A music minor is a great option for a student who is passionate about music, performance or conducting, but who chooses to major in another field. Our program aims to broaden, as well as deepen, students' understanding of the art of music and offers a good deal of flexibility, as outlined in the requirements below. In addition, many students at Duke have a serious interest in music and participate in our undergraduate ensembles, studio and classroom instruction, without pursuing either a major or minor.

Requirements – 6 courses

A minor in music allows a student to gain a basic introduction in several areas of music and pursue more advanced work in one or more of those areas. It consists of six total course credits, of which at least three must be at the 100 level or above.

• MUSIC 261 Theory and Practice of Tonal Music I
  • NOTE: MUSIC 161 Introduction to Music Theory, if taken first, may count as an elective toward the minor
• ONE course in music history, selected from the following:
  • MUSIC 255S Music History I: Antiquity through Renaissance
  • MUSIC 256S Music History II: 1600 through Mozart
  • MUSIC 257 Music History III: Beethovan through WWI
  • MUSIC 258 Music History IV: Post-WWI through the Present
• ONE full course credit from among the following:
  • MUSIC 130 World Music: Aesthetic and Anthropological Approaches
  • MUSIC 137 Music, Social life and Scenes
  • MUSIC 140 Introduction to Jazz
  • MUSIC 171 Jazz Improvization I (half credit)
  • MUSIC 172 Jazz Improvization II (half credit)
  • MUSIC 234 Music in East Asia
  • MUSIC 235 Music in South Asia
  • MUSIC 290S-3 Special Topics in Ethnomusicology
  • MUSIC 290S-4 Special Topics in Jazz
  • MUSIC 255S Music History I: Antiquity through 1625
  • MUSIC 256S Music History II: From 1625 through 1800
  • MUSIC 257 Music History III: 1800 through Present
  • MUSIC 361 Theory and Practice of Tonal Music II
• TWO semester courses in performance from among:
  • MUSIC 101-108, 203-213 (excluding 210-3) These courses cover classical or jazz piano, organ, harpsichord, violin, cello, string bass, classical or jazz guitar, harp, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, percussions, djembe, voice, and some ensembles.
  • MUSIC 318 Instrumental Conducting
  • MUSIC 319 Choral Conducting
  • MUSIC 401 Advanced Study in Musical Performance
  • MUSIC 418 Advanced Study in Conducting
• TWO additional full course elective credits in music, one of which must be above 213.

Waiver of Music Minor Requirements

A request for waiver of any requirement for the music major or the music minor, together with supporting documentation where appropriate, should be submitted to the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS).

After reviewing the request, the DUS may decide that the student needs to take a departmental examination in the area before a final decision can be made. Waived courses earn no credit towards the 34-course graduation requirement, nor will grades for them appear on your transcript.)