Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Conducting
Advance your skills as a music leader with UWG’s Certificate in Conducting. This flexible, 100% online program is designed for music educators and professionals seeking advanced training in ensemble conducting without stepping away from their current roles. Led by expert UWG faculty, the certificate offers practical, immediately applicable instruction, and credits may count toward a future master’s degree. Expand your conducting expertise, leadership capacity, and professional opportunities with an affordable and accessible program built for working musicians.
A program sheet, which provides a required coursework sequence, is available for download in the Courses tab below.
The Certificate in Conducting offers an innovative, online pathway for music professionals seeking advanced training in ensemble conducting. This 9-credit, post-baccalaureate certificate admits a competitive summer cohort (annually rotating choral and instrumental specialties) and can be completed in as little as 12 months, with credits applicable toward a future master’s degree. The program begins with a fully online summer conducting seminar focused on conducting skills and movement theory, followed by a fully online music literature seminar during the academic year and online individualized applied conducting lessons with expert UWG faculty. Designed for working educators and conductors, the certificate allows students to apply learning directly to ensembles they lead. With flexible scheduling, expert instruction, and an affordable tuition structure, the Certificate in Conducting provides an accessible and high-quality opportunity for continued professional growth and leadership in music education.
Program Location
Online
Method of Delivery
Fully Online
Accreditation
The University of West Georgia is accredited by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
Credit and transfer
Total semester hours required: 9
Graduate students may be able to reduce their cost through prior learning, previous degrees earned at UWG, or transfer credits. We have created a tool to help students estimate their tuition costs.
This program is offered entirely online. Though a student may choose to sign-up for a face-to-face elective or core course, one can earn this degree completely online.
Save money
UWG is often ranked as one of the most affordable accredited university of its kind, regardless of the method of delivery chosen. In addition, online courses and programs can mean a huge cost-savings in many non-evident ways: No more high gas charges. No childcare needed. The flexibility can allow one to maintain a job while attending school. Regardless of state residency, out-of-state non-resident students are not charged non-resident tuition for online course credit hours.
Details
- Total tuition costs and fees may vary, depending on the instructional method of the courses in which the student chooses to enroll.
- The more courses a student takes in a single term, the more they will typically save in fees and total cost.
- Face-to-Face or partially online courses are charged at the general tuition rate and all mandatory campus fees, based on the student's residency (non-residents are charged at a higher rate).
- Fully or entirely online course tuition rates and fees my vary depending on the program. Students enrolled in exclusively online courses do not pay non-Resident rates.
- Together this means that GA residents pay about the same if they take all face-to-face or partially online courses as they do if they take only fully online courses exclusively; while non-residents save money by taking fully online courses.
- One word of caution: If a student takes a combination of face-to-face and online courses in a single term, they will pay both all mandatory campus fees and the higher eTuition rate.
- For the cost information, as well as payment deadlines, see the Student Accounts and Billing Services website
There are a variety of financial assistance options for students, including scholarships and work study programs. Visit the Office of Financial Aid's website for more information.
Coursework
The low-residency hybrid summer Conducting Seminar (3 credit hours), a pre-requisite for enrollment in Applied Conducting, will focus on conducting skills relevant to working with instrumentalists, while embracing movement theory relevant to all conductors. Following the conducting seminar will be a 100% online music literature seminar in the fall (3 credit hours), starting with wind band literature and alternating with choral literature in subsequent years. This literature seminar, designed for students to apply their knowledge to the educational or professional ensembles they are currently leading, will allow students to extend the summer experience into real-time tangible academic year professional interactions. After success in the summer conducting seminar with the grade of a B or higher, students will also be approved to take 100% online applied lessons in conducting (3 credit hours), which they will register for with a member of the expert UWG conducting faculty either in the fall or spring. For the student who enters with their respective (instrumental or choral) summer cohort, completing all three courses in sequence offers integrated and iterative learning within a 12-month period. Students also have the opportunity to start off cohort and finish within 18 months.
Downloads
General
In-depth study of selected topics in music history and literature ranging from studies on specific style periods to studies of individual composers or genres.
In-depth study of musical elements (eg: pitch, duration, texture, timbre, form, and intensity) and their interaction with works of all styles. Includes visual and aural analytical studies on the music of various composers.
Focus on important and timely topics in conducting through hands-on activities, application of score study, and articulation of a personal-professional philosophy of conducting. May be repeated with a change of subject matter.
This class engages the history of the Wind Band specifically through repertoire, genres, and instrumentation.
An overview of choral literature from four periods of music history: Medieval/Renaissance, Baroque, Classical/Romantic, and Post 1900. Course content will include the characteristics and performance practices of choral music from each period.
Private lessons for graduate music students on conducting. Lessons include studies in technical, stylistic, and aesthetic elements of artistic performance. Repertory studied is from the standard literature. Course is repeatable. Pre requisite: MUSC 6300 with a grade of a B or higher.
Josh Byrd, D.M.A.
Professor of Music & Director of Bands
Elizabeth Kramer, Ph.D.
Professor of Music & Program Coordinator of Music Graduate StudiesGuidelines for Admittance
- All graduate applicants must complete the online Graduate Application. A current application fee of $55 is required.
- Applicants should also review the Graduate Studies Website for individual program specific requirements and tasks that must be completed prior to admission. See Graduate Studies Application Process.
- International applicants are subject to additional requirements and application deadlines. See Procedures for International Students.
- Official transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended are required and should be sent directly to the UWG Graduate Admissions Office.
Program Specific Admittance Guidelines
- Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree in music or the equivalent.
- Submit official transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended.
- An undergraduate GPA of 2.5 or higher is required.
- Personal statement of no fewer than 200 words discussing the applicant’s goals for musical leadership through conducting.
Application Deadlines
Specific Graduate Admissions Deadlines are available via the Graduate School
Admission Process Checklist
The Graduate Studies Application Process checklist is available here
Contact
Graduate Admissions
graduate@westga.edu
678-839-1393
School of Visual and Performing Arts
Dr. Elizabeth Kramer
ekramer@westga.edu
Specific Graduate Admissions Deadlines are available via the Graduate School
- Demonstrate professional competence in contextualization, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of musical scores suitable for ensemble performance.
- Demonstrate advanced understanding and capabilities of oral feedback and intentional movements to advance musical and educational ensemble experiences.