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CANDIDACY REQUIREMENTS

In general, 鈥渃andidacy鈥� (our term for being admitted into the Audio Production program) is based on overall academic performance and, more specifically, performance in three audio-related courses: RIM 3010 鈥淎udio Fundamentals,鈥� RIM 3300 鈥淒igital Audio Technology,鈥� and RIM 3600 鈥淪urvey of the Recording Industry.鈥� Briefly, we average the GPA of those three courses with a student鈥檚 overall inclusive GPA (meaning ALL college classes completed regardless of institution) and rate from there. Those with a 3.5 or higher combined average are guaranteed admission with additional admissions filling out the approximately 60 spots awarded each fall and each spring into our program (typically out of 85-105 applicants). Academically, students who are A/B students have a very strong chance of gaining admission, while students near or below a 3.2 may find admission more challenging and competitive.

You must first be accepted to MTSU. Once accepted and selecting 鈥淎udio Production鈥� as your major, an advisor from our college will help you navigate the required pre-candidacy coursework. In addition to the three classes mentioned above, you must also complete a Natural Science, College Algebra (or higher-level math), and RIM 1230 鈥淐ommercial Musicianship鈥� in order to apply for candidacy (see substitution info in the 鈥淢USIC REQUIREMENT鈥� section below). During your final semester of completing the required coursework (typically, your second semester here at MTSU), you can apply for candidacy.

Detailed program info with specific course descriptions is available in the .

MUSIC REQUIREMENT

While there are other Audio Production-focused bachelor鈥檚 degree programs that require a large amount of music coursework (music theory, music history, ensembles, etc.), we do not as we are not part of the School of Music. By not requiring this, our students can take an increased number of electives relative to audio production. As a result, we do not require a musical instrument audition. We do, however, require one music theory-focused class: RIM 1230 鈥淐ommercial Musicianship.鈥� This class provides a foundation for understanding music tempo, melody, harmony, etc. If you don鈥檛 have a musical background, this class is meant to get you 鈥渦p to speed鈥� relative to the music understanding that we feel will be beneficial. This course requirement can be waived by scoring a 4 or greater on the AP Music Theory exam, by having taken 鈥淢usic Theory I鈥� from an accredited institution, or by having a strong music background and testing out of the class (e.g., you鈥檝e performed in high school band or chorus for years and are comfortable with music theory). If you are interested in minoring in Music, curious about ensembles, private instrument lessons, etc., please reach out to the School of Music.

PORTFOLIO OR PREPARATION?

We do not require an audio production portfolio, as candidacy is based on academic performance. That said, we find that students who engage in some sort of audio production before taking their pre-candidacy courses generally perform better in our audio-based courses. Some examples of engagement include running sound reinforcement for their church or school theater, participating in the school TV station, recording their band 鈥� basically, anything that allows exposure to audio signal flow is beneficial. Of note, the audio workstation we use is Avid鈥檚 Pro Tools, however, exposure to any audio workstation (Logic, Audacity, GarageBand, FL Studio, etc.) is beneficial.

ELECTIVE COURSES

Our large audio production faculty allows for students to explore and 鈥渄ive deep鈥� into a number of areas via electives. Electives are courses that students get to choose from. A list of audio production elective courses can be found by scrolling to the 鈥淎udio Production Electives (18 hours)鈥� area of the degree鈥檚 .

TUITION, ACADEMIC COMMON MARKET & RESIDIENCY

Tuition information for in-state and out-of-state students is located here. If you are an out-of-state student, be sure to read about the . This may allow you to pay in-state tuition based on offerings of universities in your home state.
Additionally, there is the 鈥�Regional Scholars鈥� program, which can offer as much as 48% off the standard out-of-state tuition.

MTSU also offers a program to establish residency over the course of two semesters referred to as 鈥淧art-Time/Full-Time.鈥� For students who are out-of-state and ineligible for the , this may be an appealing option.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Through the generous donations of multiple individuals and corporations, the Department of Recording Industry offers over two dozen scholarships ranging in award values from $250 to $3,000. These scholarships, awarded once per year, are limited and available, mostly, to our post-candidacy students and are often merit-based. For 鈥渢raditional鈥� scholarship opportunities (such as those awarded annually), explore the university鈥檚 scholarship page.

TRANSFER STUDENTS

Transfer students can find information relative to pathways and course equivalencies here.

In general, we do not have transferable classes for RIM 3010, RIM 3300, or RIM 3600. If you are Pro Tools Certified (Level 110 or higher), you will not be required to take RIM 3300. If you have taken an audio theory class or two at another four-year institution, you may be eligible to take an equivalency exam for RIM 3010. We have found that junior and community college audio theory classes, while helpful, do not cover all the material from RIM 3010. The courses need to be higher-level courses and not solely 鈥渋n the recording studio鈥� classes that are often offered at most community colleges. Speak with your assigned academic advisor if you feel your prior coursework has met this metric.

It is strongly suggested that transfer students do not complete all of their general education and minor coursework outside of MTSU. Having only major-related classes to complete can be very challenging given the outside-of-class time requirements for studio and lab coursework, especially when taking more than three of those type of classes in a semester. Transferring in and expecting to finish in four total semesters is not realistic and doesn鈥檛 allow the student to fully explore the classes they鈥檙e most likely interested in taking (and the reason they鈥檙e transferring here). Expect a minimum of five semesters in order to allow time to complete projects, develop, and take courses outside of the required sub-core. Additionally, many courses have prerequisites and class size limits, which may require waiting an additional semester based on program progression status.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

As with U.S. citizens, international students first need to be accepted to MTSU before declaring Audio Production as a major. Information on international admissions can be found via our .

听ACADEMIC ADVISING

After applying to MTSU, you will be assigned an Academic Advisor from the College of Media and Entertainment who will help you choose classes to best set you on your path towards applying for candidacy. Here鈥檚 a link to their site:听

TOURS

Faculty-led facility tours and discussion are offered every Friday at 1:00 p.m. during fall and spring semesters. It is suggested that visitors register for the 10:00 a.m. campus tour so they can be available for the 1:00 department tour. Tours can be accommodated outside of this slot, but they might not be faculty-led. To schedule a campus tour, please visit:听/schedule-a-visit/

To schedule a department and facilities tour, please contact Kelly Grago in our office: [email protected] or call the department office at (615) 898-5740.

If you have specific questions about the Audio Production program (not transfer credit, scholarships, etc.), email Professor Matt Foglia at [email protected]

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS

COMPUTER & SOFTWARE

Students in our program are required to have a computer and Avid Pro Tools software. Our college uses Apple Macintosh computers, with students being encouraged to do the same. An Apple MacBook Pro laptop is strongly encouraged.

Given that Avid鈥檚 Pro Tools audio software is the digital audio workstation (DAW) standard for audio production professionals, laptops and computers must meet Avid鈥檚 specifications. We use the most recent Pro Tools version based on the year of the Fall semester (e.g., Pro Tools 2024 for academic year 2024-2025). While versions are generally compatible, students are encouraged to use the same version as our facilities since features may vary from year-to-year and compatibility issues may arise when transferring work between different versions.

While we strongly encourage a MacBook Pro laptop, it is possible that students can use other computers (such as MacBook Air) as long as they meet 鈥淧ro Tools compatibility鈥� standards. While knowledgeable, we are generally unable to support or assist with installation or compatibility issues. Specifications and a list of compatible computers can be found via this link to .

*Sub-links to lists of supported Mac and Windows models are available through the link.

Computers do NOT need to meet the enhanced specifications for 鈥淧ro Tools HD鈥� or 鈥淧ro Tools Ultimate鈥� (e.g., don鈥檛 worry about the 鈥淧CIe slot鈥� requirement). 鈥淧ro Tools Studio鈥� is the compatibility version students will be using on their personal computers. Note that computers do not need to be the most recent model as the software is often still compatible and fully operational with older models.

Computer internal SSD hard drive storage size should be a minimum of 256 GB. 512 GB is encouraged, but if cost-prohibitive, students can easily purchase an external SSD hard drive for a fraction of the upgrade cost (ex. 1 TB of external storage for $100). This will also provide increased flexibility when moving from facility to facility.

*Avid Pro Tools Studio software is available for a $100 per year subscription using educational pricing through Avid or Avid resellers (this may also be referred to as 鈥淎cademic鈥� or 鈥淪tudent鈥� pricing). This subscription includes access to software version updates while active. Students can also purchase an iLok (software licensing USB dongle) or have software validated through continuous internet connection (free). The earliest course students will use Pro Tools is RIM 3300 鈥淒igital Audio Technology,鈥� though they could use it to assist with topics in the lecture-based RIM 3010 鈥淎udio Fundamentals.鈥� Having access to the software outside of class and labs is akin to a student having access at home to a guitar if they were taking guitar lessons; it provides greater flexibility to improve one鈥檚 skills.

ADDITIONAL HARDWARE

External SSD hard drives should be Macintosh-formatted or Macintosh-compatible if using a PC (through programs such as MacDrive).

External audio interfaces (such as those by Apogee, Focusrite, Universal Audio, etc.) are not required, however, students may desire to have input and output options different than those standard on a computer.

HEADPHONES

For many students, a set of 鈥減ro-level,鈥� durable, high quality headphones is one of their first significant investments toward a personal studio/signal chain (outside of a computer). It makes sense to acquire quality monitoring tools early so that you can reliably and consistently evaluate sound, including your own projects and commercial reference recordings, as your skills and tools increase. It鈥檚 difficult to assess the differences between various other components that are upstream in your signal chain without good monitoring at the downstream end!听 One model of headphones that we鈥檝e traditionally favored/recommended is the Sennheiser HD 650, an 鈥渙pen-back鈥� style design that offers very low distortion, good frequency response and dynamics but very little sound isolation.听Similarly, the Sennheiser HD 600 is an excellent open-style headphone with a very neutral, transparent character and comfortable circumaural fit, as is the Sennheiser HD 660.听Audio Technica ATH-M70x is also a popular open-style headphone. For the post-candidacy class RIM 4440 鈥淐ritical Listening,鈥� it is preferred that you have one of the open-back suggestions.

If you are purchasing your first set of high-quality headphones, you should consider how and where you intend to use them 鈥� not just in class but also outside of class.听Open-back headphones may be excellent for studio and controlled environment monitoring but are a poor choice for live sound or location sound, for instance, since those around you can hear sound leakage. While potentially subject to more tonal variation and distortions as a function of both fit and design, a 鈥渃losed-back鈥� or 鈥渟emi-open鈥� design may be preferred for overdubbing and listening in noisier environments. Good examples in this category include the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO (32 Ohm version preferred), AKG K240-MkII, Shure SRH840, and Ultrasone Proline 750. While potentially fine when listening passively, it is not advised to use earbuds, noise-cancelling headphones, or bass-enhanced headphones (such as those from Sony and Apple鈥檚 Beats) as reference monitors when performing critical audio analysis as the tonal colorations of these can greatly skew your ability to accurately hear the audio being presented.