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William Paterson University is accredited by National Association of Schools of Music
Our outstanding Department of Music prepares you for careers in classical performance, jazz performance and composition, sound engineering arts, music education, music and entertainment industries, and popular music. Our music students work directly with world-renowned faculty who are also in-demand performers. They benefit from exceptional student performance opportunities with ensembles, both on campus and throughout the New York metropolitan area. They also gain hands-on experience in our state-of-the-art music production and recording studios.
WP Music welcomes students who may have suffered from recent collegiate program closures and we are committed to helping them finish their degrees in music. We are one of the most stylistically diverse programs in the nation, with many options for aspiring performers, composers, educators, sound engineers, and music businesspersons. We are happy to facilitate transferring to WP. Please click Apply/Audition and reach out to our Chairperson Dr. Payton MacDonald and Director of Music Admissions Skyler Hagner.
Alumni in arts, humanities, and social sciences are employed or in graduate school within 6 months after graduation
Average starting salaries in Music (NACE)
Noteworthy Music Jobs and Mid-Career Salaries with 8+ Years of Experience (PayScale)
Billboard Magazine, the top trade magazine for the music industry, has listed William Paterson University in New Jersey as having one of the top music business programs in the country.
View academic program requirements and course descriptions in the University Course Catalog:
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The music education program is designed to provide future music educators with a solid basis for professional success as a teacher through courses in performance, theory, music history, music education, education, and liberal studies.
This program, for students who possess both exceptional performance abilities and aspirations, demands an intense commitment to both music practice and academics.
The jazz studies program is unique among college programs, offering an emphasis on small-group playing and a genuine commitment to the jazz tradition. One of the nation's five longest-running jazz degree programs, its faculty are all top New York professionals. Students currently come to the jazz program from 23 US states and six foreign countries.
The music major at William Paterson University offers a platform for surveying the professional musical landscape. Students learn about all areas of the music world: performance, business, education and technology while interacting with students and professionals in those respective areas.
This program is for students whose primary instrument is the laptop or computer or other digital and electronic machines. The BA DMC is centered around creativity and composition within the realm of digital music, including EDM, Hip-Hop, and other genres where beats and digital music are the focus. Students will also explore elements of audio production. A minor in music business is an option for students who want more business knowledge and career opportunities.
The bachelor of arts with popular music emphasis examines contemporary popular music from a global perspective and through the study of social media and songwriting.
The William Paterson University Sound Engineering Arts program offers students the essential combination of the technical, theoretical, practical and musical areas of the audio arts. More Info »
This minor is for students interested in recording, producing, arranging, mixing and mastering music; using the laptop as a complete production tool. The two main courses - Digital Music Creation I and II - will step the student through the process of creating a complete and compelling musical production beginning with the very basics of digital audio workstations and ending with a completed album in collaboration with other musical creators.
Led by an experienced faculty, the minor in Music & Entertainment Industries program is structured to provide the background you need to secure a career in the music and entertainment business.
The musical studies minor at William Paterson University offers a platform for surveying the professional musical landscape including performance, business, education and technology.
The jazz studies concentration offers a comprehensive experience in enhanced small jazz ensemble, solo performance, and arranging/composition and the potential for high-level, primary source research and writing only available in the New York area. More Info »
The music education concentration allows students to enhance teaching skills, bring performance skills to a higher level, and gain greater personal insight into the field of music education. More Info »
This 12-credit certificate program for practicing music educators whose specialty is not jazz consists of 3 courses and a semester of applied lessons. It can be completed in one year and can be stacked with other courses to complete a Master of Music. More Info »
This 16-credit certificate program for classical musicians who have completed college and wish to hone their performance skills consists of 2 semesters of applied lessons, ensembles, and electives, and culminates in a certificate recital. It can be completed in one year and can be stacked with other courses to complete a Master of Music. More Info »
This 16-credit certificate program for jazz musicians who have completed college and wish to hone their performance skills consists of 2 semesters of applied lessons, ensembles, and electives, and culminates in a certificate recital. It can be completed in one year and can be stacked with other courses to complete a Master of Music. More Info »
In our music programs, students learn in-demand skills that employers have identified as critical for job candidates, including:
Graduates with the BM degree pursue careers as classical performers and composers; jazz performers, composers, and arrangers; singer/songwriters, sound engineers, music teachers, and music licensing and music marketing professionals, among others. Opportunities for those with the BA in music studies include performer, producer, music booking agent, music editor, music critic, and other positions in the legal areas of the music and entertainment industry. The BA with a popular music emphasis can lead to a career as a professional performer, singer/songwriter, music producer, promotions director, or music composer for social media or video games.
And we're ready to help you grow. At William Paterson, we provide students with the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to forge forward as a powerhouse—both in the classroom and in their careers. Apply today to discover your potential.
Grammy-winning saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera closes the spring 2026 Jazz Room series at William Paterson University in Wayne on Sunday, May 3 in a performance with the William Paterson Latin Jazz ensemble, conducted by Chico Mendoza. The concert begins at 3:00 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on campus.
Paquito D’Rivera began his musical career in his native Cuba, where he first earned worldwide recognition as a member of the all-star group Irakere. Since coming to the U.S. in the early 1980s, he has released more than 40 albums, earning numerous Grammy Awards. Equally recognized as a jazz and classical soloist and composer, he was the first artist to win Grammys in both the Latin Music and Best Classical Composition categories. He became an NEA American Jazz Master and was awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 2005, has been awarded several honorary doctorates, and is artistic director of jazz programming for the New Jersey Chamber Music Society.
Chico Mendoza is a pianist, vibist, and composer/arranger who has been at the center of New York’s Latin jazz scene. He has performed with Latin groups at Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall, with George Benson and Stanley Turrentine at Newark Symphony Hall, and at numerous colleges and clubs. He was the leader of Ocho, a 1970s eight-piece Latin funk band, releasing the 1976 recording Ocho Featuring Chico Mendoza. His Latin Jazz Dream Band was in 1989. His fourth album, El Sonida, received a Latin Grammy nomination. Mendoza was an early host of the Salsa Meets Jazz concert series at the legendary Village Gate in New York City, bringing together historic Latin musicians and major jazz artists, featuring Mongo Santamaria, Herbie Mann, Ray Baretto, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Palmieri, McCoy Tyner, Johnny Pacheco, and many others. He also hosted the “Salsa Meets Jazz” radio show on WBGO Jazz Radio in Newark. Mendoza joined the William Paterson music faculty in fall 1980 and has led the Latin Jazz Ensemble since that time.
The concert will be preceded by “Sittin’ In,” the Jazz Room’s accompanying “meet the artist” concert preview featuring interviews with jazz artists and guest speakers. This informal discussion, free to all Jazz Room ticketholders, begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Shea Recital Hall.
Tickets are $28 for the general public, $22 for WP faculty, staff, alumni, and senior citizens, and free for WP students. For tickets or additional information, visit wp-presents.org, or contact the Shea Center Box Office at 973.720.2371 or boxoffice@wpunj.edu.
William Paterson University has been a flagship of jazz education for more than 50 years and is recognized internationally for its Jazz Studies Program and nationally acclaimed Jazz Room series of concerts each fall and spring.
The Jazz Room series is the longest-running program of its kind in the United States. Launched in 1978, the Jazz Room has welcomed more than 500 jazz legends to the stage, including Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Slide Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Clark Terry, Michael and Randy Brecker, the Vanguard Orchestra, and more. Concerts have encompassed the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz and swing to avant garde, and from intimate solo performances to big bands.
The performance series provides support for the University’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies Program, founded in 1973. The program draws students from across the United States and abroad under the current direction of Grammy Award-winning pianist Bill Charlap.
The Jazz Room at William Paterson University has been made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
