The purpose of this study was to investigate college applied music instruction practices, evaluation agencies’ criteria, and relationships between the instruction and the criteria. The study ascertained the nature and extent of existing applied music practices required of music education majors in those North Carolina colleges and universities which (a) offer the baccalaureate degree in music education and (b) have a music unit(department or school of music) independent from a general fine arts or humanities department. The three evaluation agencies used in the study were the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction (SDPI), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)