Program Overview
The Jazz Studies graduate program at North Carolina Central University is dedicated to offering quality education, shaping the future of aspiring musicians and maintaining the integrity of a great art form. Program ensembles have earned recognition at numerous college festivals, including the Villanova Jazz Festival, where they garnered first-place honors. The NCCU Jazz Ensemble and vocalists were invited to perform at the White House for a reception for the staff and congressional aides (Clinton administration) and for a political event to welcome First Lady Michelle Obama.
The Graduate Jazz Studies degree offers a choice of two concentrations: Composition and Arranging or Performance.
Composition and Arranging
This concentration prepares students to become composers, vocal and instrumental arrangers, music producers, music directors and vocal and instrumental music contractors. Successful graduates go on to careers in film scoring, arranging and composing for studio recordings and performances with major artists.
Performance
Successful graduates go on to careers in film scoring, arranging and composing for studio recordings, corporate music business, and careers as music directors, vocal and instrumental contractors or music educators in public and private schools and universities.
In addition to the rigors of the curricula in each track of the NCCU Jazz Studies program, students are expected to engage in jazz history and jazz performance research, culminating in a lecture-recital and thesis for graduation.