Students working toward the Bachelor of Arts in Music may elect one of four emphases: Performance, Jazz Performance, Music Theory and Composition, or Music History.
A degree in music education is offered through the College of Education.

The Master of Music in Music degree has the following areas of concentration: performance, conducting, composition and jazz studies.

In addition to the support for the specific degree programs of the Music Department, the collection also serves as a resource for undergraduate and graduate students and the faculty members in other disciplines. Related departments are Drama and Communications and Curriculum and Instruction.

Language
The primary language of acquisition is English. Materials in other European languages will not be collected when they are not available in translation. Non-European languages are not acquired.

Scores with lyrics will be collected in the original language, when appropriate.

Chronological Guidelines
Primary emphasis will be on the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century, which produced the bulk of materials taught and performed. Other time periods will be collected as individual course needs dictate.

Geographical Guidelines
Primary emphasis is on Europe and other parts of the world in imitation of European models, and music of the new world, in particular jazz. Secondary emphasis is on indigenous music of the world.

Treatment of Subject
Publications on the history, theory, practice/methods, computer applications in music and music education, music pedagogy, music education, and composition of music are of prime importance to the collection. Biographical treatments of composers and, to a lesser degree, performers are also or prime importance. Legal, social, business/economic, and psychological aspects of music are collected on a selective basis: Scores in support of the department's programs are collected. Monuments of music and composer critical editions are collected on a highly selective basis. Popular treatments of music, musicians, and composers are acquired on a selective basis. Textbooks at the elementary level are not normally acquired. Textbooks at the advanced level are acquired on a selective basis.

Materials collected for Arts Administration courses taught in the Music Department include the economic, business, legal, and governmental aspects of the music profession.

Types of material
Monographs, serials and scores form the basis for music acquisition in print. Compact discs are the preferred form of recorded music. Vinyl discs and cassette tapes will be acquired under special circumstances.

Electronic resources to support music are also collected, based appropriateness of media to subject, need, and cost. Some of the electronic formats collected are videos and electronic databases.

Date of Publication
Current and retrospective materials are collected. For monographic materials, emphasis is on items published within the past fifteen years. For scores, retrospective acquisition is made without regard to date. Retrospective materials may be selectively acquired and may be purchased in microform or reprint formats, such as back files of newly acquired serial titles or electronic back files.

Other Resources
Within the library the listening room houses recordings, videos, and electronic media useful to the department. The music libraries at Tulane University and Loyola University stock books on music, scores and recordings. Materials on jazz are found at the Hogan Archive and the Historic New Orleans Collection. The New Orleans Public Library is a Foundation Center depository, and a good resource for arts administration classes taught in the department.