Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts Technology
Application Deadline for Fall 2025 - December 1, 2024
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts Technology prepares students for careers in music production, recording, composition, and performance; studio and live sound engineering; interactive multimedia design; and music and sound for film, television or video games. During the first two years, students gain experience with a broad range of topics and possibilities in the field, and then specialize in the areas of most interest to them during the latter two.
Curriculum
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts Technology requires a minimum of 120 credits: coursework is 75% within SMTD and 25% within the liberal arts. SMTD coursework to include:
- Computer Music Composition and Arranging
- Sound Recording and Production
- Electronic Music History and Theory
- Performance: Digital Music Ensemble and Electronic Chamber Music
- Creative Coding
- SMTD Music Theory and Musicology Core
- Art & Design / Screen Arts & Cultures electives
- PAT Senior Thesis
- Six upper level PAT Electives chosen from: Advanced Studio Production I and II; Immersive Media; Image, Sound, and Story; Practicum in Music and Sound for Film; Interactive Media Design I and II; Performance Systems; Digital Sound Synthesis; Advanced Psychoacoustics; Technical Ear Training and Critical Listening; Digital Fabrication for Acoustics; Contemporary Practices in Research and Scholarship; Business of Music
- Additionally, students may select a Concentration—18 credits of focused study in a complementary area. Concentration options are: Engineering, Visual Arts, Computer & Information Sciences, or Multidisciplinary Studies. The Multidisciplinary Studies Concentration allows students to select courses in any one or more disciplines of their choosing in coordination with their academic advisor.
Silent Advisor
Degree requirements and term-by-term layout for current students.
Faculty
Anıl Çamcı
Jason Corey
Hao-Wen (Herman) Dong
Paul Dooley
Jeremy Edwards
Jonathan Edwards
John Granzow
Michael Gurevich
Sile O’Modhrain
Zeynep Özcan
Stephen Rush
Chris Vrenna
Julie Zhu
Brehm Technology Suite
Performance Opportunities
From large ensembles in celebrated concert halls to chamber groups in intimate recital spaces, performance opportunities across all disciplines abound, with nearly 900 student performances each academic year. Whether your focus is on early, classical, or contemporary music, whether your passion is for jazz, electronic, or world music, there is an ensemble—or in many cases, multiple ensembles—to suit your interests, including specific opportunities for percussion, piano, and organ & carillon. For students in theatre & drama, musical theatre, dance, and opera, opportunities abound in both professionally produced and student-run presentations.
Organ Performance
Students perform and study with their peers in studio classes and perform for the public in solo student recitals and studio recitals. In addition, the Organ Department organizes several recitals each term in local churches in the communities surrounding Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Carillon Performance
The University of Michigan has two world-class carillons. Half-hour recitals are given on weekdays throughout the academic year and are open to the public to view. Intermediate and advanced carillon students may perform for the campus regularly on these recitals.
Early Music Ensembles
Students interested in historically oriented performance have opportunities to explore music from across the centuries, performed on authentic period instruments and high-quality replicas.
Ensembles
Organ students have opportunities to perform with the University of Michigan orchestras, bands, and choral ensembles, and can gain extensive experience in continuo playing on organ and harpsichord with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra.