Curriculum Evolution in Audio Education: A Case Study on the Center for Computer Research in Music & Acoustics (CCRMA)

Rico-Mineros N. Curriculum Evolution in Audio Education: A Case Study on the Center for Computer Research in Music & Acoustics (CCRMA). In: AES Show 2026 Nashville. Audio Engineering Society; 2026.pp. 19:1-6. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23455

@inproceedings{RicoMineros2026_23455,
  author = {Rico-Mineros, Nancy},
  title = {{Curriculum Evolution in Audio Education: A Case Study on the Center for Computer Research in Music \& Acoustics (CCRMA)}},
  booktitle = {AES Show 2026 Nashville},
  pages = {19:1-6},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23455},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  address = {Gaylord Opryland Resort}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Curriculum Evolution in Audio Education: A Case Study on the Center for Computer Research in Music & Acoustics (CCRMA)
AU  - Rico-Mineros, Nancy
T2  - AES Show 2026 Nashville
SP  - 1
EP  - 6
M1  - Paper 19
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/30
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23455
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
CY  - Gaylord Opryland Resort
LA  - en
AB  - Advancements in music technology, particularly in the areas of spatial audio, digital signal processing (DSP), music information retrieval (MIR), and machine learning (ML), have significantly expanded both the technical scope of the field and the knowledge expected of graduate students entering it. While institutions, in response to growing interest in music technology, establish new programs, existing departments face challenges in modernizing their curricula without narrowing their interdisciplinary scope. Despite the proliferation of music technology programs in recent years, there has been little analysis of the ways in which audio curricula have evolved over time in response to these changes. This paper presents an institutional case study of Stanford Universitys Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), through the formation and subsequent evolution of its Master of Arts in Music, Science, and Technology (MA/MST) program. Drawing on archived university bulletins, degree requirements, and course syllabi, this paper examines the changes in course requirements and degree requirements over time since the programs inception. We examine the ways in which a program, initially targeted to individuals with a background in mathematics, computer science, and engineering has broadened its scope to those with interdisciplinary backgrounds. Rather than increasing the number of required courses, CCRMA reduced requirements over the years while retaining a stable technical foundation. Courses in audio signal processing and computer-generated sound remained central to the MA/MST curriculum, while students were given increasing flexibility to pursue individual areas of research. The central focus of this paper focuses on: how the MA/MST coursework was established, how those requirements were subsequently modified and who the MA/MST intended for. We argue that the shift from a more technically demanding curriculum to a more foundation-based curriculum allowed for new areas of research within CCRMA to emerge. This expanded the MA/MST from initially being targeted towards those who have a background in engineering, computer science, and mathematics toward a broader scope of interdisciplinary areas.
ER  -