<p>Hello, I have seen several posts in this forum but I am yet to find answers to some of my questions. My son will start college in 2011 and he is interested in pursuing a dual degree in music and engineering specifically jazz percussion and engineering. I would like to know which schools offer this option. The only school that I am familiar with is U of Michigan and I also hear that both their music and engg departments are excellent. Is there anyone in this forum who is familiar with these options? Also, which are the best schools for majoring in music and engg?</p>
<p>The poster kmccrindle has a son at UMich. You may want to search for past posts under that user name, or pm them if they fail to respond within this thread.</p>
<p>A performance discipline at the BM level combined with a science based second major is a tough nut for anyone to crack. Scheduling, time conflicts, performance/rehearsal/practice/studio and labs will often conflict. Plan on five years, maybe more. It might be a bit less tricky if it’s a BA music option, where the music degree requirements are a bit less intensive.</p>
<p>Try looking at Hopkins/Peabody (very tough to get into dual degree), maybe Tufts/NEC, Eastman/URochester, I believe all have jazz programs. You can also search for percussion or jazz (use a title search rather than post search, the results will be easier to navigate).</p>
<p>Some prior double major/dual degree threads:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/72531-schools-have-strong-music-science-programs.html?highlight=music+and[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/72531-schools-have-strong-music-science-programs.html?highlight=music+and</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/88812-music-something-else.html?highlight=music+and[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/88812-music-something-else.html?highlight=music+and</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/232450-double-major-music-biology.html?highlight=music+and[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/232450-double-major-music-biology.html?highlight=music+and</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/289491-mcgill-double-degree.html?highlight=double+degree[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/289491-mcgill-double-degree.html?highlight=double+degree</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/626699-double-degree-double-major-major-minor-options.html?highlight=double+degree[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/626699-double-degree-double-major-major-minor-options.html?highlight=double+degree</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/476176-joint-programs.html?highlight=joint+programs[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/476176-joint-programs.html?highlight=joint+programs</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/244511-joint-programs.html?highlight=joint+programs[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/244511-joint-programs.html?highlight=joint+programs</a></p>
<p>It will be a good idea to look at the actually degree requirements for any school. Know the difference between a double major and a dual degree. Look in the undergrad catalog, not the summary outline. Try and get a feel for the number of students in a specific dual pursuit, and the number that actually complete both. Talk to current students if at all possible.</p>
<p>Here are some possibilities that you may want to run down. All of these have at the very least a decent music program and at least some kind of engineering. I do not know which of them has a suitable jazz percussion teacher or the particular branch of engineering that interests your son. I also do not know whether it will be possible to do both degrees simultaneously (and I say this as the holder of two engineering degrees who worked in a LOT of music classes while in college, but not a second degree’s worth).</p>
<p>Arizona State U
Baylor U
Brigham Young U
Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Long Beach
Cal State Northridge
Florida State U
George Mason U
Louisiana State U
McGill U
Miami U (Ohio)
Michigan State U
Northwestern U
Ohio State U
San Diego State U
San Francisco State U
Temple U
U Arizona
U Cincinnati
U Colorado (Boulder)
U Delaware
U Houston
U Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
U Iowa
U Maryland
U Massachusetts (Amherst)
U Miami (Florida)
U Michigan
U Minnesota (Twin Cities)
U Missouri (Kansas City)
U New Mexico
U North Texas
U Southern California
U Texas (Austin)
U Washington
U Wisconsin (Madison)
Virginia Commonwealth U</p>
<p>In addition, certain combinations may work, including
Eastman/U Rochester
Hartt/U Hartford
Peabody/Johns Hopkins</p>
<p>I think what someone else posted, that trying to do a performance major in music and do a program like engineering is going to be daunting (not going to say impossible). Having seen what is involved in performance majors, whether at a ‘regular’ university or a conservatory, I see major conflicts. Even leaving out easy to see concerns (the lab courses, for example, that are routine part of science courses required for engineering, plus the lab courses with various types of engineering conflicting with lessons, ensemble practice and performances) is time. The school may be willing in the case of dual majors to waive certain core course requirements/electives, but BM has a track of courses like music theory and the like that you can’t duck…then, of course, there is the practice time, which I would assume you can’t get away from whatever form of music performance you are in, and that is going to be measured in a lot of hours…</p>
<p>What I do know is what an engineering curicula demands of a student, it takes a lot of study time and homework time, I guarantee you that (I have several engineers in the family in different disciplines, none of them is easy), and someone trying both would find themselves I suspect running themselves ragged…it takes a lot of dedication to do a BM degree, it takes a lot of dedication to get an engineering degree, so it isn’t a leap of logic to assume that to do both takes a lot more:).</p>
<p>There is a mom who posts on the Musical Theater forum whose son is double majoring in musical theater and engineering. Do a search there and PM her. She researched a lot of schools. I would imagine you would need to take full advantage of summer school and go a 5th year.</p>
<p>Check the ease of doing these two majors BEFORE your child applies or enrolls. My DD wanted to do a MINOR in music with her engineering degree and could NOT fit in the required courses.</p>
<p>The programs designed to combine these two majors (e.g. the Hopkins/Peabody program) are well suited to this but very competitive. When DS applied to Peabody (not as a double major)…they accepted only a handful of students into this program. My recollection is that it was a FIVE year program.</p>
<p>thump’s post jogged my memory and I recall the thread from last cycle here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/690519-so-confused.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/690519-so-confused.html</a> about a bassoon/engineering candidate accepted to the joint Hopkins/Peabody program who was having second thoughts.</p>
<p>A thread with the poster cartera45 mentions above <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/837349-dual-major-question.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/837349-dual-major-question.html</a></p>
<p>Hi Sushi - as VDad said, I do have a son at U of M who is pursuing a dual degree (though not in engineering.) First off, if you’re talking about a BMUS in performance for jazz percussion and an unrelated engineering degree, both are professional programs with very specific requirements and I personally don’t think it would be doable in less than 6 years since many U of M engineering students take 9 semesters as it is. Our music handbook recommends planning on 11 or 12 terms at 16 - 18 credits That said, I feel you’d be in good hands at U of M for outstanding programs that are nationally ranked in BOTH schools, which I suspect might be a hard combo to find. The engineering school and music school are also located almost side by side on north campus, which makes it especially convenient in upper years. And depending on your son’s interests, one of SOMs music technology programs actually incorporates the engineering school (in sound/acoustical engineering, for example) and it is possible for very talented performers to pursue that track while still intensively studying their instrument in a shorter time span (eg. 4 years). If I can assist you further, please feel free to pm me. Cheers, K</p>
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<p>There are lots of music schools. There are lots of engineering schools. There are lots of schools with music and engineering. However, if your music desire is that specific, then best to look for jazz percussion music schools first. Then see which ones have an engineering school.</p>
<p>FWIW: My son was accepted to study vocal performance. He has since decided to double major in Voice and Actuarial Sciences. At a minimum, that would take him 5 years (very little overlap in the coursework). The school said he should major in Actuarial Sciences and minor in Voice. He can then get out in 4 years (he has AP classes). I think in general, it will work, but he may need to take extra classes so that he will be prepared for studying Voice in Grad School.</p>
<p>I know it’s not quite what you’re looking for, but University of Miami has a degree in Music Engineering Technology with an emphasis in electrical engineering.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention - Yes, U of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a good school for both music (they have a jazz program), and engineering. I believe it is not hard to declare a double major there.</p>
<p>Dooon’t doooo it!!</p>
<p>I’m an engineer; my husband is a musician. My roommate all through college was a music performance major, so we got to constantly compare our college experiences with one another. We both spent 80% of our waking hours (which were most of our hours… not a lot of sleep involved in either of our college experiences!) on our classes, which didn’t overlap, practicing (for her), or problem sets (for me). Music and engineering are probably two of the most time-intensive majors… It’s nearly impossible to overlap.</p>
<p>Do you have to give anything up? No. Keep jazz as an avocation. Do percussion all you want, in your spare time. That’s what I did with piano, and I had a great time with it… It was stress relief and it was fun, and I know that majoring in piano performance and engineering (that was my original plan, too) would have killed my love for both engineering and piano, because it would’ve nearly killed <em>me</em>. Major in engineering, because you need official credentials there in order to have a chance at succeeding in that field.</p>
<p>And what if you want to do jazz later, as your profession? Well, look at this guy…
[Jose-Miguel</a> Yamal :: Piano, Houston, Texas](<a href=“http://www.jose-miguel.com/]Jose-Miguel”>http://www.jose-miguel.com/)</p>
<p>Jose-Miguel Yamal just got nominated for a Grammy nomination this past year (not a Grammy nominee, but he was on the pre-nomination list that they choose the nominees from) for best instrumental jazz solo… He’s a spectacular jazz pianist.</p>
<p>Majored in jazz performance, right? You’d have to, to play with the likes of Larry Slezak, surely.</p>
<p>Nope. He has a Ph.D. in Statistics and Computational and Applied Mathematics from Rice University.</p>
<p>DO both… but don’t MAJOR in both. It’s the surest way to overload yourself and make your education less than what it ought to be.</p>
<p>Enjoy College, along with your major in Music & Engineering.
JMU or UW-Madison</p>
<p>U of H has a SPECIFIC degree called “Acoustic Engineering and Music”. It is a BSE that is fully accredited. Their musical focus is Jazz. Check out their website. (Search University of Hartford). Just visited the school yesterday and I think it is strong in engineering and definitely strong in Jazz. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I highly recommend the University of Hartford and the Hartt School’s acoustics and music program. You literally take 1/2 music and 1/2 engineering (with a few distribution requirements). It is all planned out for you and generally takes four years if you follow their program. You need to do an audition at the Hartt School in either classical or jazz. The acoustics engineering department has close ties with industry and other organizations in the Hartford area and the students work on actual projects for them. If your interests are in the acoustics side of engineering, then this program is worth a look.</p>