STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
The multi-billion dollar music and entertainment industry is the eighth largest industry in the United States. It is an exciting, but ever burgeoning and competitive field comprised of a multitude of interrelated jobs that help move music and music related products from artist or manufacturer to consumer鈥攕ongwriters, music publishers, attorneys, artist managers, sound technicians, promoters, recording engineers, distributors, retailers, publicists, and on and on. For years now, the music industry has demanded college-educated and trainable personnel for its entry level positions.
Since 1979, Southern Illinois University Carbondale has offered a music business degree program. The 121-hour liberal arts degree plan consists of university core curriculum, music core curriculum, music business curriculum, business curriculum and electives. Though generalized in its approach, students utilize electives and selected courses to provide focus and to prepare themselves for virtually any aspect of the music industry. A growing number of SIUC music business graduates populates the industry with such firms as Shure Brothers/Evanston, Jam Productions/Chicago, EMG/Santa Rosa, Treasure Isle Recorders/Nashville, The Voice Studio/Nashville, William Morris Agency/New York, Paul Koch Entertainment/Chicago, and Gaylord Entertainment Company/Nashville, among others.
The Music (Business) Specialization aims to prepare students for a career in the Music Industry, primarily in the areas of marketing, management, promotion and/or finance. The diverse curriculum allows for many skill areas to be explored and a student will have the opportunity to investigate one of these areas through elective study, internship, and a senior project.
THERE ARE FOUR MUSIC BUSINESS COURSES:
COMMERCIAL MUSIC:
This class, the cornerstone of the SIUC program, is taught in five intensive sessions in Nashville, Tennessee. Students are bussed to BMI headquarters, where they are afforded the opportunity to meet, listen to and question top-level professionals from throughout the music industry鈥攙aluable future contacts! Commercial Music provides a solid foundation for a student's career and a broad overview of the industry and how it works.
INTERNSHIP/WORK EXPERIENCE:
Every effort is made to help arrange internships for students who want them. Because direct or hands-on experience can be an invaluable learning opportunity, students are encouraged to utilize this course to explore their particular areas of interest, or topics that are not included in the SIUC curriculum.
INTRODUCTION TO RECORDING ENGINEERING AND ADVANCED RECORDING ENGINEERING:
The sequence of recording engineering classes takes a student from ground zero to fairly complex production levels. The courses combine both classroom and studio time to give students the best possible training鈥攁 secure theoretical footing and hands-on experience.
MUSIC BUSINESS SENIOR PROJECT:
This is the capstone course for the Music Business Degree. The details and parameters of each project are established one-on-one with the music business faculty. Like Internship, it is an opportunity to explore a student's particular area of interest.
Additionally, each year, the SIUC Alumni Association offers Externships, which are week-long internships, over the spring break.
The Music Business Association, a student professional organization, was chartered in 1994, and provides many networking opportunities among the music business students at SIUC. Training seminars and service projects are regularly scheduled throughout the academic year.
September 2025
College of Liberal Arts
Southern Illinois University,
CARBONDALE,
Illinois,
62901, United States
Students need to have Transcripts from high school and/or college. At SIU Carbondale, applicants for admission will be eligible for automatic admission if they are on track to complete our course pattern requirements and who meet one of the following criteria: A cumulative high school GPA of 2.75; A ranking in the top 10% of their graduating class.
English Language Requirement: Any one of the following methods will automatically meet the minimum English requirement. Applicants who do not meet the automatic English language admission requirement will undergo a holistic review to determine potential admissibility.
TOEFL (IBT internet-based test) - 68
TOEFL (paper based test) - 520
ITEP - 4.0 (academic plus only)
IELTS - 6.0
2 Face-to-face English composition classes taken in the U.S. at the college level with a grade of A or B
More than 48 college-level credit hours completed at a U.S. institution
If an applicant is from a country whose primary language is English
Graduation from a U.S. high school having spent the final 2 years in the U.S.
Meeting the SAT or ACT requirements for admission of domestic freshmen
Duolingo English Test (accepted during COVID-19 closures)- 95
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.