(Kenneth Liske) Music Education Program Coordinator

Teaching music offers a richly fulfilling career in a field with great need, and the importance of arts education in the lives of children and youth has seldom been as well recognized as it is today. UW Oshkosh has a heritage of preparing successful teachers who make a difference in the communities they serve. Contact us to schedule a visit or to learn how you can join us!

Students study in their major performing area with skilled faculty instructors in applied music, they choose from a wide range of large and small performing ensembles, and they are enriched though a remarkable annual schedule of resident and visiting performing artists. They receive core music instruction and select from a variety of required and elective course options. Specialized professional coursework and school-based field experiences give students a broad foundation upon which to build a vibrant teaching career. Special opportunities include international, urban/tribal, and out-of-state field placements and internships. Field work is supervised by university faculty members and a network of cooperating teachers with extensive teaching experience and a strong commitment to student success. As students, music education majors regularly fulfill leadership roles in school and community music-making, including working as teaching assistants in area schools, teaching music in early childhood care centers and youth centers, directing church music, summer music camps, and leading special groups such as the VSA Arts Choir. At UW Oshkosh, a complete curriculum prepares music educators in areas of professional knowledge, skill, and musicianship, within the framework of a rewarding liberal arts education. Bachelor of Music Education graduates are licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to teach PK-12 (EC-AD) choral, instrumental, and/or general music. All music education students complete the requirements for the general music license in complement to the instrumental or choral music license. This offers full preparation for a successful teaching career encompassing many developmental levels and teaching areas. Additionally, this places graduates in a strong position as job seekers since school hiring preferences favor music teacher candidates with multiple licenses and specialty areas.

Graduates from UW Oshkosh are highly regarded in the teaching profession. The Professional Education Program in the UW Oshkosh College of Education and Human Services is among the largest and most progressive in the state, with thousands of graduates teaching worldwide. First job profiles for music education graduates include a wide range of teaching configurations in early childhood,elementary, middle, and secondary school music settings. Many successful graduates have gone on to earn advanced degrees, serve in state and national leadership roles, and contribute as authors, composers, and teacher educators. Recent music education graduates are employed across the state and nation, including schools in Amherst, Appleton, Beloit, Bowler, Boyceville, Brillion, Campbellsport, Cedar Grove-Belgium, Florence, Fond du Lac, Goodman-Armstrong Creek, Green Bay, Janesville, Kaukauna, Kewaunee, Kimberly, La Farge, Madison, Milford, Omro, Oshkosh, Palmyra-Eagle, Pewaukee, Pulaski, Shiocton, Sun Prairie, Trevor-Wilmot, Shawano, Sheboygan, Slinger, Stoughton, Racine, Waterford, Wautoma, Weyauwega-Fremont, and Winneconne, as well as the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Dakota.

The UWO Collegiate Chapter of NAfME: The National Association for Music Education has received five annual membership growth awards since 2004 and has been among the state's largest and most active chapters. The chapter hosts campus events, organizes member attendance at conferences, encourages professional development and involvement, partners with area schools and businesses to promote music education through Music in Our Schools Month activities, and also contributes to the Department of Music through a variety of student-led initiatives. Leadership skills developed in NAfME Collegiate enhance students' abilities to succeed in many other settings and jump-start professional networking opportunities. Students also hold membership and leadership roles in other professional associations including the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Band Association, the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association, and Wisconsin Music Teachers Association.

UW Oshkosh hosts special events related to music education. Each April the Department of Music partners with The Wisconsin School Music Association as one of twelve regional sites of the Wisconsin State Music Festival, bringing 3,000 talented middle and high school musicians to our campus along with their teachers, friends, and family. A statewide leader in teacher licensure, in 2009 the Department of Music partnered with the EXCEL Center in the UW Oshkosh College of Education and Human Services to begin an alternative add-on licensure program in general and choral music for qualified practicing music teachers, through intensive summer workshops and blended instruction. The Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators, North Central Wisconsin Orff, J.W. Pepper, and special guest presenters have held recent events at UWO.

For more information please contact the music department office by email: music@uwosh.edu or by phone (920)-424-4224 OR contact the Music Education Program Coordinator Dr. Kenneth Liske by email: liske@uwosh.edu or by phone (920)-424-7029.