If you’ve ever wanted to turn a mariachi gig into a career, MSU Denver just handed you the playbook. The university is launching Colorado’s first Mariachi Bachelor’s Degree this fall, and students are already calling it a “grito” years in the making, according to Denverite.

Colorado gets a Mariachi Bachelor’s Degree at MSU Denver

MSU Denver will offer a Bachelor of Arts in Mariachi Performance and Culture through its Individualized Degree Program. The major blends Music, Chicana or Chicano Studies, Spanish, and business coursework, per the university. MSU Denver describes it as a “solid foundation in this interdisciplinary field” and provides a 73-credit course list and music theory placement info on its site.

Student demand built this moment

The degree traces back to Los Correcaminos, the campus ensemble founded over a decade ago. The club evolved into a class, then expanded to include performances at graduations and even a Nuggets game. When Assistant Professor of Music Philip Ficsor asked students if they would pursue a degree focused on mariachi, “every hand went up,” he told Denverite. “Creating something that gives them the opportunity to do something they love is very near and dear to my heart,” he said.

Inside the Mariachi Bachelor’s Degree: performance, culture, business

The curriculum is purposefully broad. Students study music theory and traditional instruments, including the violin, vihuela, guitarrón, and others. They also complete Spanish proficiency and Chicana or Chicano Studies. Then they take business and marketing classes to learn how to invoice, file taxes, and promote gigs. “I want one of our students to graduate and have the ability to say, ‘I wanna create my own mariachi ensemble,’” Ficsor told Denverite.

“Juilliard of mariachi” is the goal, MSU says

Faculty call the program ambitious. “We want to create the Juilliard of mariachi,” Ficsor said. The program “contextualizes what we do,” he added, noting the Spanish and business requirements that prepare students to perform and to run their careers.

Mariachi Bachelor’s Degree meets a statewide boom

K-12 mariachi programs are expanding across Colorado. Statewide student festivals launched in 2024 and 2025. That surge created hiring demand so strong that “some of our students had not even completely finished their credentialing, and they were hired,” said Affiliate Professor and artistic director Lorenzo Trujillo. He called it “economic empowerment.”

Students describe identity, artistry, and access

For student Ruby Flores, mariachi reconnected language and roots. “I grew up a ‘no sabo’ kid,” she told Denverite, but class time and the ensemble helped her Spanish and her confidence. Violinist Ashley Irvine told CBS Colorado she came from a classical music background but found a different level of expression in mariachi. “With mariachi, I realize they’re just the most incredible musicians I’ve ever met in my life,” she said. Student Samuel Leon added, “It’s party music, but it’s also deeply emotional.”

Careers, classrooms, and community through a Mariachi Bachelor’s Degree

Trujillo explained the realities and payoff. Trajes can cost $800 to $1,200. Quality instruments can run past $3,000. Still, a seven-member group can earn about $1,000 for two hours. Alumna and performer Mari Meza-Burgos said she makes around $55,000 from mariachi performances and is helping train educators through the nonprofit Cuerdas y Canciones. “This program is going to put students into schools,” she said.

A longer vision for mariachi and culture

The degree will open to incoming freshmen this fall. Trujillo hopes to build a master’s program. He wants MSU to nurture teachers, researchers, and performers “throughout the world.” Students say the message is about belonging. “It’s going to bring in a lot of people,” student leader Ruby Godoy-Flores told RED. And as Ficsor put it, “mariachi music is the poetry of the Chicano culture.”

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