What makes Millikin's Music Education program distinctive?

Active
Music education majors at Millikin are actively engaged in teaching experiences throughout the program. Whether in lab ensembles, with local school and prep department organizations, or at our practicum sites, students are constantly applying what they learn in their classes to realistic educational settings, often with area school children. By the time our students are ready to student teach they have gained at least 100 hours of actual teaching experience. We believe that one can only learn to be an effective educator through active teaching opportunities.

Musical Music education majors are challenged to develop their full musical potential through individual study, small and large ensembles, and rigorous aural skills training. They receive regular private lessons and present a senior recital on their instrument or voice. Music Education majors are eligible for any of the performing opportunities available to other music students. We believe that future music teachers should be able to model musical excellence in their teaching.

Personal
Millikin has three full-time music education specialists, each with a different area of expertise — choral, instrumental, and general music. Students are able to gain a high level of professional knowledge in classes focused on their area of interest. Class sizes are kept small, often 10-15 students, and all classes are taught by Millikin faculty members. This degree of personal attention allows students a chance to learn from our faculty's extensive experience in music education.

Innovative Millikin students learn about the latest developments in music education and work with the most current teaching materials available. Millikin faculty are actively engaged in research, writing, and composition and are well known for their innovative methods of teaching. In addition, our state of the art computer lab provides students an opportunity to use cutting edge music technology. Students compose music on the computer, create their own web-sites, and use the latest instructional software designed for music classes.