Apr 16, 2024  
2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

5 Year Combined Degree Program in Music Industry (BSM/MBA)


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5 Year B.S.M./M.B.A Combined Degree Program in Music Industry
Department of Music
College of Visual and Performing Arts

Music Center 144 ~ 260-481-6714

School of Music


This innovative program combines an undergraduate major with a graduate MBA emphasizing the structure of the music industry, with particular emphasis in entrepreneurship, marketing, management, and operation within the rapidly changing, multi-billion dollar music and entertainment industry. Business practices, copyright/ownership, contracts, and many other issues pertaining to popular music will be investigated, along with media production, technology, musical study, and study of musical styles and histories. Music Industry students may take a number of more general music courses, which may include applied study (lessons), participation in ensembles, and courses in other areas offered by the School of Music. This program will prepare students for a variety of careers in music and its allied industries. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the university-run record label, publishing company, as well as production and promotion of live music concerts and events. This major will maximize a strong partnership with Sweetwater, a world leader in music technology, professional audio, and instruments. The Sweetwater Music Center, an excellent new facility located on the Sweetwater campus, is the home for many of the classes in this program.


Student learning outcomes:

  • Students will demonstrate knowledge of popular music styles with an understanding of the social, political and cultural impacts that shaped musical development.
  • Students will demonstrate proficiency in utilizing appropriate technology to notate and create music, to investigate and report scholarly research, and to support the specific demands of their professional degrees.
  • Students will demonstrate an understanding of the legal problems and issues associated with the music industry, including case studies, modern/emerging business models and music licensing.
  • Students will apply working knowledge of music event production and the functions and operation of the music publishing industry. Students will demonstrate an understanding of marketing products in the music industry including online, distribution, advertising and promotion.
  • Students will demonstrate practices, and techniques for self-marketing and promoting the “independent” musical artist or group in order to succeed in the current music industry.

Program Description:

Enter the amazing and vast world of music industry, with particular emphasis in entrepreneurship, marketing, management, and operation within this rapidly changing, multi-billion dollar career field. You will explore business practices, copyright/ownership, contracts, and many other issues pertaining to popular music, along with media production, technology, musical study, and study of musical styles and histories. This degree will allow you to create a program of music courses, which may include applied study (lessons), participation in ensembles, and courses in other areas offered by the School of Music. Your minor in business studies from the Doermer School of Business will serve as the starting point for the MBA program.

This five-year combined undergraduate+MBA program will prepare you for a variety of careers in music and the allied industries, as you participate in the university-run record label, publishing company, along with the production and promotion of live music concerts and events. You will greatly benefit from our strong partnership with Fort Wayne’s Sweetwater Sound Inc., a world leader in music technology, professional audio, and instruments. The Sweetwater Music Center, an excellent new facility located on the Sweetwater campus, will be the home for many of the classes in this program as you enter the professional world of music.

Music Industry Combined BSM/MBA degree students are expected to own a computer-based digital audio workstation that is compatible with the School of Music high-end system, and that will allow students to work in their own space on their own time. The Director of Music Industry shall maintain the list of current equipment and capability Music Industry Combined BSM/MBA degree students are expected to own. Since such equipment is considered to be “tools of the trade”, this equipment expenditure can be included in Financial Aid loan calculations.

Accreditation:

  • Purdue University Fort Wayne School of Music is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music and the American Music Therapy Association.
  • The Doermer School of Business and the MBA programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-International or AACSB.

Program Delivery:

This major is offered on campus.  Courses may be offered in one of three formats: face-to-face, hybrid, or online.

General Requirements:

Degree Requirements

General Education Requirements

Overlapping Content

Academic Regulations

 

Program Requirements


A student may elect the Pass/Not-Pass grading option for non-degree elective courses only. The Pass/Not-Pass grading option is not available for General Education or any electives required for the major.

General Education Requirements: Credits 33


  • Category A3 Quantitative Reasoning Credits 3 MA 14000 Practical Quantitative Reasoning
    • Or other approved A3 course that meets the prerequisite for ECON 20101 Introduction To Microeconomics
  • Category B4: Scientific Ways of Knowing Credits 3
    • PHYS 10500 - Sound and Music Cr. 3.
  • Category B6: Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing Credits 6
    • OLS 26800 Elements of Law may not be taken
  • Category B6: Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing Credits 6
    • MUSC 10500 Soundscapes: Musical Traditions Of The World Cr. 3.
    • MUSC 10101 - Music for the Listener Cr. 3.

Music Electives: Credits 18


Choose from:

  • any MUSC course.
  • you can also use BUS 20002 in this category, if applicable.

Media Production: Credits 9


Business Studies: Credits 18


Business Studies Minor  is required with this major, with specific course requirements below.

BUS 20002 - Computer Literacy Concepts For Business  is a prerequisite course for BUS 20101.  Students may try to test out of BUS 20002 and if successful would take one additional Music Elective course.

Grade Requirements


  • Acceptance into the combined program is conditional upon admission to the PFW Graduate MBA Program. It is required that an Undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 be met for admission and then maintained while enrolled in the combined program.
  • Students in the 5 Year BSM/MBA Combined degree program must complete each required music course with a grade of C- or better and with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher for all required music courses. Two unsuccessful attempts to attain a grade of C- or better in the same required music course will result in dismissal from the School of Music.
  • A student may elect the Pass/Not-Pass grading option for non-degree elective courses only. The Pass/Not-Pass grading option is not available to General Education or any electives required for the major.
  • Exceptions to academic policies require a written request to the music faculty in consultation with the student’s advisor.

Total BSM Credits: 120


Student Responsibility


You are responsible for ensuring that you satisfy all graduation requirements specified for each selected program.  Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies, and procedures governing your academic career.  If you cannot complete all program requirements by your stated graduation date but fail to remove those from your plan of study, the Registrar’s Office in consultation with your academic advisor will remove unmet pursuits from your plan of study. Changing curricular records during the graduation term of application may affect state or federal financial aid awards. All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean. 

Overview of MBA program


Information about MBA programs can be found at: https://www.pfw.edu/business/master-business-administration

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is designed to prepare qualified students and working professionals for positions of responsibility as managers and leaders who are capable of making effective and ethical business decisions in an ever-changing global environment. Upon completion of the MBA degree, students will:

  • Conduct innovative problem solving
  • Transcend functional boundaries
  • Make complex, short-term decisions
  • Engage in strategic decision making
  • Solve managerial problems
  • Utilize information technology effectively
  • Build organizational environments
  • Develop a sense of professional and social responsibility 

The Doermer School of Business and the MBA programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-International or AACSB. It is the longest serving global association dedicated to advancing management education worldwide. It provides internationally-recognized, specialized accreditation for business and accounting programs at the bachelor, master, and doctoral levels. Currently, it accredits 740 of the best business schools across 50 countries and territories; that is less than 10 percent of the world’s business schools. The Doermer School of Business at Purdue University Fort Wayne is the only AACSB accredited business school in Northeast Indiana.

The faculty who teach in the graduate program have earned graduate degrees from a broad range of distinguished universities and bring a wealth of experience through their scholarly research and consulting in the business community.

Admission to 5 Year BSM/MBA Combined Degree Program


Admission Requirements:

  • Students must be enrolled in the BSM Music Industry program in the School of Music at PFW and have not yet received the BSM degree in Music Industry.
  • Students must have finished at least 60 credit hours
  • Students must have achieved an undergraduate cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 at the time of application.
  • Students must have completed BUS 20100 Financial Accounting, BUS 20101 The Computer in Business and ECON 20101 - Principles of Microeconomics
  • No Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) score is required for admission.
  • Eligible students need to consult with their academic advisor and Director of the MBA Program.

Application Process:

The process for admission to the combined BSM/MBA program is as follows:

  1. Students also need to submit the Purdue Graduate School Admission Application (https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/admissions) for admission to the Master of Business Administration Program (MBA) at Purdue Fort Wayne.
  2. Students need to update their Undergraduate Plan of Study accordingly.

Degree Requirements:

The degree requirements of the combined BSM/MBA program are the same as for students pursuing the degrees separately, except that twelve credits of approved graduate-level MBA courses can be used for both degrees.

  1. Students can count up to twelve (12) credit hours (BUS 50000+) as minor courses for the BSM degree and also as courses for the MBA degree. 
  2. The BSM degree must be awarded prior to the MBA degree. The student’s primary degree objective will remain the BSM until the BSM is awarded. After satisfactory completion of the BSM degree requirements, the undergraduate degree will be awarded. For the BSM degree requirements, refer to the program page for Music Industry, BSM: https://catalog.pfw.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=60&poid=15166&returnto=3114
  3. The MBA will be the student’s secondary degree objective from the time the student is accepted as an MBA student by the Graduate School until the award of the BSM.
  4. For the MBA degree, students must complete a total of 37 credit hours as described in the current program page for Master of Business Administration (MBA). 

Master of Business Administration Courses: Credits 25


  • BUS 50200 Basic Finance Cr. 1.
  • BUS 52400 Decision Making and Economic Environment in a Global Economy Cr. 3.
  • BUS 54001 Data Analysis and Management Science Cr. 0. (in UG Business Studies minor)
  • BUS 54200 Strategic Cost Management Cr. 3.
  • BUS 54201 Financial Analysis and Decision Making Cr. 3.
  • BUS 54202 Leadership and Management of People in Organizations Cr. 3
  • BUS 55200 Management of Information Tech Cr. 0. (in UG Business Studies minor)
  • BUS 56000 Marketing and Cons. Rel. Management Cr. 0. (in UG Business Studies minor)
  • BUS 57000 Operations and Supply Chain Management Cr. 3.
  • BUS 59000 Strategic Management Capstone Cr. 3.
  • BUS 60001 Experiential Learning - Internship Cr. 0. (in UG Music Industry major)

Concentrations/General Track (Cr. 6.)

  • BUS 57500 Topics in Finance Cr. 3.
  • BUS 58900 Topics in Law Cr. 3.
  • BUS 57501 Topics in Operations Management Cr. 3
  • Other Approved MBA graduate elective courses Cr. 3

Total MBA Credits: 25 (37)


Total BSM/MBA Combined Degree Credits: 145


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