A minor allows you to pursue interests in an area outside of your major. It can add
variety to your chosen field of study and customize your education, making you a more
versatile and well-rounded graduate. A well-chosen minor can demonstrate intellectual
curiosity and preparation for specialized or competitive graduate programs. Some minors
focus on communication, global awareness, or ethics—skills increasingly valued by
employers in every field. Michigan Tech students may minor in any subject, provided that the title of the minor differs from the title
of your major or major concentration. To pursue a minor, you must be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program and file a Curriculum Add/Drop Form to inform the Registrar's Office of your interest in the minor. We recommend that you begin your minor studies as
early as possible in your academic career.
Play an instrument. Sing in an ensemble. Act. Sculpt. Sew. Build. Students from all majors can perform, design, compose, and lead with a minor in the visual and performing arts. We emphasize artistic, practical, and analytical attributes that round out your education and create lifetime memories. Looking for music? We offer three different music concentrations to our students.
Minors in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts:
Art
Create. Expand. Connect. Experiment with materials. Explore contemporary and traditional forms. Study many kinds of art, or focus on one. Cultivate your creativity in a minor that's flexible and tailored to how you learn.
Creativity and Expression
Think outside the box. Be flexible. Engage critically with art and culture. The Creativity and Expression interdisciplinary minor brings out and prioritizes your creativity. This unique minor combines skills and topics across visual and performing arts, humanities, and social sciences, giving you the opportunity to tailor your creative work to your other interests and professional goals.
Jazz Studies
Improvise, arrange, perform, record. This minor will give you experience in many facets of performing as a jazz musician—all while making music with lifelong friends in one of the oldest jazz programs in the Midwest.
Music
Concentrate in general music, jazz, or music technology. This broad minor provides a background in theory and history, instrumental or vocal lessons, music technology, improvising, and arranging, as well as opportunities to sing or perform in an ensemble.
Music Composition
Complete courses in theory, music history, contemporary music, and composition. This minor culminates with a student project scoring an orchestral session with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra.
Music Performance
Take your love of music to the rehearsal room and stage. A minor in music performance focuses on private music instruction, ensemble participation, conducting, and interpretation, all built on a foundation of music theory and history.
Sound
Record. Mix. Install. Listen. A minor in Sound provides a strong foundation in many areas: tools, techniques, theory; the full spectrum of audio production, from recording to mixing and mastering; narrative analysis and story structure; and the technical arts that form the backbone of this advanced disciplinary field.
Theatre Arts
Act. Design costumes, sets, lighting, and scenes. Get a taste of just about everything that happens backstage and onstage in a live production. It's your time to get involved in the theatre with a minor in Theatre Arts.
Theatre Performance
Perform in one of the department's mainstage productions. Create voice-over commercials. Take courses in acting, voice, sound, and electronic media. Our Theatre Performance minor gets you seen and heard onstage and off.
Technical Theatre
Work backstage. Design props, build scenery, and create costumes. Explore stage management, lighting, and sound. The Technical Theatre minor is an optimal way to combine your passion for theatre with engineering, computer science, or business.