Metropolitan State University Denver is launching an Individualized Degree Program in Mariachi Performance and Culture this fall — the first of its kind in Colorado.

The new program combines a variety of disciplines including music performance, Chicana/o Studies, world Languages and business courses, aiming to inform all areas of what it means to perform or run a mariachi group.

The idea for a degree started with the student club, Los Correcaminos, founded by alumni Isahar Mendez according to an MSU publication.

For more than 10 years, the Mariachi group has been performing at festivals, community events and campus celebrations.

The club sparked so much student interest that it was eventually turned into a class in 2015, assistant professor of music Philip Ficsor said.

“When I asked my Mariachi club who would be interested in taking lessons, like every hand went up,” Ficsor told The Denver Gazette.

While students don’t need to be a part of the new degree to take Mariachi classes at MSU, the hope is that the degree provides students with a well-rounded cultural understanding of the art form, not just music lessons.

Ruby Godoy-Flores, a student and the mariachi ensemble’s secretary, told the university publication that the program sends a message about belonging.

“There’s nothing like it in Colorado,” she said. “It’s going to bring in a lot of people, not just from here but from other states, too. Some people might not want to go to Texas or New Mexico. Now, they have another option.”

Ficsor said his goal is for students to walk away with all the necessary skills to be a part of an ensemble and feels MSU has been supportive in its embrace of the Mexican tradition.

“We want to create an environment that students feel supported, that they feel validated in doing what they want to do, and this expression of their culture, as well as just an opportunity to create musicians that go into the workplace,” Ficsor said.