School of Theatre and Music

The School of Theatre and Music provides innovative, rigorous, and comprehensive academic and performance programs as part of our diverse, urban context. 

We offer the following undergraduate degree programs: 

BA Music, BM Music Performance, BM Jazz Studies, BA Music Business

BFA Acting, BA Theatre and Performance, and BA Theatre Design, Production and Technology.

Our Music curriculum provides a thorough grounding in theory, history and literature, ear-training, piano skills, and ethnomusicology. Music students participate in performance ensembles including Choirs, Jazz Ensembles, Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, University Band, and a number of chamber music groups. Music students receive weekly private coaching with a faculty mentor. 

Our Theatre curriculum emphasizes a balance between practice and theory, with courses in acting, movement, voice, script analysis, directing, writing, adaptation of literature for the stage, devising, design, technical theatre, and stage management, as well as history, contemporary performance techniques, and performance ethnography. Students enjoy individual attention in small classes, and the opportunity to work on up to four mainstage productions, as well as a number of student productions, each year. 

We have nine music ensembles open to non-majors for credit (or simply for fun!). They perform a huge variety of repertoire, from established classics to world premieres, all over Chicago.

Every year, we present four mainstage theatre productions and more than 50 concerts. These productions take place in our black box theater, that seats up to 250 people. We also have a smaller black box theater, as well as a costume and scene shop downstairs. There is a large ensemble room where our students practice and play with professional musicians, as well as a smaller recital hall.

Students are required to audition for all of our degree programs offered in the School of Theatre and Music. To learn more about how you can participate in the performing arts, please go to theatreandmusic.uic.edu.