Established in 1982, the Department of Audio Engineering and Sound Production has a history of excellence featuring award-winning faculty, world class facilities, and extensive opportunities for recording and creative collaboration.

Overview

We emphasize hands-on production experience from the very first semester. For this reason our program is small, limited to 20 incoming students each year. This guarantees that each student will spend a significant amount of time working in our studios, in excess of 1000 hours over four years. Coursework and lab projects take advantage of the many resources of the Jacobs School of Music and ongoing collaborations with other units at Indiana University such as the Media School and Theater Department. This provides our students numerous opportunities to work in creative and technical roles all areas of audio production. We consult regularly with our alumni and industry professionals to ensure the curriculum reflects modern workflows and production techniques, Our low faculty to student ratio provides students with regular opportunities for individual mentorship with faculty.

Curriculum

Our curriculum is modeled on a four-year apprenticeship in a major recording facility, but with an extensive educational component. Initial coursework focuses on foundational concepts with an emphasis on experiential learning through lab work and guided production projects. As  students progress through the degree, coursework becomes more project-based and individualized, with an emphasis on creativity as well as mastery. Advanced students spend considerable time in our studios working independently and in collaboration with other students and faculty.

In addition to their coursework, Audio Engineering students work alongside faculty to provide audio production support for the Jacobs School’s performance activities. This ranges from simple archival recording of student recitals to complex sound reinforcement for the Opera Theater. Freshman and sophomores serve as runners and assistant engineers and juniors and seniors serve as lead engineers; planning, mixing, and producing our productions.

Students also complete an internship, usually in their final year. They can take advantage of our extensive network of alumni and facilities that have hosted our students over the last 40 years to arrange an internship in virtually any location in the US.

If you have any questions or want to arrange a visit or tour, please do not hesitate to contact us.