USC Creates First Pop Music Major in United States

Los Angeles’ University of Southern California just added a new, slightly unorthodox major to its already impressive list of undergraduate study: pop music performance. News reports have labeled the new course of study as being the “first of its kind” from a major university in the United States.

Los Angeles’ University of Southern California just added a new, slightly unorthodox major to its already impressive list of undergraduate study: pop music performance. News reports have labeled the new course of study as being the “first of its kind” from a major university in the United States.

Participants in the pop music program will earn their degree through the already prestigious Thornton School of Music, which formerly offered performance degrees in only classical music or jazz (a famous graduate of this program is Flea, current bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers). The program will be open to both vocalists and instrumentalists interested in every genre from country to r&b.

With the huge commercial success of pop music, administrators at USC decided it was time to keep up with the music industry joneses and create a program that would allow their students to capitalize on the trend.

“We built this program recognizing that the nature of the music business is changing,” associate dean Chris Sampson said. “We’re looking to create a broader number of opportunities for our students to successfully make careers in music. Turning out records that end up making the charts– that’s the top of a broad pyramid. I expect other students might find their way into becoming music directors, arrangers and a variety of different roles.”

The program will begin next year, and will focus not only on pop performance but also on music theory, history, and various aspects of the music business vital to commercial success.