While the Butler School of Music invites non-music majors to explore the arts, there are limitations to these opportunities. The College of Fine Arts (COFA) should make music education more accessible by offering a music minor or certificate program.
Although the Butler School advertises course offerings for non-music majors, there are not many options. These courses are introductory, and some do not even supply core visual and performing arts credit. The current course offerings for non-music majors don’t provide the diversity and depth in curriculum necessary to serve non-music majors interested in academically exploring music, and there is a lack of space in these classes due to music majors taking priority in registration.
Major Texas universities like Texas A&M and the University of Houston offer at least one music minor or certificate program for non-music majors. UT should follow the lead of these institutions and expand their program to serve students’ interdisciplinary academic interests.
From engineering to business and advertising majors, there are countless UT students outside of the music school with an academic interest in music. However, the Butler School of Music does not offer a robust academic program to non-music majors.
Victoria Alford, a neuroscience junior, said that an expanded the Butler School of Music program would let her advance her interdisciplinary career interests.
“(Music) is so important to me, and I know a lot of people including myself who still want to have music as more of a core part of their education,” Alford said. “Having a music minor or certificate would mesh so much better with my interest and career goals because I’ve always been interested in the intersection of neuroscience and music.”
Alford said that the lack of a music minor or certificate made her feel like she had to choose between music and her other academic interests.
“I wasn’t totally ready to commit to totally choosing one or the other, and having two simultaneous rigorous majors is very, very overwhelming,” Alford said. “I was even considering switching my major entirely because they don’t offer a music minor or certificate.”
John Turci-Escobar, assistant dean of Undergraduate Studies for COFA and professor at the the Butler School of Music, said that a lack of resources is a significant barrier preventing the creation of a music minor or certificate program.
“To serve students in a minor, the school would need to hire a number of faculty members in a variety of instruments and areas,” Turci-Escobar said.
While resources remain a limiting factor, students have the power to make a music minor or certificate a reality. By starting conversations with the Butler School of Music and COFA faculty members, the Fine Arts Council and other leaders on campus, students can raise awareness about the Butler School of Music’s limited opportunities.
The current absence of a music minor or certificate is a barrier to students outside the music school. By creating an academic music program for non-music majors, UT can equip students to explore their interdisciplinary interests and have success in the job market, regardless of their major.
Mehta is a business and Plan II sophomore from Frisco, Texas
