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Jazz Studies

Bachelor of Music

Most programs in the UCF School of Performing Arts require an audition or interview.

Bottom line: jazz is alive, and you can study it in Orlando.

Dee Dee Bridgewater, NPR’s JazzSet

At UCF, jazz students have access to some of the best resources of any university. Studying jazz at UCF means studying with some of the top jazz faculty in the country, including Jeff Rupert, Director of Jazz Studies.

UCF is home to the chart-topping Flying Horse Big Band, a full-size jazz ensemble that has seen multiple records reach nation-wide professional jazz charts and has worked with some of today’s renowned artists, as well as an in-house recording label, Flying Horse Records.

UCF is the only performing arts school in the world that has both a 24/7 NPR jazz station [89.9 FM] and a record label.

Jeff Rupert, Pegasus Professor and Director of Jazz Studies

Each year, UCF presents the UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival which invites guest artists such as Sean Jones, Conrad Herwig, Orrin Evans and more to perform on campus with our students. UCF is also in partnership with WUCF-FM, a radio station with a complete focus on jazz music.

The Jazz Studies Track prepares students for a career as a professional jazz musician. Students will take classes in applied study, music theory, history and performance. Students have the opportunity to perform in large ensembles as well as small chamber groups.

Current students can find the Jazz Studies Handbook on the Student Resources page.

Learn more about the Jazz Studio