The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville has announced that beginning next fall it will offer a master’s degree program in Black scared music. The university states that this will be first degree program of its kind in the United States.
An $848,380 grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation will establish and fund the new Center for Black Music and the degree program for the first three years. The university aims to have 25 students enrolled in the program within three years. Tuition and fees for the 36 credit hour program will be $16,272 for in-state students and $43,361 for out-of-state students.
“We anticipate that the master’s degree in Black Sacred Music program will be a highly competitive and internationally regarded program, unique in its field. We expect graduates of this program to rank in the top 10 percent of earners in Black sacred music fields,” according to a written proposal from Jim Gigantino, interim vice provost for academic affairs, and Jeffrey Murdock, who will spearhead the program and who is an associate professor of music and director of the Black Music Center.
