Undergraduate ProgramsIf the performing arts are your passion, IUP will prepare you to make it, design it, write it, respond to it, and use it to change the world.
Music, BA (includes optional Music Industry Specialization)
Theatre, BA with Concentrations in Performance, Design/Tech/Management, or Theory/Criticism
Graduate ProgramsWhether your goal is to achieve your level II certification as a music teacher or heighten your musicianship for a career as a professional musician, IUP has the resources to bring your passion for music to its highest level.
Education Specialization, Music MA
Performance Specialization, Music MA
Applied Theatre and Performance Certificate
Popular Music Studies Certificate
Dance Pedagogy and Research Certificate
Register now for your music audition
All students interested in being a music major or minor are required to audition. Information about auditioning for the IUP Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance can be found on our Music Auditions page.
Register now for your theatre audition
If you are accepted to IUP, you may declare a major in theatre without an audition. Auditions and portfolio reviews are required to be eligible for a Freshman Talent Scholarship.
All music, theatre, and dance majors are eligible for scholarships, which are determined based on your audition.
If you have any questions regarding scheduling an audition, please contact the department at 724-357-2397 or email Dawnette Shellhammer (dmshell@iup.edu).
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is an All-Steinway School and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and the National Association of Schools of Theater.
Following a blind peer-review process, the IUP Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the conference on March 21, 2026. Among the more than 200 member institutions in the Eastern Division, the IUP Wind Ensemble is one of only five juried ensembles invited to perform at this prestigious event.
Christine Clewell, assistant professor of organ at IUP, was featured as a guest performer for the inaugural concert celebrating the installation of a newly relocated Wicks Opus pipe organ at Worthington Lutheran Church in Armstrong County on Sunday, October 12.
Prize-winning pianist and associate professor of piano at East Carolina University School of Music, Kwan Yi will perform a piano recital featuring the complete “Years of Pilgrimage, 2nd year: Italy” by Franz Liszt. The recital will be on Tuesday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m. in Gorell Recital Hall, located on the second floor of Sutton Hall. Admission is free.
The IUP String Project, a community music education outreach program for children ages 5–18 in Indiana and the surrounding area, is now accepting applications for private lesson instruction on violin, viola, cello, and bass. Applications are due on September 1, 2025.
Ben Strong graduated from IUP in 2020 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in vocal performance. In fall 2025, he will join the Metropolitan Opera as a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.