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


Jason Corey

Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of Music
Performing Arts Technology

John Granzow

Associate Professor of Music
Performing Arts Technology

Michael Gurevich

Acting Chair of Performing Arts Technology and Associate Professor of Music
Performing Arts Technology

Alvin Hill

SMTD Events & Instructional Technology Manager and Adjunct Lecturer

Zeynep Özcan

Assistant Professor of Music, PAT
Performing Arts Technology

Chris Vrenna

Assistant Professor of Music
Performing Arts Technology

Julie Zhu

President Postdoctoral Fellow/ Assistant Professor
Carillon, Harpsichord, Organ

Brehm Technology Suite

Serving as the community hub for PAT students, faculty, and collaborators, this concentrated suite of technologically-rich facilities has had a transformative effect on the PAT Department—building community and supporting a broad range of creative activities.

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

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

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

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

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.

Questions?