Category: Program

UNC-Asheville students playing jazz at Isis. Photo by Matt Rose

Music – Jazz and Contemporary

Who We Are

At UNC Asheville’s Music Department, the classical co-exists with the contemporary. We explore the many connections and interactions between music and all facets of human life through instruction and performance. Students learn in cutting-edge classrooms at the only university where music pioneer Bob Moog – inventor of the Moog Synthesizer – ever taught. In addition to being dedicated teachers, our faculty are active musicians who enrich Asheville’s thriving music scene and the cultural life of our campus.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program in Jazz and Contemporary Music is intended for students wishing to pursue careers as singers, instrumentalists, composers and arrangers. These students also make up the various jazz, funk, blues, rock, R&B, fusion, and world ensembles as well as a wide range of vocal groups.

What You’ll Learn

All students must pass an instrumental or vocal audition to be accepted into a music degree program. Our highly selective music technology program combines music, engineering, math, computer science, music business, and electronics to teach students how to professionally mix and record music, while our jazz and contemporary music performance program is ideal for those pursuing careers as singers, instrumentalists, composers, and arrangers. Our Bachelor of Arts degree merges music analytical training with history, anthropology, natural sciences, and philosophy to prepare students for a range of careers or graduate studies. The University Singers, one of several student ensembles, have performed at the White House, while many graduates have found dream jobs working with top artists like R.E.M. and Alison Krauss.

Auditions for Prospective Music Majors

All prospective music majors are required to audition. Please visit our Auditions page for upcoming auditions and more information.

Auditions

 

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Two students playing on musical instruments.

Music

Who We Are

At UNC Asheville’s Music Department, the classical co-exists with the contemporary. We explore the many connections and interactions between music and all facets of human life through instruction and performance. Students learn in cutting-edge classrooms at the only university where music pioneer Bob Moog – inventor of the Moog Synthesizer – ever taught. In addition to being dedicated teachers, our faculty are active musicians who enrich Asheville’s thriving music scene and the cultural life of our campus.

What You’ll Learn

Students wishing admittance to the B.F.A. in Jazz and Contemporary Music or B.S. in Music Technology degree programs must pass an instrumental or vocal audition. An audition is not required for admission to the B.A. in Music degree.

Our highly selective music technology program combines music, engineering, math, computer science, music business, and electronics to teach students how to professionally mix and record music, while our jazz and contemporary music performance program is ideal for those pursuing careers as singers, instrumentalists, composers, and arrangers. Our Bachelor of Arts degree merges music analytical training with history, anthropology, natural sciences, and philosophy to prepare students for a range of careers or graduate studies.

The University Singers, one of several student ensembles, have performed at the White House, while many graduates have found dream jobs working with top artists like R.E.M. and Alison Krauss.

Auditions for Prospective Music Majors

All prospective music majors are required to audition. Please visit our Auditions page for upcoming auditions and more information.

Learn More

 

Two UNC Asheville students looking at art in the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery.

Art History

Art & Art History – Who We Are

With a 16-member faculty of acclaimed artists and scholars and a location in the thriving arts scene of Asheville, our small, supportive department of Art and Art History encourages imagination, experimentation, and freedom of thought.

What You’ll Learn

You’ll start by building a foundation of writing skills in art history. Through critiques, you’ll receive valuable feedback on your work from faculty and classmates, and in your senior year, you’ll produce a major research paper. Internships at local museums and galleries allow you to explore career options and acquire professional experience.

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Visit art.unca.edu for departmental news and updates.

Chinese class

Interdisciplinary Studies

Who We Are

Our world is more connected now than it’s ever been, and UNC Asheville’s Interdisciplinary Studies Program seeks to understand and explain the challenging issues and questions confronting us today in our globalized world. To understand the complex mix of cultural, economic, and political forces that shape our worldwide community, interdisciplinary studies majors can design their own curriculum with courses from political science, economics, mass communication, philosophy, and more.

What You’ll Learn

Through each major and minor concentration, interdisciplinary studies students learn how to solve problems facing contemporary societies on local and global levels, preparing them for careers in government, business, law, humanitarian organizations, journalism, the arts, teaching, and more. Hands-on learning is a highlight of our program, and students can delve into a topic they’re passionate about through undergraduate research and study abroad.

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A professor lecturing about the limbic system with a model of a spine in front of him.

Neuroscience

Neuroscience is an academic discipline which seeks to understand how neural systems give rise to thought and behavior.

Study of neuroscience at UNC Asheville embodies the liberal arts experience since it draws on techniques and findings from several academic fields including biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and psychology.

The neuroscience minor at UNC Asheville exposes students to this breadth by requiring a certain number of upper-level courses for the minor to be completed in departments outside of the student’s home major. Many students find a neuroscience minor relevant preparation for medical or graduate programs.

The minor entails at least 21 hours, including Biology 136, Chemistry 111 and 132, Neuroscience 216 (cross-listed as Psychology 216), and one hour from Neuroscience 480. Of the nine elective hours, at least six must be from the 300 level and above, and be outside of the student’s major.

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A close-up of a student taking notes while a professor lectures in the background.

Legal Studies

UNC Asheville’s legal studies minor helps students to understand the nature of law and its role and functions from different disciplinary perspectives.

As part of the minor, students take courses that look at law through the lenses of philosophy, psychology and sociology, while also examining the nature of case law through courses in Constitutional Law or Individual Rights and Civil Liberties.

A minimum of 18 hours are required for the legal studies minor. Courses must be selected from at least three different disciplines with no more than nine hours coming from any one discipline. While students interested in a legal career will naturally be interested in this minor, students should understand that the minor is not intended as a pre-law program or as a preparation for law school.

If you are interested in a pre-law course of study instead of the Legal Studies minor, please contact the Pre-Law Program Coordinator.

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Students working on the telescopes at UNC Asheville's Lookout Observatory.

Astronomy

UNC Asheville’s astronomy minor opens this exciting field of study to both physics students and those majoring in other disciplines.

In addition to their astronomy classroom study, students make use of the university’s Lookout Observatory for research and observation. Some astronomy students become employed as Lookout Observatory docents, lead tours and observation sessions.

Students also can become involved in astronomical research by Physics Department faculty who have ongoing observational and archival programs using the Hubble Space Telescope.

The astronomy minor entails 18 semester hours of astronomy courses including Astronomy Lab, Observational Astronomy, and elective courses like Indigenous Perspectives on the Sky, Astrophysics, and Black Holes and Cosmology.

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A group of students in traditional clothing standing in front of a building with Moroccan architechture.

International Studies

Think Globally

UNC Asheville’s International Studies Program provides students with a deeper knowledge of and appreciation for the diverse cultures, economies and politics of the world. International studies attracts students seeking careers in a number of fields, such as government, business, environmental studies, law, journalism and teaching. It provides an excellent background for those interested in working for government agencies, non-governmental organizations such as the United Nations, and private voluntary and humanitarian organizations.

What You’ll Learn

International studies at UNC Asheville emphasizes global awareness and global citizenship as essential aspects of a liberal arts education. Students select from many courses and disciplines and engage in undergraduate research and scholarship, as well as in service learning both locally and internationally.

This interdisciplinary approach is designed to provide students with a broad range of ideas and intellectual skills to analyze and respond to the diverse and complex mix of cultural, economic, and political forces that shape the global community. The International Studies Program provides students with an interdisciplinary understanding of changing dynamics and forces that transcend national and regional boundaries.

Concentration

Students can seek a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in International Studies. Requirements include introductory courses such as Intro to Africana Studies or Principles of International Relations, and related coursework chosen from classes such as Intermediate Chinese I, International Law, Environmental Ethics, and Gender and Development in South Asia.

Minor

The minor in International Studies allows students to pursue a self-designed interdisciplinary and comparative study of world affairs. Requirements include courses in a modern foreign language, introductory courses in cultural anthropology, economic globalization, world civilizations and principles of international relations.
 

Students watching a professor write on the chalkboard.

Human Rights Studies

UNC Asheville’s Human Rights Studies minor was created to provide a course of study fostering critical and creative thinking, and comprehensive knowledge about human rights locally, nationally, and internationally. The Human Rights Studies program is administered by the Political Science department and draws content, methods and skills from across the disciplines.

The program highlights the philosophical and political tensions inherent in human rights discourse and action, and also promotes unique student opportunities for undergraduate research and engaged scholarship in human rights, helpful to careers in areas such as public policy and administration, education, human services, humanitarian aid, business, journalism, law, criminal justice and law enforcement.

Coursework in Political Science, Anthropology, Sociology, Economics, History, Literature, Philosophy, and a variety of interdisciplinary programs is incorporated to help elucidate and explain how various human rights concepts have emerged, evolved, been codified and implemented (often selectively and incompletely).

The Human Rights Studies minor requires a minimum of 18 semester hours including one course from HRST 201, INTS 214, PHIL 214 or POLS 388. The additional courses should be chosen from applicable courses in a wide variety of disciplines with the approval of the program director. No more than three courses can come from any one discipline, and no more than two courses can be used from the student’s major or other minors. Students are encouraged to include a human rights-related undergraduate research project, community-engaged scholarship project, internship, and/or study abroad experience, approved by the director of the Human Rights Studies minor, as part of their program of study.

Chinese class

Asian Studies

Students can minor in Asian Studies as part of UNC Asheville’s Interdisciplinary Studies Program. The minor combines courses in different disciplines that have a substantial Asian focus.

Students must complete at least 18 hours for the minor chosen from at least three disciplines. Appropriate courses may be substituted with the approval of Associate Professor of Chinese Studies and Language Jinhua Li, director of the Asian Studies Program.

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In this video, International Studies Lecturer Jinhua Li talks about her classes in Chinese Studies and how well Asheville and China go together.