Are all Bard Conservatory students required to do a double degree program? and if so, does it always take 5 years?
My son graduated from Bard Conservatory & College last year, and yes, it takes 5 years, and yes, all students in the conservatory are required to do a double degree. For some students it can actually take 6 if they need to learn English (there are lots of international students in the conservatory.) Bard does not give much credit for AP classes - classes with 5’s count for required elective credit. So if a student enters with a lot of AP’s what that usually means is they can carry a lighter load a semester or two. This was useful for my son when he had big projects. Here are some sample five year plans: http://www.bard.edu/conservatory/undergraduate/sample_plan/
However, there is a music program in the college, separate from the Conservatory. That degree is a four year degree, and can be combined with other majors in the college for a Double Major (BA), if desired. The theory track is different than the conservatory, and the applied music teachers are different, and the ensembles are different. However, the composition professors are the same, as are the musicology classes. If one wants to study voice as an undergrad at Bard - it is through the college and not the conservatory. Same with jazz and guitar. Info on the college music program can be found at music.bard.edu.
I’m happy to answer any questions about Bard!
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SpiritManager is the expert on this, but as the parent of a Bard alum in the college (not the conservatory), let me add my perspective that yes, all are required to do the double degree (and most embrace the opportunity) and yes, it does take 5 years. Bard’s calendar is such that doing summer or winter classes is difficult, so accelerating the process would be problematic. The college’s music offerings are quite strong as well, and that’s a route that many musicians choose rather than the conservatory.
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My niece is a musician who is doing the BA route with an academic/music double major. She will graduate in four years. She loves Bard.
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@Glassharmonica - so happy it’s working out for your niece! I was hoping that would be the case.
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@glassharmonica --I’m curious to know whether your niece is finding her time at Bard musically rewarding. I know for many non-Conservatory students at other schools with conservatories, the music performance and instruction options are limited (thinking of Oberlin, Michigan, Northwestern) since the non-Con students end up with grad student teachers (sometimes great ones, but not conservatory faculty) and are often unable to participate in ensembles at the level of the Con students. Maybe Bard is different because it’s smaller?
@SpiritManager, do you have any thoughts on this?
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The music program in the college is more eclectic and supports aesthetics going in many different directions. The conservatory is strictly classical. The students in the college music program are similarly diverse in their interests. Until the conservatory was established all music students at Bard were in the college and over the decades an extremely strong department was established. This did not dissolve once the conservatory was added so there’s an institutional history of strong support for the music students within the college, many graduates of which are now professional musicians, singers and composers.
Although the college orchestra is not at the same level as the conservatory orchestra - there are still many great players in it - students for whom the conservatory route was not their desire. And they do play challenging repertoire. In addition, there are classical chamber groups in the college, jazz ensembles, an early music group, choirs, Georgian singers, gamelan, traditional Chinese, electroacoustic, and lots of rock and roll groups! The adjunct performance faculty and professors, are serious established players - you can look up their bios. But I do believe the level of study a student devotes to performance in the college is determined by the student themselves, rather than as a requirement in the conservatory.
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I wonder if the double degree requirement is a factor for some who choose music in the college versus conservatory. We felt the required double degree for conservatory students was too prescriptive and that students should be able to choose. The requirement would also seem to say that majoring in music requires a backup or is somehow not worthy in itself. Why offer a BM at all when alone among the students at Bard, the BM students must do a double degree and stay 5 years? The policy suits some and for those who want a double degree, the program is extremely rewarding and of very high quality, and it is great to have it all on one beautiful campus, but somehow it seems it would feel different when required versus chosen.
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@Compmom - the requirement for the Double Degree is not at all for a backup degree. The philosophy at Bard is that it makes one a better musician if more fully informed about the world - that one brings more to the music. From the website: “Music, like all art, engages the mind and the heart. It redefines boundaries and questions limits in order to make a meaningful statement about the human condition. The education of the mind is, therefore, as important as the education of the fingers. The greatest musicians not only have the technical mastery to communicate effectively, but also are deeply curious and equally adept at analytical and emotional modes of thought.”
To achieve that goal of educating the mind, while also fully educating the fingers - it needs more time, more depth, more classes - so that neither area is shortchanged.
(By the way, there is also a double degree in economics and finance http://www.bard.edu/academics/programs/programs.php?id=528096&pid=1042)
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