The Faculty of Music began as the Department of Music in 1984 and was situated under the School of Art and Design. However, music has been a part of UiTM history since 1980 when it was offered as an elective subject. Subsequently, the School of Art and Design submitted a proposal to offer the Advanced Diploma in Music which was equivalent to a General degree. This course was approved by the Ministry of Education on June 21st 1983 and the first cohort of students entered in 1984 under the Department of Music, School of Art and Design. UiTM was the first institution of higher education in the country to offer a degree in music. In 1993, the Department introduced three specialised areas in music to fulfil the industry’s need and to meet the demands of students. These three areas were Diploma in Music Composition (Commercial), Diploma in Music Composition (Serious) and Diploma in Music Performance (Piano/Vocal). The revision of Act 173 saw the Diplomas being automatically converted to the Bachelors degree in 1996. The idea to form the Faculty of Performing Arts was put forward when ITM was under the directorship of Datuk Ir. The Music Department was subsequently transferred to the Faculty of Performing Arts in 1998 following a suggestion mooted by the Committee in a conference held at ITM Resort and Convention Center from 21-23 August 1998. However, with the approval to offer the Bachelor of Music Education (Hons) degree, the Department of Music Education was established in 1997under the Faculty of Education. As Universiti Teknologi MARA prides itself as an innovator in higher education, and recognises the role of music in shaping the development of a holistic person as well as music’s contribution to the nation, the idea of establishing its own Faculty of Music was approved by UiTM’s Executive Board in 2006. Upon approval from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, the Faculty of Music was officially established in June 2006. The formation of the faculty saw the coming together of the Department of Music Education from the Faculty of Education and the Department of Music from the Faculty of Creative and Artistic Technology. The faculty is currently situated in UiTM’s Main Campus (Menara SAAS) and Section 17 Campus (INTEC), Shah Alam.
