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Assessment and Policy Studies

Resources for Local Considerations of Music and Music Education Degrees

NASM encourages local considerations of undergraduate curricula and of music teacher preparation curricula at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Members of the Association have discussed and considered local reviews at recent Annual Meetings. Discussions will continue at future meetings and in institutions across the country. Provided herein is a “tool kit” of documents focused on these issues and intended to assist discussion and decision-making at the local, campus level.  Read more and/or download these resources by clicking on the subheading at left, or the title above.

Question Sets

The Question Sets address issues of curricula and related institutional/departmental plans of action for change. The Question Sets are organized by program type: professional degree, liberal arts, and teacher education.

Sample Patterns

The Sample Patterns present examples of degree patterns for music education programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The documents are intended to help facilitate discussions about possible patterns. These patterns represent only a handful of those in existence today or those that will be created by institutions in the future. These documents are in no way related to the accreditation function of NASM; they are advisory only, meant to encourage creativity within individual institutions. However, all patterns enable the development of programs that can meet NASM accreditation standards. Please note: These documents are not accreditation documents. They are intended to open a conversation among local faculties and administrators about music education programs and curricula. The models contained within these documents represent only a few of the many possible patterns. They are concepts, not blueprints.