Church Music

Let your song uplift their souls.

Church Music Minor

Many of today’s most accomplished musicians began their journey in religious settings, where music and spirituality meet. At Susquehanna, our Church Music minor helps you channel your musical talent into meaningful service, whether you’re singing, conducting, accompanying or curating music for worship.

With a Church Music minor, you’ll gain real-world experience through internships that place you in active worship settings. You’ll learn how to select and arrange music for services and special events, lead ensembles, accompany congregations and develop programs that elevate the spiritual experience of a community.

Our students participate in vibrant worship communities and serve in various leadership roles. Whether you’re conducting a choir, playing the organ or crafting musical moments that inspire reflection and connection, you’ll grow as both a musician and a leader.

Hone your talent before live and appreciative audiences. Music is the heart of faith for many — by diving deeper into church music, you receive the gratitude of a community truly touched by the gift of song.

Adding a Church Music minor also gives you instant community and spiritual support, making the transition to campus life smoother. Learn more about Susquehanna University’s diverse and inclusive religious and spiritual life, which offers a place for worship and singing for everyone.

RAISE EVERY VOICE

As a Susquehanna student, you are invited to join one of the many spiritual communities on campus, whether you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim or non-denominational.

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A diverse group of people sings from sheet music in a choir setting. They stand closely together, focused on their music, each holding a booklet. The background is simple, putting emphasis on the singers.

100%

of students have available internship opportunities

100%

of students find church employment

Explore Your Studies

program Resources

When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor and consult with their advisor(s).

Interdisciplinary Minor in Church Music

The Minor in Church Music aims to enable students with a keen interest in using their musical talents in church ministry, either as clergy or as music directors. Through this minor, students will garner basic musical skills as well as knowledge of liturgical musical practices. The culmination of the program is a service-based project, where students apply their church music skills in a supervised internship either as an organist or director, assistant director for a church musical group (a church choir, hand-bell ensemble or praise team) or in a liturgical leadership position (deacon of worship, worship committee member).

Students will choose and organize a service-based experience as an independent study at the end of the program. As an alternative, students may choose to use that Independent Study to prepare and take the Choir-Master Certificate exam or the Service Playing Certificate exam offered by the American Guild of Organists.

Double-counting Restriction

For students who are music majors, the maximum number of double-counting credits is up to 6SH from the required courses and up to 4 SH from the elective selections. For students who are Religious Studies majors, the maximum number of double-counting credits is up to 4SH from the required courses and up to 4 SH from the elective selections.

12 Required Courses:

4 RELI-/MUSC-353 The Practice of Church Music
4 RELI/MUSC-215 Music in Christian Rituals
2 MUSC-161 Theory I
2 MUSC-082 University Choir
OR MUSC-083 University Chorale

NOTE: each course is 1SH, taken for a total of 2 SH

12 Additional hours

At least 4SH must be either Organ or Voice lessons: however, no more than 6SH of lessons may count.

1 MUSC-003 Organ Lesson
2 MUSC-004 Organ Lesson
2 MUSC-009 Voice Lesson
1 MUSC-010 Voice Lesson
2 MUSC-163 Ear Training 1
2 MUSC-369 Beginning Conducting
4 RELI-103 The New Testament
4 RELI-201 The Hebrew Bible
4 RELI-313 Modern Christianities

Applied Music Lessons

Lessons carry one or two semester hours of credit. Students earn credit of one semester hour for a weekly half-hour lesson. Bachelor of Arts majors take a one-semester-hour lesson on their major instrument. Music education majors and performance majors take a weekly one-hour lesson on their major instrument and receive two semester hours of credit.

A fee is charged per semester for individual lessons that are not stated specifically as curricular requirements (non-majors or extra lessons for majors). Such lessons are contingent upon faculty availability within the normal teaching load.