Arts & Music Education Degree

Majors & Minors
Arts or Music Education

Arts or Music Education

51��Ƶ at Lafayette music education major Katy Meaux sits in front of a piano in an on-campus performance hall

“I’m learning a lot. I already feel like I’m more comfortable in the classroom, and I’m finding my teaching style. I’m very happy that I get full-year student-teaching experience — you get to know the students better, and now they know me, they trust me. They understand that I’m also learning, and they want to help me run the class as best I can.”

Meet music education major Katy Meaux

You should major in arts or music education if:

You love working with kids and expressing your artistic abilities.
The arts were an enormous part of your own education and your life.
You want to help students develop their own fine arts passions.

With a degree in arts or music education, you will be able to inspire students in fine arts classes from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Expand your own artistic abilities and learn the theories behind excellent teaching. You’ll create lesson plans and teach them in local classrooms and camps.

All arts or music education majors choose a concentration, which will be your teaching specialty. Choose from our concentrations:

Art Education
Instrumental Music Education
Vocal Music Education

With this degree, you’ll meet the Louisiana Department of Education requirements for certification to teach kindergarten through 12th grade in your concentration area.

Related Programs

Visual Arts Major

Music Major

Arts or Music Education at UL Lafayette

What's Arts or Music Education Like?

Group work & collaboration
Writing
Student teaching & internships
Performing or exhibiting

for training teachers

UL Lafayette graduates the most certified teachers of any college or university in Louisiana.

Life as an Arts or Music Education Major

A UL Lafayette arts and music education major conducts in front of a classroom during student teaching

Work with Students Your First Semester

The College of Education partners with public and private schools to give you three levels of experience in the classroom. Observe classes, develop lesson plans, lead individual lessons, and teach entire classes through our Teacher Preparation Program.

Hands-On Instruction & Research

You’ll have access to the research centers housed in the College of Education, including the Center for Gifted Education and the Center for Innovative Learning and Assessment Technologies. These centers host camps and conferences where you can work with students, network with professionals, and learn the latest developments in education.

Teacher Residency

In our year-long teacher residency program — part of our Teacher Preparation Program — you will co-teach, co-plan, and co-reflect with a mentor teacher to lead a classroom. This experience will give you the confidence and skills to command your own classroom after graduation.

Student Organizations

Connect with education professionals and other students in our on-campus student organizations and honor societies. Get involved and join the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana, international education honor society Delta Iota chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, and the Louisiana Association of Educators.

Concentrations in Arts or Music Education

Art Education

Our art education program emphasizes strong studio foundations while allowing you to explore your own visual voice. In addition to your personal artistic growth, you will gain experience leading studio instruction through teaching practicums and direct field experiences.

Instrumental Music Education

Our instrumental music education concentration will train you to direct bands and lead orchestras. Learn about conducting, music theory, and other music fundamentals. You’ll also learn how to teach multiple instruments from the brass, string, woodwind, and percussion families.

Teach choir and vocal music with your music education degree from UL Lafayette

Vocal Music Education

Our vocal music education concentration will prepare you to direct choirs and vocal ensembles. Teach students of all ages to become better singers and improve your own singing ability. Gain a core understanding of vocal pedagogy, which will help you train vocalists across the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass ranges.

Arts or Music Education Courses According to Students

Freshman Year Sophomore Year Junior Year Senior Year

EDCI 100: Orientation to Teacher Education

“I loved this class because I was able to set goals for myself and outline my education plan for graduating. We had a project where we made a timeline for ourselves. We wrote down what courses we had to take each year, and we wrote down when to apply for the Teacher Preparation Program and when to take our Praxis certification tests. It felt so great to have a plan down on paper and a goal to work towards.

Bailey Hebert, Secondary Education and Teaching Major

VIAR 216: Teaching Art Education

“We recently completed a lesson plan for the Hilliard Art Museum to use in tandem with some of their online collection. We picked a work of art and created a lesson plan based off of that work of art. It really made you think and it was super cool to learn about local artists in the Hilliard.”

Caroline Stearns, Art Education Major

EDCI 427: Teaching in a Diverse Society

“It just really opens your eyes, not just to racial diversity, but religious diversity — and opening your mind to see other people’s perspectives, which is obviously super important in a classroom where you’re going to have students from different backgrounds.”

Katy Meaux, Vocal Music Education Major

MUS 406: Advanced Choral Conducting

with Dr. William Plummer

“While all of my music education classes were fantastic, Dr. Plummer’s passion truly showed in each of his lectures. I learned incredible amounts of information and how to appreciate different types of music involved in my concentration. I have taken at least one course taught by him every single semester; his classes are a blast, especially days we had lectures and discussions outside.”

Morgan Watts, Vocal Music Education Major

Careers in Arts or Music Education

Eric Gaudet

“One of the things I love is getting students to really enjoy music with the hopes of developing a lifelong love of music — like really getting them excited about the process of making music. It’s exciting to teach them about that world.”

Instrumental Music Education '14

Middle school band teacher

Meet Eric Gaudet

Jobs in Arts or Music Education

Art Teacher
Music Teacher
Choral Conductor
Band Director
Private Art or Music Teacher

Program Requirements

To become an art or music education major, you must meet the 51��Ƶ at Lafayette’s admissions requirements.

Music education majors are also required to audition to be admitted. Your audition requirements depend on your instrument and area. .

To graduate with your degree in art or music education, you must:

Maintain a 2.5 overall GPA and a 2.5 cumulative GPA in all of your major courses
Apply for and complete the Teacher Preparation Program
Pass the Praxis PLT and Praxis content tests

View the full major requirements for each concentration below:

You must apply for and be admitted to the Teacher Preparation Program during the semester you expect to have completed 45 credit hours (typically the first semester during your second year).

To be accepted, you must:

Complete freshman courses with a "C" or better.
Maintain a 2.5 overall cumulative GPA or better.

Before you can begin your year-long Teacher Residency, you must pass the Praxis PLT and the Praxis Art Content or Music Content, depending on your concentration.

Upon completion of the entire program, you will receive certification through the Louisiana Department of Education to teach Art or Music Education Gr K-12.

Resources

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