Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU)

At a Glance
Name: Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) Contact: Admissions Office Major Courses of Study: Production & Technology, Music Business; Master’s Degree program in development Degree Offered: B.S. in Recording Industry Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS) Main Technology Platforms: SSL, Studer and Otari digital and analog consoles; Pro Tools 24 Plus (4) and SADiE workstations; Studer and Sony 24-track digital and Studer 24-track analog multitrack decks Tuition: In-state, full time, $1,597/semester; out-of-state, full time, $4,833/semester Financial Assistance: Pell Grants and others. Scholarships available.

Middle Tennessee State University’s Department of Recording Industry and its Recording Industry Major (RIM) program were initiated in 1976. Since then, the program has remained remarkably focused on its two primary academic paths—Production & Technology and Music Business—both of which are four-year Bachelor of Science degree tracks. However, the RIM program’s core focus on the technical and business aspects of the music industry is set in a unique context: While it has always been an autonomous program, RIM is situated within MTSU’s acclaimed College of Mass Communication. As a result, the RIM program has substantial synergies with Mass/Comm’s own media curricula, including study courses in radio and television broadcasting, and digital multimedia. Furthermore, MTSU itself is a large, fully accredited state university with entire colleges within it, including schools of business and music, all of which are available to RIM program students.

“It’s that very comprehensiveness that sets MTSU apart,” observes Chris Haseleu, chairman of the Recording Industry department. RIM students can choose a minor from an eclectic but highly complementary array of possibilities, without any base-course restrictions. Adds Haseleu: “You can major in Record Production and minor in Business or Music—both very applicable to the major—but without having ‘17th-Century Counterpoint’ as a required base course.” Other related minors include Business Administration, Computer Science, Electroacoustics, Entertainment Technology, Entrepreneurship, Film Studies and Theatrical Design.

Students attending MTSU’s RIM program will find the school has made a substantial investment in technology. Inside the 90,000-square-foot Mass/Comm building are three full recording/mixing studios, including one fitted for 5.1 mixing; a nine-station MIDI lab; a nine-station digital media lab; a digital imaging and animation lab; an ENG news room; a $1 million 30-foot mobile tele-production vehicle; and a pair of audio post-production stations, all equipped with cutting-edge equipment, including SSL, Studer and Otari digital and analog consoles, Digidesign Pro Tools 24 Plus and SADiE workstations, and Studer and Sony analog and digital multitrack decks. Haseleu points out that the facility is open 24/7, so hands-on time for the approximately 1,400 RIM students is ample.

A state university, instructors at MTSU must have at least a Master’s degree; extensive and ongoing experience in their respective fields is required. Thus, students receive top-notch instruction from teachers familiar and comfortable with both the academic and professional environments.

MTSU’s RIM curricula encompass all types of music—evidenced on the school’s acclaimed annual CD compilation of student recordings—but it does benefit from the school’s proximity to Nashville. Visiting lecturers come from the working ranks of the city’s music industry elite, including record producers, engineers, record label executives and musicians. Those same connections contribute greatly to MTSU’s successful intern and graduate-placement program.

Says Haseleu, “Our Music Business and Production programs are as close as you can get to a truly liberal arts-based approach to media education.” •