Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

The music faculty measures the objectives of the department by evaluating the following principal learning outcomes:

Undergraduate Degrees

Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music Degrees

  1. Performance Skills. All students, regardless of career plans, should grow in musicianship during their time at UHM. Performance skills encompass technical skill on an instrument or voice, ability to perform in an ensemble, confidence and stage presence, and perhaps most importantly, aesthetic judgment. Recognizing that each student brings a unique background of preparation and aptitude to college-level music study, the department chooses to emphasize improvement and growth rather than the attainment of a uniform technical standard.
  2. Basic Musicianship. The ability to hear, analyze, read, and write music is essential to musical study and the music profession. These skills fall under the general category of music theory and aural skills.
  3. Knowledge of Literature. Knowledge of music history is essential in connecting the music programs to the broad liberal background of the university as a whole.
  4. Cross-cultural appreciation and understanding of diverse musical traditions. Experiences in ethnomusicology develop attitudes and skills for engaging musical and cultural diversity. These skills help students to develop critical approaches and analytical skills in engaging with musical and cultural diversity; promote the understanding and appreciation of world musical traditions; cultivate multiple intelligences in a cross-cultural and transnational setting; and foster awareness, sensitivity and respect for participating in a global society. They relate directly to the University’s commitment to educating for a multicultural and diverse community.

Bachelor of Education in Music

SLOs 1–4 above, plus:

  1. Students will demonstrate the ability to teach music to students, K–12 in general music, choral and instrumental settings. Students will be assessed through classroom writing assignments, field experiences, and student teaching. Classroom writing assignments are based on music teaching pedagogies and approaches, planning, curriculum, assessment, and the sequencing of skills in teaching music across various populations. Course-based field experiences and the capstone student teaching involve observation, analysis, participation and teaching in K–12 classrooms. During the student teaching semester, a written “Teacher Work Sample” will be used to fulfill the exit portfolio requirement of the Secondary B.Ed. program. Data from the above sources are used to generate reports for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Graduate Degrees

Master of Music Degrees

Students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an advanced level of technical skill on an instrument or voice, an advanced ability to perform in an ensemble, advanced levels of confidence and stage presence, and aesthetic judgment at a professional level. (Performance Skills)
  2. Demonstrate an acute ability to hear, analyze, read, and write music at an advanced level. (Advanced Musicianship and Theory)
  3. Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of music literature.
  4. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of research, scholarly reading comprehension and writing techniques.

Master of Arts in Musicology

Students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an ability to assemble, study, and evaluate resources for research.
  2. Demonstrate an ability to comprehend and synthesize advanced ideas in scholarly writing.
  3. Generate advanced research on an original topic.

Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology

The goals of the MA in ethnomusicology are to

  1. Provide the student with a strong background in the history and current issues of the field;
  2. Instill understanding at a general level of musical genres and concepts about music from a representative selection of the world’s peoples as well as an in-depth understanding of one or two specific cultures;
  3. Develop the bibliographic, musical and fieldwork/inter-personal skills necessary to produce successful research in the field, and
  4. Train the student to apply effectively current methodologies and theoretical approaches to the study of world musics.

Master of Arts in Music Education

Graduate students pursuing the Master of Arts degree in music education will develop and expand their

  1. Knowledge of the theoretical, historical, pedagogical, and psychological foundations of music teaching and learning;
  2. Skills and knowledge concerning the fundamentals of research in the field of music education; and
  3. General musicianship through the selection of elective coursework.

PhD in Music

(General SLOs common to each area of concentration)
Students will be able to

  1. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of research, scholarly reading comprehension and writing techniques;
  2. Produce original scholarship (including research and music) at advanced levels;
  3. Gain the skills, knowledge, and training necessary for professional teaching at the university level; and
  4. Express advanced ideas in respective areas of music history, literature, theory, and education.