Degree Requirements

Ways to Study Music at MIT

Whether you just want to take one Music class to satisfy your HASS-A requirement, or you are considering the music concentration, minor, or major, you will feel at home in MIT Music. Our advisors and instructors will help you to find music subjects that best suit your needs and interests—and may even lead you to discover something completely new.

Music is one of MIT’s top two most popular HASS concentrations, second only to Economics. The Music Concentration requires four subjects; students with little or no prior musical experience may start with one or more of our introductory subjects. Students with some musical training are encouraged to begin at whatever level is appropriate to their experience. Concentrators may also expand and deepen their performance experience by taking two semesters of performance ensembles (21M.400-499).

Many students who concentrate in Music find that it only takes a few more classes to complete the Minor in Music. More than forty students are declared Music Minors at a given time. The Music Minor gives students the opportunity to explore the music curriculum in greater depth and breadth.

Between five and fifteen students each year choose to major in Music and receive the degree of Bachelor of Science in Music (Course 21M) or joint major and receive the Bachelor of Science in Humanities and Engineering/Science (Courses 21E and 21S). Many students complete full (dual) majors in Music and another field and receive a degree acknowledging both fields.

Major, Minor + Concentrator Requirements

Click through the following tabs to learn more about the requirements for majoring, minoring, and concentrating in Music and Music Technology at MIT.

Music Major

The undergraduate program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Music comprises a grounding in foundational skills in music History + Culture, Performance, Theory, and a capstone Advanced Seminar. Students interested in pursuing the Music Major should contact the Major Advisor as early as possible, but definitely by the fall of their junior year at MIT.

MIT’s registrar maintains the official requirements for the Course 21M degree on their website.

The current Major Advisor is Emily Richmond Pollock, pollock@mit.edu.

21E/S

These joint degree programs draw from both humanistic and engineering/science studies, providing students with a basic command of each mode of inquiry. One component is selected from the undergraduate degree curriculum of an engineering/science department, which is approved by a faculty member in the field.

The other component consists of subjects in a humanities field, chosen by the student in consultation with an advisor from the appropriate humanities faculty. This unique arrangement yields a humanities program of considerable depth while allowing for continued and serious commitment to an engineering/science interest.

MIT’s registrar maintains the official requirements for Course 21E and Course 21S degrees on their website.

The undergraduate program leading to the degrees of 21E (Humanities and Engineering) or 21S (Humanities and Science) with a focus in music, provides an opportunity to study and combine music with a scientific or engineering field.

For further information, please contact the current Major Advisor, Emily Richmond Pollock, pollock@mit.edu

Music Minor

MIT’s registrar maintains the official requirements for the Music Minor on their website.

The Minor in Music requires six subjects that will give students experience within the three main branches of music: History + Culture, Composition + Theory, and Performance.

Tier I Introduction (0-24 units)
Select up to two subjects from 21M.001-099

Tier II Breadth (36 units)
36 units with 12 units each from the following focus areas:

History + Culture (21M.120, 128, 129, 201-299)
Composition + Theory (21M.301*)
Performance (21M.401-499)

Tier III Specialty (12-36 units)
Select up to 36 additional units from the following focus areas:

History + Culture (21M.120, 128, 129, 201-299)
Composition + Theory (21M.138, 139, 158, 159, 302-399)
Performance (no more than 24 units may count toward Tier III; 21M.401-499)
Advanced Seminar in Music (21M.500)

Total units: 72

*Students who enter with additional training in music theory should take 21M.302 or an upper-level course as a substitute for 301.

For further information, contact the current Minor Advisor, Miguel Zenón, mzenon@mit.edu

Music Technology Minor

MIT’s registrar maintains the official requirements for the Music Technology Minor on their website.

The Minor in Music Technology gives students the opportunity to learn about important techniques and methodologies applied to music using technology, computation, and engineering. Minors take additional subjects to broaden their understanding of music through theory, history/culture, and/or performance.

Music Theory* (12 units)
21M.301

Music Scholarship and Performance (12 units)
Select 12 units from History + Culture (21M.080, 360-399, 470, 21T.223) or Performance (21M.400-499, but not 21M.470)

Music Technology Foundations (24 units)
Select 24 units from Music Technology (21M.080, 360-399, 470, or 21T.223)

Advanced Music Technology** (12 units)
Select 12 units from Music Technology (21M.381-389, currently 383, 385, 387)

Restricted Electives (12 units)
21M.000-599

Total Units: 72

*Students who enter with a background that allows them to place out of Music Theory (21M.301) will instead take 24 units of Music Scholarship and Performance, 12 units from History + Culture, and 12 units from Performance. Students needing preparation for 21M.301 should take 12 units of Fundamentals of Music (21M.051) or 6 units of Accelerated Fundamentals of Music (21M.150) or Introductory Music Theory (21M.151) as part of their Restricted Electives.

** Subjects have prerequisites outside of the minor.

The current Music Technology Minor Advisor is Eran Egozy, egozy@mit.edu.

Please visit the Music Technology at MIT website for more information.

Music Concentration

A Humanities concentration in music requires four subjects. Students with little or no prior musical experience may start with one or more of our introductory subjects:

21M.011: Introduction to Western Music (CI-H)
21M.030: Introduction to Musics of the World (CI-H)
21M.051: Fundamentals of Music
21M.053: Rhythms of the World
21M.065: Introduction to Musical Composition
21M.080: Introduction to Music Technology

Students with some musical training are encouraged to begin at whatever level is appropriate to their experience. Students may expand and deepen their performance experience by taking two semesters of two different music ensembles. Students who choose to take three semesters of performance ensembles (two of one ensemble and one of a different ensemble) can also “match” the odd term with another half-term or six-unit subject from the curriculum. See the Music Subjects section of the Bulletin for further information on these intermediate and advanced subjects.

HASS Requirement and Communication Intensive HASS (CI-H) Subjects

Most 9- or 12-unit Music subjects can be counted towards the Distribution Component of the HASS Requirement as HASS Arts subjects. Two 6-unit performance subjects can also be combined to count towards the HASS Arts requirement. The following classes fulfill the Communication Requirement as CI-H subjects:

21M.011: Introduction to Western Music (HASS Arts) (CI-H)
21M.030: Introduction to Musics of the World (HASS Arts) (CI-H)

The seminar joint listed with Music, 21M.223J, also fulfills both a music concentration and CI-H requirement.

Please contact your advisor (based off surname) below to schedule a meeting before filling out your concentration proposal.

The Concentration Advisors for Fall 2026 are:

Pascal Le Boeuf, leboeuf@mit.edu (Last name: A-H)

Jean Rife, jeanrife@mit.edu (Last name: I-P)

Ian Hattwick, hattwick@mit.edu (Last name: Q-Z)

The Concentration Advisors for Spring 2027 are:

Teresa Neff, tneff@mit.edu (Last name: A-H)

Jean Rife, jeanrife@mit.edu (Last name: I-P)

Ian Hattwick, hattwick@mit.edu (Last name: Q-Z)