<p>It doesn't have a conservatory but it does have a huge music staff. Are students disadvantaged if they pick this over a conservatory at a less well known school. Berkeley has more name recognition than any school other than Harvard, which also doesn't have a conservatory.</p>
<p>What should students who are torn, do? Are they more likely to find post-graduate jobs if they go to a conservatory at a lesser known University or if they go to a music program in a world renowned university?</p>
<p>You have to be very careful about rankings in the music world. There are so many variables involved that reducing an entire program to a single number so that a ranked list can be made is not very useful. </p>
<p>I followed the link on the Berkeley page where they make that claim and it led to a publication entitled “Research Doctorate Programs in the United States Continuity and Change” published in 1995 and based on research conducted mainly from 1982-1993. I browsed through some of the information available there and it seems to me that this ranking says nothing about the current quality of the undergraduate applied music instruction available at Berkeley. In other words, the fact that Berkeley came out third in this survey gives you no basis of comparison whatsoever against a conservatory program for undergraduates. Not only is it way out of date, it looks at different areas entirely.</p>
<p>It is not clear from your posting what type of job you are looking for after graduation. If you can be more specific, perhaps someone here will be able to provide more relevant information. In general, if you are looking for jobs as a performing artist in the classical music world, who you study with is a lot more important than the name of the school where the study happens to take place. Of course, in many areas it is helpful to have other students at and above your level at the same school, so the where may still be an important consideration.</p>