Bachelor of Arts in Music?

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I'm hoping to double major in music and biology in college, and because of that I didn't apply to any conservatories or schools of music. When making my college list, I focused more on academic strength than music program strength (in part due to parental pressure), but now I'm curious as to where I would find the strongest program for a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Music major. I'm a classical singer, and I'd love to know your thoughts on the programs at any of these schools:</p>

<p>Wash U, St. Louis
Tufts (NOT NEC joint degree program)
Barnard
Emory
Scripps
Vanderbilt (Arts & Sciences, I'd do their double major BA program if I could)
USC (Arts & Sciences, so I guess I could only pursue a music minor?)
Wellesley
University of Michigan (LSA)
Tulane</p>

<p>I'd love any info you have on music at any of these schools. Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>If you are classical, you should also consider Boston U, and perhaps stay on a premed track while doing a dual major.</p>

<p>Note that a music major in a college of arts and sciences is not the same as studying vocal performance in a college of music. In addition, you don’t usually have to audition for a music major in the college of arts and sciences, but you almost always audition as a vocal performance major within a college of music.</p>

3

<p>Note that many BA music major programs do not include a performance track–make sure you check that if that’s what you want to do.</p>

4

<p>SS, you would want to apply to a DUAL DEGREE at University of Michigan if you’re a serious vocal performance candidate rather than LSA – or a Bachelor of Musical Arts from the School of Music, which allows for cognate study in LSA.</p>

<p>At this point, since you’re past the deadline to do so, if you end up choosing Michigan I strongly suggest you get your prereqs out of the way in your first year and then audition the next. I feel there is a vast difference between the SOM and LSA at Umich. And I don’t think you’ll be able to get an instructor higher than a GSI if you’re at LSA and not a vocal performance major…in line after every single SOM non-major, I’m afraid!</p>

5

<p>I’m confused about where you are in this process. My D switched from applying to Perf. BM programs to applying to double major with BA or BFA in music this fall (NOT due to parental pressure) and it’s been a steep learning curve for our family. But now all apps in and auditions beginning next week. For BA, as already noted, at some places, you don’t need to audition before enrolling at university. For many of these you may audition sometime after enrolling, frequently near end of freshman year after completing some intro courses. For other places, like Michigan, you do need to audition before enrolling, just like for BM. There are lots of things to consider here. The BA/BFA/music as 2nd major, can vary in requirements from 30-40 credit hours, all the way up to 70 or more, almost like the BM. some teachers don’t care for the BA major and don’t support it, while others are fine with it. Some places you can’t get lessons with the professors if you are BA, while other places all the kids are in the same studio class together. You can get some info by browsing school websites and course catalogs, but also it’s a good idea to write to music admissions and/or professor to ask questions like what percentage of students are BA (will you feel ‘left out’?) What is the charge for music lessons, if any, and do BA students pay more(there is a surcharge for music lesson class at many schools on top of regular tuition which varies widely.) Do BA students get lessons with the professors or grad students? If professors, is it automatic or do they need to audition specially for the privilege? Do BA kids have access to all the same ensembles? If the school is one where BA students come into program officially sometime after enrolling, how are things like ensembles and class scheduling handled the first year when they are not officially music majors?</p>

<p>As noted above by kmcmom13, at Michigan one applies for dual degree entry to both programs. So my D has been admitted to LSA EA, but still has to audition in a couple of weeks for entry to SMTD. The dual degree program is 5 years there, very tough. Also, and I wish someone who knows more about this could weigh in here, on visits there it seemed to me that with the music school removed to the north and a bus ride from main campus, that time spent on transportation will be a big time drain for kids already juggling time management in dual degree. The music program there is very strong generally, though I don’t know anything about voice.</p>

<p>For Vanderbilt, one of the college rating sites has an interesting long post by someone who majored in music in Blair, and loved the school, but regrets that she didn’t do the music as a 2nd major option instead because Blair ate up every waking moment of every day, worth looking up and reading. Music as 2nd major there is only 31 cr, one of the lowest and you audition in at end of first semester. Hour lessons are $735/semester for music as a 2nd major I was told, free for BM. (The response I got to these $$ questions was kind of unclear, hope this is right, plan to double check when we visit.) If you want lessons first semester, need to ‘interview for placement.’ We aren’t visiting there until late March, so much of info comes from reading, browsing. It seems that at Vanderbilt, most kids live in dorms entire 4 years.</p>

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<p>The University of Rochester. You can double major at the University of Rochester in both music and biology. The music major is very demanding and you can continue studying voice with an Eastman grad student assuming that you pass juries. My d studied music and theatre at the University of Rochester and she was able to continue as a four-year vocal student with Eastman. You need to participate in chorus at the University of Rochester and can audition for Eastman performances. Sometimes one of the Eastman choruses and the University of Rochester choruses perform together. All of this is challenging to do as there is much going back and forth between two campuses with rehersals included. The BA Rochester Music program graduation requirements include two full years of music theory, music history, two years of ear training as well as a year of piano and a certain number of music electives in addition to the performance requirement.
All this and as a bio major… labs too!! It can be done however. When my d was a student there was a male singer who was a double major and also played Varsity Football!!!
Another option is to apply as a double degree student for bio at the University of Rochester and voice at Eastman. You are likely way past the deadline to apply to double degree at both campuses as Eastman requires pre-screening in order to get an audition slot.</p>

7

<p>Hi celesteroberts, I can shed some light on the commuting situation for double majors at UM. My S is a sophomore at UM pursuing a dual degree in Cello performance and Math. So far, the commuting has not been a big problem or big drain on his time. Both Fall and Spring Semesters this year he has been able to schedule his 2 academic classes back to back starting at 1P. So, he has music classes and Orchestra in the morning which end at 12p, he takes a bag lunch that he eats on the bus and then goes to his classes on Main Campus. He returns after for any other Music classes or rehearsals he may have. Last year he was able to schedule his academic classes at the end of the day after all his Music classes and then would sometimes stay on Main Campus for dinner at one of the cafeterias with one of his non music friends. Anyway, it is working well so far, the bus system runs well and it only takes 10 or 15 mins. to go from one campus to the other. He says the bus stop is close and convenient to the music school. I don’t know if it will get more difficult to schedule his academic classes as he progresses, but he’s not complaining yet! Good luck to your daughter on her auditions!</p>

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<p>^Thanks! That’s very reassuring. Math will likely be D’s other major as well. I am happy to hear that scheduling can be reasonable at Michigan, get the feeling that at many schools, freshmen are lucky to get into ANY classes, much less get the schedule they want. Does S live in north campus? The honor dorm is not in north campus, and it seems like that could produce a lot of running back and forth. Maybe it’s better to live with the other music kids?</p>

9

<p>Yes, S lives on North Campus. It works well because rehearsals are often in the evenings or sometimes on weekends. He lived in Bursley Hall last year and is in an apt. on North Campus this year. I am not as familiar with the BA/BFA in music. Will your D be doing a lot of performing? If so she may want to be on North Campus, if she antipates spending more time on her LSA classes she may like Main Campus better. Can she be in the Honors College without living in the Dorm? My S has a close friend in Honors College and she made most of her close friends through living in the Honors Dorm the first year, they do a lot of activities together and get to know each other well. I guess it depends where she thinks she will be spending the most time.</p>

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<p>Celeste, my son is also at mich and started out as dual degree. The first two years, he lived on the hill, and didn’t have any trouble managing transportation. In the case of his degree, which is a highly sequenced bfa in performing arts technology/music, his classes were truly split across campuses. In his case, he chose to discontinue the dual degree because he found he already had so much of his desired cognate (film) in his actual sequence that he was already able to access all the upper level fim production classes he desired without much of the academic/intro courses at which he was already advanced. So he realized he would be equipped to and better off financially to pursue an mfa in film later if desired rather than spend the money for an extra year. Math, of course, would be an entirely different kettle of fish at UM, and is a very rigorous dept. however, despite the rigor, I suspect it is a good cognate degree in terms of scheduling. Engineering, on the other hand, is viable in 5+ years but really challenging in terms of the schedule, in part due to the team nature of many of the projects. However, he knows students who manage it.</p>

<p>This year, which is the last, he’s been very happy living off campus at Huron towers right across from the som and, weather permitting, using a bike to get around. So I am confident your D can make it work on both fronts, and equally confident she’ll be in a great place to do so should she chose later to revert to one degree or the other. So best wishes on the audition!</p>

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<p>Ps - Celeste, you may already know this and application to LSA is the best strategy anyway, but Umich does have a som degree that is called bachelor of musical arts and that can be more like a double major than a dual degree and is designed for cognate study.</p>

12

<p>Thanks for all the input. This is so helpful. I’ll pass along to D. She’ll have lots of new questions when we go back there for audition.</p>