Exploring Components of Well-Being in Undergraduate Music Majors(400 Word Proposal)Issues related to mental health and wellness have been at the center of higher education conversations nationally and internationally. Undergraduate students indicate that reducing stress is their top wellness goal (Inside Higher Education, August 27, 2023). To respond to these concerns, it is important for colleges and universities to offer support services for all students. While music students may have built-in opportunities for social connections and belonging, in campus-wide studies, fine and performing arts students report high numbers of social isolation and stress. On our own university campus in the Midwestern United States, 59% of students in the college of fine and performing arts reported feeling isolated from campus life, the highest reported percentage among all other colleges across campus, with the overall average being 45% (Healthy Minds Survey, 2018). In 2011, Martin Seligman introduced the PERMA model based on a theory of well-being as defined as, “a combination of cognitive happiness (i.e., satisfaction), hedonic happiness (i.e., feeling), and eudaimonia (i.e., meaning).” (p. 3).Music education research reveals strong links between musical engagement and the five pillars of Seligman’s (2011) PERMA framework. Classroom and ensemble experiences foster joy and pride (Positive Emotion), while sustained rehearsal promotes flow and Engagement. Ensemble participation builds Relationships that enhance belonging and motivation (Creech et al., 2013). Music learning also supports Meaning through connections to culture and identity and provides Accomplishment through performance and skill mastery (Hallam, 2010; Evans & Bonneville-Roussy, 2016). Why then do so many music students report feelings of social isolation and stress?The purpose of my study was to explore components of well-being among music students. These dimensions are based on Seligman’s PERMA model, which includes five components of well-being: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. The research questions that guided this study were: 1) Is there a difference in PERMA well-being dimensions between undergraduate music majors at the freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior levels.2) Is there a difference in self-reported well-being between first-generation and continuing-generation students?Participants (N = 150) were undergraduate music majors at a large public university. During the eighth week of the academic semester, students completed the PERMA-Profiler. The PERMA-Profiler is a brief, validated self-report multidimensional questionnaire based on Seligman’s PERMA model components of well-being. Results of this study will provide an essential first step toward identifying ways to support and provide interventions for collegiate students.Word count excluding references: 391