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Sound Studies

Tell your story through sound

Through Alfred University’s BFA in Sound Studies, your ideas take shape through sound. If you’re curious about how sound transforms space, tells stories, or creates immersive experiences, this program is built for you. Focused on sonic arts and sound installation, you’ll design interactive environments and original projects while collaborating with students in dance, music, performance design and technology and theatre as well as in areas outside the Performing Arts. Explore Sound Studies at Alfred University, and graduate confident, career-ready, and prepared to share your unique voice with the world.

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Program Snapshot

School/Division
Performing Arts

Campus Locations
Main Campus - Alfred, NY

Major
Sound Studies (BFA)

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Four Year Plan

Audition/Portfolio Requirements

Intersections

Performance & Experiential Learning

Faculty Mentorship

Four Year Plan

Want to see what your semesters will look like as a Sound Studies major? Here's a quick outline of a four-year plan.

  • Year 1: Essentials of Mixing and Recording, Music Theory, Sound Gathering, Laptop Ensemble 
  • Year 2: Listening Otherwise: Sound, Music, and Identity, Private Lessons, Songwriting and Composition, Pop Music Ensemble 
  • Year 3: Living Life as a Sustainable Artist, American Popular Music, Private Lessons, other courses in Theatre, Dance, or Music 
  • Year 4: Senior Capstone project (album, installation, score, or research-based project), electives like - Mass Media and American Life, Marketing Principles and Management 
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Audition/Portfolio Requirements

All applicants must submit an Alfred University Application. The BFA in Sound Studies requires a portfolio submission. 

BFA in Sound Studies applicants must submit two of the options from the list below (or other relevant projects that highlight their interest in music, sound, and acoustic environments): 

  • Up to 5 minutes of video or audio showcasing your work with music or sound (e.g., computer-generated music, sound-making devices, mixing, use of software like Ableton Live or FL Studio). 
  • Up to 5 minutes of Foley (sound effects) you have created (embedded from a platform like SoundCloud). 
  • A video of you recording sound in an artistic or experimental way. 
  • Compositions you have written and/or performed. 
  • A video of your instrumental or vocal work (any style). 
  • A statement outlining your interest in alternative music or sound-related fields. 

A Music Theory placement exam may be required after admission to determine appropriate course level.

Submit A Portfolio

Intersections

Sound Studies students are inherently interdisciplinary. Sound Studies students can double major, minor, or take coursework in other disciplines like: 

  • Music 
  • Theatre 
  • Dance 
  • Performance Design & Technology 
  • Art + Design 
  • Engineering 
  • Business 
  • English 
  • Psychology 

They collaborate on performances, produce multimedia work, build installations, compose for stage and screen, and develop entrepreneurial projects. At Alfred, sound connects everything. 

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Performance & Experiential Learning

Sound Studies students don’t just study audio—they create it. Opportunities include: 

  • Recording and producing original music 
  • Sound design for Theatre and Dance productions 
  • Live sound engineering for productions, concerts, and campus events 
  • Laptop Ensemble (Spring) 
  • Pop Music Ensemble  
  • Interdisciplinary performance collaborations 
  • Installation and gallery-based sound work 
  • Scoring projects 
  • Experimental and electronic music projects 

Many courses culminate in public performances, recordings, installations, or collaborative showcases. 

Because Alfred’s Performing Arts is deeply interconnected, Sound Studies students regularly collaborate with musicians, dancers, actors, designers, and visual artists—building real-world experience before graduation. 

Faculty Mentorship

At Alfred University, students are at the center of the creative process. Faculty work closely with you in studio settings, workshops, and one-on-one mentorship to develop both technical mastery and artistic confidence. We emphasize experimentation, critical listening, collaboration, and professional preparation. You bring imagination and drive. We provide tools, guidance, and opportunity. Together, we cultivate sound artists who are technically fluent, creatively fearless, and ready to shape the evolving world of media and performance. 

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Inclusion

The Performing Arts at Alfred University is a welcoming space open to everyone, regardless of background or experience. With seating for 700+, the Miller Performing Arts Center serves as cultural hubs for the region. Students can find their place by joining courses, ensembles, private lessons, theater productions, clubs, or attending events. The Alfred University Performing Arts community embraces all who seek connection and collaboration through creativity in the arts.

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Mentorship

Receive personalized mentorship in the performing arts through hands-on experiences like internships, research, and performance projects. Our dedicated faculty and visiting artists offer close guidance to help you develop your creative talents and technical skills. With small studio classes and the opportunity to lead or participate in projects, you'll be supported in every step of your artistic journey, ensuring your growth and success.

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Intersections

Collaborate across music, theater, dance, performance design and technology as well as disciplines outside the performing arts with mentorship from dedicated faculty and visiting artists. Our intimate studio classes foster cross-disciplinary innovation, helping you develop both artistic and technical skills while connecting with others to create bold, collaborative work that reflects diverse perspectives and talents.

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Earn A Bachelor of Fine Arts

An immersive, studio-centered degree focused on sound creation, recording, production, composition, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Students develop technical expertise in audio production, digital tools, and sound design while building a strong conceptual foundation in listening, analysis, and contemporary sonic practice. Students can also double major and/or minor in Dance, Music, Theatre, or other disciplines outside the Performing Arts like Art, Psychology, Marketing, Communications, and many more.  

Submit your Portfolio

About Our Music Programs

Music welcomes students of all musical backgrounds - performers, songwriters, and composers. Discover your unique voice, expressivity, and creative potential through a well-rounded curriculum that blends practical and academic courses. Music major and minor options offer solid foundations in traditional, contemporary , popular, Western, and non-Western styles, shaping versatile musicians skilled in performance, theory, and composition.

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Similar Programs

If you're interested in Sound Studies, you might also consider these related majors and other minors:

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Performing Arts
Miller Performing Arts Center
Jessie Thoman
Associate Dean and Professor of Music Performing Arts Division