University of North Texas College of Music

University of North Texas College of Music
Winspear Auditorium, Murchison Performing Arts Center, University of North Texas College of Music (photo by Craig D. Blackmon, FAIA, courtesy of Holzman Moss Architecture)
Information
Type	Public
Established	1890
Dean	John W. Richmond
Enrollment	1,510 (2015–16)
Campus	Suburban
Website	music.unt.edu

The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, Texas, United States, is a comprehensive music school among the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. It developed one of the first jazz studies programs in the nation, and it remains one of the top schools for Jazz. As one of thirteen colleges and schools at the University of North Texas, it has been among the largest music institutions of higher learning in North America since the 1940s. North Texas has been a member of the National Association of Schools of Music for 78 years. Since the 1970s, approximately one-third of all North Texas music students have been enrolled at the graduate level. Music at North Texas dates back to the founding of the university in 1890 when Eliza Jane McKissack, its founding director, structured it as a conservatory.

The College of Music is a comprehensive institution of international rank. Its heritage dates back one hundred and twenty-six years, when North Texas was founded. The college has one of the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, of which it has been a member for 78 years. It has been among the largest music institutions of higher learning in North America since the 1940s. The college awards bachelor of music, master of music, doctor of philosophy, and doctor of musical arts degrees and non-degree graduate artist certificates. Concentrations include performance, music composition, music education, music history, music theory, and jazz studies. Its size, its array of disciplines organized across eight academic divisions, its six research centers, its six major ensemble areas that produce over 70 ensembles, and the number of degrees offered — from bachelor's degrees to doctorates to artist certificates — allows the college the achieve the type of critical mass to be highly comprehensive (wide and deep) and prolific in academics, research, and performance, from big to small to standard to experimental to esoteric.