Unique to American University, the Bachelor of Science in Business and Music degree (BAM) is a four-year program designed for students with interests in both music and business. The BAM offers a substantial, exciting and integrated curriculum that prepares students for a career in the for-profit music sector. Students will complete the AACSB accredited core business program and a core music curriculum under the guidance of the NASM accredited music program.

The BAM degree provides students with a strong foundation of theoretical and hands-on coursework. The business core is consistent with the business administration curriculum; the music core develops the fundamental music awareness necessary for skill development and the musical understanding critical for working with talent in the for-profit music industry. Students can use the free electives embedded into the curriculum to enhance their music-related studies such as performance or production, or business-related studies in topics such as management, accounting or marketing. Students will leverage their academic experience in a series of for-credit internships.

University Requirements

• A total of 120 credit hours 
• 6 credit hours of college writing 
• 3 credit hours of college mathematics or the equivalent by examination 

General Education Requirements

• A total of ten courses, consisting of one foundation course and one second-level course in an approved sequence from each of the five curricular areas 
• No more than 6 credit hours may be taken in the same discipline 

Curricular Area 1 should be fulfilled by PERF-110 Understanding Music, and either PERF-205 Greatness of Music or PERF-210 Masterpieces of Music, with grades of C or better (pass/fail grades are not permitted). 

Curricular Area 4 should be fulfilled by ECON-100 Macroeconomics and ECON-200 Microeconomics with grades of C or better (pass/fail grades are not permitted). 

Major Requirements

• A total of 120 credit hours with a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher 

Students must ensure that no more than 66 of the 120 credit hour graduation requirement are taken within the Kogod School of Business.  

IBUS-200 and FIN-200 are considered business courses and may not count toward the non-business course requirement even if they are taken for General Education credit. 

Students must complete 45 of the last 60 credit hours on campus, with a minimum of 15 credit hours of upper-level courses.

• A total of 86 credit hours with grades of C or better for the major requirements 
• 36 credit hours in business with grades of  C or better (pass/fail grades are not permitted) including 33 business core courses and 3 credit hours of career development (KSB-298) and internship (MGMT-391) 
• 36 credit hours in music with grades of C or better (pass/fail grades are not permitted) 
• Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 to be eligible to enroll in business or music courses 
• Students must ensure that no more than 66 credits of their 120 graduation requirement are taken within the Kogod School of Business. 

Course Requirements

Students are responsible for fulfilling university and school requirements following a prescribed sequence. Students work closely with their academic advisor in Kogod and their Music Program faculty advisor in the Department of Performing Arts to ensure appropriate course sequencing. However, it is the student's responsibility to consult course descriptions to identify course prerequisites and when courses are offered. 

General Requirements (14 credit hours)

Students must complete the following courses with a grade of C or better: 

• ECON-100 Macroeconomics (3) 
• ECON-200 Microeconomics (3) 
• MATH-211 Applied Calculus I (4) 

or 

• MATH 221 Calculus I (4) 
• STAT-202 Basic Statistics (4) 

Business Core Courses (36 credit hours)

• ACCT-240 Principles of Financial Accounting (3) 
• ACCT-241 Principles of Managerial Accounting (AT) (3) 
• FIN-365 Business Finance (AT) (3) 
• IBUS-300 Fundamentals of International Business (C/W) (3) 
• ITEC-200 The Edge of Information Technology  (AT) (3) 
• ITEC-355 Production/Operations Management (AT) (3) 
• KSB-100 Business 1.0 (3) (students not taking KSB-100 in their freshman year take a 300- or 400-level course in its place) 
• KSB-200 Basic Career Exploration and Development (1) 
• MGMT-201 Global Corporate Citizenship (O) (3) 
• MGMT-353 Principles of Organizational Theory,  Behavior and Management (T) (3) 
• MGMT-458 Business Policy and Strategy (C/O/T/W) (3) 
• MGMT-391 Internship (2) 
• MKTG-300 Principles of Marketing (W) (3) 

AT = analytical tool emphasis; provides a strong foundation in business analytical software 

C = case analysis emphasis;  provides growth opportunities for students to evaluate cases 

O = oral communication emphasis; assists in the development of oral presentation skills 

T = teamwork emphasis; focuses on teamwork and the importance of interpersonal relationships and communication 

W = written communication emphasis; develops business writing skills, written assignments  account for a significant part of the course grade 

Music Core Requirements (30-33 credit hours) Core Prerequisite: Diagnositic Test or PERF 120 Music Fundamentals

• PERF-124 Harmony I (3) 

• PERF-125 Harmony II (3) 

• PERF-227 Musicianship I (3) 

• PERF-228 Musicianship II (3) 

• PERF-322 History of Music I: From Antiquity to 1700 (3) 

• PERF-323 History of Music II: From 1700 to the  Present  (3) 

• PERF-444 Business and Music Capstone (2) 

• PERF-491 Internship (1) 

• 6 credit hours of approved PERF music courses at the 300 level or above