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Masters Degree In Music and Worship Commercial Music Performance

MA in Music and Worship – Commercial Music Performance

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Master of Arts (M.A.) in Music and Worship – Commercial Music Performance

Overview
Career Opportunities
Faculty and Facilities
Admission Requirements

Fine-Tune Your Talent and Train for Success with Liberty’s Music and Worship Master’s Degree

It’s time to take the next step in your journey toward a career in music and worship. If you have obtained a bachelor’s degree in music but recognize the need to stand out in the competitive music industry, consider graduate studies. Our Master of Arts in Music and Worship has a specialization in commercial music performance so you can train under industry professionals with state-of-the-art equipment at our Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music in preparation for your future career in the music industry.

Whether your passion is to serve as a worship leader, or you have a dream of performing as a contemporary Christian artist, this graduate degree provides the tools and experience you need to make a name for yourself in the field. Develop your specific musical talent while receiving career and spiritual guidance from our experienced music faculty.

Pursue Your Degree with Confidence

  • Our School of Music is accredited by NASM, the National Association of Schools of Music.
  • We are a designated “All Steinway” school.
  • Our 141,000-square-foot Center for Music and Worship Arts has been voted “Best of the Best in Higher Education” for 6 years in a row by Worship Leader Magazine.
  • Our School of Music is rated #1 Christian music school by Christian Universities Online.
  • Work with new and successful artists through our Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music as you prepare for your future.

What Will You Learn?

  • A review of conducting gestures and patterns, advanced score interpretation, and rehearsal management and technique
  • Analysis of the historical differences in music literature and practice
  • How to apply various melodic concepts and music forms to contemporary worship
  • How to teach music techniques and theory to students
  • The dynamic influences of personal, biblical, historical, professional, and practical worship to the ministry of the local church

Career Opportunities for Music Education – Conducting Master’s Degree Graduates

  • Contemporary Christian artist
  • Director of worship and drama
  • Minister of music
  • Music and worship evangelist
  • Worship leader or pastor

Faculty and Facilities Available to Music Education Students

  • You will have access to 45 full-time faculty who hold degrees from Liberty University and other prestigious music schools in the nation.
  • We are grateful to serve students with cutting-edge acoustic capabilities in our facility.
  • Ensemble and recital courses provide our music students with hands-on conducting experience.
  • Our students have produced albums that have been nominated for awards, and Liberty alumni have gone on to become Dove-award winning Christian artists and songwriters.
  • We offer a $2.2 million recording studio and Liberty Music Group publishing company for our students to use.

    Admission Requirements for Our Graduate Degree Programs

    A 3.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Every application is reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and all applicants must submit the following documents and meet the minimum requirements for admission:

    • Admission application
    • Self-certification form for students who are in the final term of their bachelor’s degree
    • Current Liberty undergraduate students seeking preliminary acceptance into a graduate program must complete a degree completion application through their ASIST account
    • Completion of an earned baccalaureate degree from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in one of the following areas: music, music education, or music and worship

     

    These rates are reflective of academic year 2024-2025. Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

    42

    Credit Hours

    Class Type

    Residential

    Transfer Credits

    Transfer in up to 50% of your total degree

    Next Start Date

    Aug 18, 2025

    Accreditation

    NASM

    15,000+

    Students

    20

    NCAA DI Sports

    500,000+

    Community Service Hours

    350+

    Undergrad & Grad Programs

    The Liberty DNA

    Liberty’s promise to you is an education that expertly brings knowledge and faith together. You’ll not only be challenged academically but also pushed spiritually through weekly worship gatherings and community engagement, local service projects, and global mission trips. You can become a Champion for Christ that changes the world with the Gospel.

    Convocation

    The largest weekly gathering of Christian students in North America cannot happen without a key ingredient: you. Experience life-changing messages from more than 80 nationally acclaimed speakers each year.

    Accreditation

    In addition to Liberty’s institutional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, many programs are also accredited or recognized by specialized professional agencies, including ABA, ABET, ACBSP, AOA-COCA, ATS Commission on Accrediting, CAAHEP, CAATE, CACREP, CCNE, CEPH, CoARC, NCATE, and NASM.

    Career Focused

    As a Christian university, we’re committed to helping you every step of the way so you can earn your degree flexibly, affordably, and with excellence — and do the things that matter to you. That’s why our professors and dedicated Career Services department are focused on getting you job ready before you leave the classroom.

    Convocation

    The largest weekly gathering of Christian students in North America cannot happen without a key ingredient: you. Experience life-changing messages from more than 80 nationally acclaimed speakers each year.

    Learn More
    Go Back

    Accreditation

    In addition to Liberty’s institutional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, many programs are also accredited or recognized by specialized professional agencies, including ABA, ABET, ACBSP, AOA-COCA, ATS Commission on Accrediting, CAAHEP, CAATE, CACREP, CCNE, CEPH, CoARC, NCATE, and NASM.

    Learn More
    Go Back

    Career Focused

    As a Christian university, we’re committed to helping you every step of the way so you can earn your degree flexibly, affordably, and with excellence — and do the things that matter to you. That’s why our professors and dedicated Career Services department are focused on getting you job ready before you leave the classroom.

    Learn More
    Go Back

    FAFSA and Loan Information

    Most graduate students qualify for $20,500 in student loans through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) – and even more in certain health fields!

    There are two types of federal loan options available to grad students:

    • Direct Unsubsidized Loans (Stafford) – loans made to eligible undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, but eligibility is not based on financial need.
    • Graduate PLUS Loans – loans made to graduate or professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid. Eligibility is not based on financial need, but a credit check is required. If you have a bankruptcy, foreclosure, or an account in collections, you may be denied.

    Tuition Costs

    Liberty University provides master’s programs at just $545* per credit hour. Most courses will be paid by credit hour except the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity block rate of $2,850 per semester for 9-15 credit hours. Most graduate programs average from 35-45 credit hours to complete.

    *Some programs differ and may have additional fees that apply. 

    Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

    MBA Tuition Rate
    Amounts are per credit and are based on data published on each institution’s website as of 11/16/20. This information is believed, but not guaranteed, to be accurate. Individual institutions may charge additional fees in addition to the per credit hour rates. Rates are subject to change.

    Visit Our Central Virginia Campus

    Have you visited Liberty yet? We can’t wait to have you. Watch a robot fetch your books at the Jerry Falwell Library, cheer on the winning touchdown at Williams Stadium, break a sweat at the fitness center, and gaze at the stars at the astronomical observatory.

    At Liberty, you’ll find an affordable, high-quality education that equips students like you for the real world. Our commitment to excellence helped us rank as Niche.com’s #4 Best College Campus in America. Earning your degree from a nonprofit university with state-of-the-art resources like ours can help set you apart from your peers.

          Ways To Visit Campus       

    Montview Student Union

    1/17

    Baseball Stadium

    2/17

    Center for Medical and Health Sciences

    3/17

    Center for Music and the Worship Arts

    4/17

    Center for Natural Sciences

    5/17

    DeMoss Hall

    6/17

    Jerry Falwell Library

    7/17

    John W. Rawlings School of Divinity

    8/17

    LaHaye Ice Center

    9/17

    LaHaye Recreation and Fitness Center

    10/17

    Reber-Thomas Dining Center

    11/17

    Residential Commons

    12/17

    School of Business

    13/17

    Snowflex Centre

    14/17

    Tower Theater

    15/17

    Vines Center

    16/17

    Williams Stadium

    17/17

    Located directly behind Arthur S. DeMoss Hall, the Montview Student Union is a 4-story, 168,000-square-foot structure that includes a lounge overlooking the Academic Commons, retail dining venues, an art gallery, a ballroom, and a bowling alley. The building also has space for academics, meetings, and offices.

    The Liberty Baseball Stadium features the latest turf playing surface, as well as full-length, major league-style dugouts, a fully-equipped media area, two suites, a club room, and a spectator picnic area.

    The Center for Medical and Health Sciences (CMHS) is a state-of-the-art modern learning facility for Liberty University's College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) and School of Health Sciences. Sitting on Liberty Mountain, the 140,000 square-foot, four-story facility offers breathtaking views of the valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north and west.

    The Center for Music and the Worship Arts features 124 Steinway pianos and 43 teaching studios complete with piano, songwriting, and music computer labs. Additionally, the center includes a 1,600-seat concert hall.

    The Center for Natural Sciences houses classrooms, an auditorium, and more than 30 laboratories designed for hands-on learning, including an advanced anatomy lab and a cell culture lab. The facility has more than $2 million in equipment, including a GC mass spectrometer and a gene sequencer.

    As the primary academic building on campus, Arthur S. DeMoss Hall spans 500,000 square feet over four floors and houses computer labs, classrooms and student resource centers, and a rooftop terrace.

    Jerry Falwell Library houses an array of study spaces including six learning commons, one technology commons, and 30 group-study rooms. Multiple terraces and balconies provide additional space to relax, and several dining options are available. Taking advantage of the latest technology, the ASRS, a robotic retrieval system, houses the majority of the library’s collections in a state-of-the-art automated on-site retrieval system.

    The 275-foot-tall Freedom Tower, home of the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, the nation’s largest center for religious studies and ministerial training, includes classrooms and offices, a conference room, a homiletics lab, and an interactive classroom, as well as observation spaces to take in the spectacular views of campus.

    The LaHaye Ice Center is home to Liberty men's and women's hockey teams, as well as the synchronized skating and figure skating teams. Recently renovated, the ice center seats 4,000 fans and includes 10 box suites.

    Whichever way you like to break a sweat, you can do it here! The recreation center has weight rooms, cardio lofts, private classrooms, an indoor track, pools, a rock wall, soccer fields, and basketball courts.

    The Reber-Thomas Dining Center (Liberty’s dining hall) is a two-story, 120,000-square-foot all-you-care-to-eat buffet that boasts a seating capacity of more than 2,700. It provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner and offers over 20 unique stations to choose from.

    The Residential Commons are comprised of three residence halls. The rooms feature a private bath, and every floor provides laundry facilities and a common lounge. Additional residential facilities are also planned for the site.

    The three-story structure serves as a home base for the School of Business, which includes 152 programs from the certificate to the doctoral level, as well as centers of excellence focused on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, cybersecurity, and stock trading. On the first floor, a stock trading simulation room, operating in partnership with Truist, features an LED stock ticker that wraps around the top of the room and streams the latest market activity from Wall Street.

    The Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre offers students the opportunity to ski, snowboard, and tube year-round with its cutting-edge terrain technology.

    Tower Theater is home to Liberty’s Department of Theatre Arts as well as the professional theatre company, Alluvion Stage Company. Tower Theater features a Broadway-style fly tower and professional rigging system and has over 12,000 square feet of backstage and support area.

    This auditorium’s 10,000 seats are filled by students at Convocation and Campus Community, concert-goers, and athletic event attendees.

    The stadium’s 25,000 seats host the fans of our FBS conference football team. Williams Stadium also boasts a 110-foot viewing tower and houses the Football Operations Center, containing locker rooms, coaches’ offices, equipment, and weight rooms, and a training facility.

    The Admission Process

    Apply Now, Pay Later

    Start the enrollment process by applying online now — the application takes about 10 minutes. Your application fee isn’t due until you enroll!

    Get Accepted

    Once you’ve submitted all your admission documents, you’ll be updated on the status of your application through text and email. You can also keep track on your Student Checklist.

    Act Early

    After you apply, you may be eligible for Liberty's Graduate Assistantship program. Each graduate assistant is awarded a tuition scholarship equivalent to a full-time course load in their respective degree.

    Contact one of our Admissions Counselors for more information by calling (877) 298-9617.

    Hear from Liberty Students — Past and Present

    Photo of Former SGA President Derek R.

    Former SGA President Derek R.

    “The whole school and the administration have their mindset on heaven — the Holy Spirit is so active on campus.”

    Photo of Former SGA Vice President Esther L.

    Former SGA Vice President Esther L.

    “It was knowing that I could be vulnerable about where I was from or what I was coming from or going through with people that were here and cared was encouraging and helped me with the transition.”

    Photo of David H.

    David H.

    “Spiritually, I have seen the most growth in my life. …The spiritual atmosphere of the campus here at Liberty is unreal.”

    Photo of Queenstar B.

    Queenstar B.

    “They [professors] see each student as an individual who has the potential to truly impact the world for God’s Namesake.”

    Photo of Sarah B.

    Sarah B.

    “Here there are authentic people that have really embodied how the Lord cares for each of us.”

    Photo of Joseph H.

    Joseph H.

    “Once I made it on campus — just the overwhelming amount of love that I received from the student body, the people on my hall, and my RAs just blew me away.”