.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able:

Knowledge of Literature of Discipline (req)

• Students will gain familiarity with the body of published literature in various domains within music education, including, but not limited to, psychology, history, and philosophy. Students will write reviews of literature or create original research that contain reviews of literature.

Independent Research/Professional Practice (req)

• Presentation and publication of original research is of great importance to graduate study, and is the focus of several courses within the degree program. Students will present their research at peer-reviewed music education research venues.

Assessment Approaches

Master of Music Education students are assessed using direct measures, including presentations, research papers, teaching and leading discussion. Additionally, the dissemination of original research is tracked and calculated based on the number of times MME students have their original research accepted for presentation or publication through a peer-reviewed process, such as conferences or journals.