BSA and BHA degrees

<p>Does anybody have any experience with these degrees? I imagine they might be a great opportunity to study in different areas, but are marketable to graduate schools or to employers?</p>

<p>What are the fields you are thinking of combining?</p>

<p>Engineering or physics, and music performance, with a plan for graduate school. A brutal combo, huh? Even with good preparation in both areas, how can there possibly be TIME? Also, a good job in music so often comes down to luck, but would less that four full years of a science be frowned upon? How do you think graduate schools would view these degrees? Thank you!</p>

<p>My understanding is that the Engineering School doesn't participate in the BSA program. Music and Physics should be very cool. I know that as a person doing grad interviews I would look very favorably on someone who had done this for undergrad - although it would depend on the time gap between finishing the BSA and going to grad school. The longer the gap, the less the undergrad matters - professional and life experience become a bigger deal.</p>

<p>I understand that only a tiny percentage of students participate in these blended degree programs. Do they know something I don't know, or are the programs just that hard to get in to? The BSA might be perfect for my son (talented in diverse areas), but I am wary because I don't know anyone who has done this, and I have no experience with how this degree would be viewed by an employer or graduate school outside of the CMU community.</p>

<p>Have you seen these web sites?</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cmu.edu/interdisciplinary/profiles/bha.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cmu.edu/interdisciplinary/profiles/bha.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.cmu.edu/interdisciplinary/bha/bha.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cmu.edu/interdisciplinary/bha/bha.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.cmu.edu/interdisciplinary/bsa/bsa.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cmu.edu/interdisciplinary/bsa/bsa.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I once read somewhere that music students had the highest rate of acceptance into medical school. Granted very few apply to medical school but the ones that do have a high rate of getting in. These combined degrees seem like a great thing; esp. since so many people (even in the music profession) advise that having a straight music performance degree may not be the most useful thing for employment prospects.</p>

<p>Generally, I try to tell both parents and students to not worry about what the letters are after your name, and be more concerned with the content of the degree program and the recommendations and alumni network you'll have available at graduation.</p>

<p>I have a BFA and an MFA and I don't think anyone has ever questioned why I didn't have a BS or a BA.</p>

<p>CMU has a few distinct programs: MET, MAM, BSA, BHA, MEIM. If nothing else, they make candidates more distinctive to grad schools and employers - and its a gaurantee of something to talk about at an interview, which is a plus as well.</p>