BS in Audio and Music Engineering
Major Requirements
Students majoring in audio and music engineering (AME) will complete a total of 130 credits in the following areas:
- Basic science and mathematics: 32 credits
- Engineering: 60 credits
- Writing: six credits (WRTG 105 and WRTG 273)
- Humanities and social sciences: 20 credits (cluster)
- Free electives: 12 credits
For more detailed information about the major in audio and music engineering, see the program objectives page and AME Curriculum Guide (PDF).
Basic Music Competency
All AME students must take a minimum of 10 credits of music courses, either from the Department of Music or the Eastman School of Music. This includes eight credits of music theory and two credits of musicianship. The minimum requirement is completion of MUSC 101 and MUSC 111, however students with appropriate background and demonstrated proficiency in music theory may begin in a higher-level course such as MUSC 110 followed by MUSC 111.
The appropriate starting course is determined by placement exam administered by the Department of Music for River Campus students, or for Eastman students placement in Music Theory is determined by the ESM faculty.
To meet the musicianship requirement, students normally would complete two one-credit courses: MUSC 109, MUSC 113, MUSC 114, MUSC 115 or one two credit course: MUSC 201 or MUSC 202. Courses taken to fulfill the AME music requirement also may be counted toward a music cluster to meet the general AME humanities or social science cluster requirement.
Core Requirements
Mathematics (Complete one calculus sequence)
Calculus sequence option A:
- MATH 161: Calculus IA*
- MATH 162: Calculus IIA*
- MATH 164: Multidimensional Calculus
- MATH 165: Linear Algebra with Differential Equations or MATH 163 Ordinary Differential Equations I
Calculus sequence option B:
- MATH 171: Honors Calculus I
- MATH 172: Honors Calculus II
- MATH 173: Honors Calculus III
- MATH 174: Honors Calculus IV
*MATH 141, 142, 143 may be substituted for MATH 161 and 162.
Natural Science
ECE 270
STATS 180 or 190
PHYSICS (2 courses) PHYS 121, PHYS 122; PHYS 113, 114 or PHYS 141, PHYS 142
Required Subject Area
The BS in AME requires completion of courses and portfolio projects in five subject areas:
The required and elective courses for the BS in AME are listed below. All courses are four credits unless indicated otherwise. Optional elective courses are shown in italics.
Foundations Courses (Completed by all students)
- AME 140: Intro to Audio and Music Engineering
- AME 141: Fundamentals for Digital Design
1. Recording Arts and Sound Design
The focus is on audio and music recording and production, audio content creation, and sound design:
- AME 191: Art and Technology of Recording
- AME 193: Sound Design
- AME 240: Revolutions in Sound: Artistic and Technical Evolution of Sound Recording
- AME 242: Critical Listening for Audio Production
- AME 244: Audio for Visual Media
- AME 391: Applied Recording Arts
- AME 393: Applied Sound Design
2. Acoustics
Studies in acoustics range from fundamental acoustics, architectural acoustics, acoustic design, the acoustics of musical instruments, hearing and auditory perception:
- AME 233/PHYS 233: Musical Acoustics
- AME 292: Acoustics Portfolio (2 credits)
- ECE 439: Electroacoustics and Spatial Audio
3. Audio Electronics
- AME 140: Intro to Audio and Music Engineering
- ECE 113: Circuits and Signals
- AME 223: Audio Electronics
- AME 295: Audio Electronics Portfolio (2 credits)
- ECE 216: Microprocessors and Data Conversion
- ECE 222: Integrated Circuits: Design and Analysis
- ECE 261/461: Introduction to VLSI
4. Signal Processing
Digital signal processing is the core of digital audio. The following courses are offered:
- ECE 241: Signals
- AME 272: Audio Signal Processing
- AME 294: Audio DSP Portfolio (2)
- AME 277/477: Computer Audition
- ECE 246/446: Digital Signal Processing
5. Software Design
The principles and practice of programming and software development for audio:
- ECE 114: Introduction to Computers and Programming
- AME 262: Audio Software Design
- AME 264: Audio Software Design II
- AME 196: Interactive Music Programming
- CSC 172: The Science of Data Structures
- CSC 210: Web Programming
Senior Design
All AME majors must complete a one-year senior design project: AME 386/387: Senior Design Project I and II.
Humanities/Social Science Requirement
Humanities/Social Science Requirement – All AME majors must take a minimum of 5 humanities and/or
social science (H&SS) courses. This includes the three courses taken to satisfy the University Cluster
requirement, and the AME music competency requirement. These five courses can be chosen from
any recognized Humanities and/or Social Science field listed below. Students also are expected to
take some of these courses beyond the introductory level. Ordinarily, H&SS Clusters will count for three
of the five required courses, but if questions arise, students should consult their advisors. Language
courses at the 101 level are only accepted when followed by another, more advanced course in the
same language.
Minors
A minor of 5 or more courses in one area will satisfy the H/SS requirement. Refer to the overlap policy
https://www.rochester.edu/college/ccas/handbook/overlap.html
If pursuing a music cluster, some required music courses may count toward the 12 credit cluster
requirement. In this case, additional electives in H /SS are needed to reach the 20 credit requirement.
Acceptable Humanities Courses: Any humanities course as outlined by the School of Arts and Sciences:
https://www.sas.rochester.edu/departments-programs.html
Acceptable Social Sciences Courses: Any social science course as outlined by the School of Arts and Sciences: https://www.sas.rochester.edu/departments-programs.html
Important Notes
Students cannot take both MUSC 101 and MUSC 110 for the requirement.
Business courses from the Simon School may not be used to satisfy the H/SS distribution requirement. Also, no computer courses offered in the humanities or social sciences may be used as a H&SS distribution course.
Ordinarily, courses taken at the University of Rochester to meet the requirements in H&SS are four credit hour courses. Consult your advisor concerning two or three credit courses (including transfer courses). You may need to petition the Undergraduate Committee to use such courses for the H&SS distribution requirement.
The following restriction applies to all courses used to satisfy the distribution requirement: Two 2-credit courses may be combined to fulfill one 4-credit distribution requirement only if both courses are from the same discipline. No more than two courses may be combined to count toward a distribution requirement. However, any number of two, 2-credit courses from different disciplines may be substituted for other 4-credit free electives.
Upper-Level Writing Requirement
The University's upper-level writing requirement applies to all majors. The students in this program satisfy this requirement through AME 192, AME 193, AME 233, AME 262, and AME 386.
Students who transfer credit for any one or more of these courses from another institution to the University of Rochester must consult with the AME undergraduate coordinator to determine if their program satisfies the writing requirement.
Overlap Policy
See the overlap policies page for declaring majors and minors.