Program Overview

Multimedia Arts Technology—Music Program

The Western Michigan University’s bachelor's degree in multimedia arts technology-music provides students with the high-tech knowledge they need to enter the exciting field of music production, which increasingly is centered around digital technologies. It provides training in digital media concepts and skills necessary for the creation and production of audio for video games, popular music albums, popular performance concerts, experimental art projects, cinema, commercials, and software development. Students also learn the foundational concepts of video editing, manipulation, and generation.

Program Structure

As a student in WMU's multimedia arts technology-music program, studies revolve around the program's five foundational pillars:

• Audio engineering
• Creative projects for various media
• Live sound reinforcement for concerts and shows
• Computer programming
• Performance with technology Students are required to take:
• 18 to 20 hours of core music classes
• A course in music appreciation
• A course in music theory
• Eight credit hours of music performance classes
• 37 to 38 hours of multimedia arts technology courses
• At least nine hours of related courses from other departments or additional sections of the core technology classes

Beyond the Classroom

As a multimedia arts technology-music student at WMU, opportunities include:

• Recording, learning the recording arts, serving as a student engineer, and producing songs in the WMU recording studios
• Western Sound Studios, which operates as the primary recording facility for the WMU School of Music, offers students in upper-level audio engineering classes the chance to assist with professional recording projects
• The introductory audio engineering courses occur in the multimedia arts technology production studio
• The electronic music lab is a state-of-the-art facility for creative projects
• Five individual workstations constitute the multimedia arts technology lab for student projects with advanced digital media software and hardware
• The Kalamazoo Laptop Orchestra has a mobile station with 20 laptops, 20 tablets, and a variety of gestural controllers
• A portable live sound reinforcement system with the capacity for 10.2 channel surround sound and real-time effects processing
• The School of Music’s computer lab consists of 18 stations with basic audio and video software

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities for graduates of WMU's multimedia arts technology-music program include technical and creative fields involving digital media, such as:

• Music production
• Video production
• Live event production
• Creative projects with digital media
• Software development

Program Location

The program is offered in Kalamazoo.

Related Programs

Other programs of interest include:

• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science (B.S.)
• Bachelor's in Digital Marketing
• Entrepreneurship
• Film, Video and Media Studies
• Graphic Design
• Music
• Music Composition
• Music Performance: Instrumental
• Music Performance: Keyboard
• Music Performance: Vocal
• Music Therapy
• Music: Jazz Studies
• Theatre: Music Theatre Performance
• Strategic Communication