<p>I read this here (Peabody</a> Institute)... It was a link listed by someone in another forum topic.
The text from which my questions derive is listed on the bottom of this post.</p>
<p>So, for clarification and understanding, if I was to major in music (or for that matter, anthing else that would fall under the "liberal arts" category) I would be an elligable applicant for ANY other liberal arts masters degree, correct?
How practical is this type of thing?
How much does this vary from school to school (and from degree to degree)?
Will it greatly inhibit chances of admittance into certain graduate programs if the major and chosen masters program aren't the same?
Does this work the same for other types of degrees (For example, If I was to get a Bachelor of Science and major in accounting, could I go on to apply for a masters in Criminal Justice, etc.)?</p>
<p>Thanks for your time.</p>
<p>The text:
"The truth is that a B.M. degree is a bona fide bachelor's degree, with all the advantages of any other. Even though it is strongly biased toward music study, it is just as useful when applying for jobs as a non-technical bachelor of arts degree from a liberal arts college. Also, Howard's parents probably do not realize that after completing his bachelor of music degree, Howard has the option of entering a masters program—and it does not have to be as a music major. So, let's say that Uncle Louey and Howard's parents turn out to be right. Howard gets his B.M., and eventually wishes that he had gone into, say, business administration. He applies for entrance into an appropriate masters program—the same as if he had been a liberal arts major as an undergraduate. In a total of six years past high school, Howard has an M.B.A.. This is the same investment in time that would have been required had he come from a B.A. background. Note that some graduate programs might require some review or pre-requisite work, but there are certainly doctors, lawyers psychologists and successful business people out there who began their education with a bachelor of music degree."</p>
<p>To be eligible for a master’s degree program in another field, you would have to have a significant amount of coursework related to that field. If you wanted a Master’s in History, you would need to have taken many history courses and probably would need a lot of foreign language preparation. For a Master’s in Biology, you would need three years of chemistry (general, organic, and physical) as well as significant biology coursework. Major in whatever you want, but you won’t get into a good graduate program if you haven’t had the right classes.</p>
<p>Ok, so it varies greatly from program to program.</p>
<p>So say I had majored in something (such as music) and got a “liberal arts” degree because of it. Could I be elligible for a masters in something completely apart from the liberal arts if I had taken enough classes for whatever it is, even if I didn’t have a related degree?
Is there any consistancy in this or does it vary greatly from program to program as well?</p>
<p>Well, they’ll look at your transcript to see if you’ve taken enough courses within that field. If you’ve never taken Basketweaving 101, then how do you know that you’ll stick out a MA program in Crafts if you’ve never taken that class? </p>
<p>When you say “liberal arts degree” what does that meant? Will your transcript say “BA in Musicology” or “BA in Liberal Arts” (Like Sarah Lawrence College). If it’s the latter, then the grad schools will very much look at your transcript. If it’s the former, they’ll question.</p>
<p>Besides, what would you want to get your graduate degree in? Why not just try some of those classes out first in undergrad before worrying about graduate school?</p>
<p>“If you’ve never taken Basketweaving 101, then how do you know that you’ll stick out a MA program in Crafts if you’ve never taken that class?”</p>
<p>That’s why I said “if I had taken enough classes for whatever it is”.
I guess what I’m ultimately asking in this sense is wether the degree is a necessity or wether taking (said classes) is enough to be an elligible applicant. If I had to guess I’d say this varies greatly from program to program, and that the degree is the preferred path, but I’d like to be better informed about it.</p>
<p>“When you say ‘liberal arts degree’ what does that mean? Will your transcript say ‘BA in Musicology’ or ‘BA in Liberal Arts’ (Like Sarah Lawrence College). If it’s the latter, then the grad schools will very much look at your transcript. If it’s the former, they’ll question.”</p>
<p>I guess in re-reading the text my understanding was a little skewed.
According to the quoted text, yes the degree itself would say “BA in Musicology” but it would be “just as good” as a “bachelor of arts degree from a liberal arts college” as far as applying for a masters programs goes.</p>
<p>“Besides, what would you want to get your graduate degree in? Why not just try some of those classes out first in undergrad before worrying about graduate school?”</p>
<p>I’m not entirely sure. Right now I’m just trying to fully comprehend what options are available to me.
I’m intensely interested in music, though not necessarily in the “classical” sense but more for the purpose of my own education and to better myself as a performer.
I understand that a B.A in music isn’t necessarily concidered a very “stable” and “reliable” degree, and am therefore assessing different options I have.
If I could get all the education in music that I desire and then get a master’s in something more “stable” (since a great deal of profitable careers require a masters these days anyways…), and especially if I could do so in a comparable amount of time and money to majoring in something other than music, it would be an option worth seriously concidering.
The other options I’ve concidered are just minoring in music (this looks like the most likely option as of now… I just need to find a place with a lot of freedom to pick and choose courses I desire if this is the case), and double major-type programs, which is how I found myself navigating to the posted link in the first place.</p>
<p>I would most certainly take a great deal of classes in whatever it is if I decided to try and go about a masters in something I didn’t major in… right now I’m simply concerned with understanding how available this option is to me, and then I’ll go on to find out how many classes I would need exactly to apply for whatever that masters program is.</p>
<p>If you’ve taken the right courses, then you should be eligible for a master’s program in whatever field you like. I say “should” because your major might cause your grad school application (and your resume for the remainder of your career) to be taken less seriously - sad but true.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend that you consider majoring in some other field and taking the courses you like in music. Don’t feel obligated to do a minor or double-major, just choose what you want to learn. This is about your interest in music, after all…why should you force yourself to take major/minor requirements you won’t enjoy? I’m sure you could fit music in around another major and still graduate on time. It’s a choice you probably wouldn’t regret decades from now.</p>
<p>Once you’re in college (or if you are already) you should get career counseling and talk to professors in your field. They’ll tell you what you need to get into a Master’s program and help you decide whether a music major is the way to go.</p>
<p>Just a quick comment - don’t confuse the “name” of a degree with the “content” of the degree. Bachelor of Arts (BA) Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelor of Liberal Arts are all approximately equivalent (BS degrees often are a bit less flexible in terms of electives because they have more technical content). </p>
<p>It is the content of the degree (i.e. your transcript) that matters for graduate admissions. </p>
<p>As snowcapk says, most programs (excepting some hard sciences and engineering majors) will leave you plenty of room to take music or whatever else your interests lead you to.</p>
<p>And don’t worry about your resume “for the rest of your career” - after your first “real” job no one will care what you majored in except as a check box (Has Bachelors Degree) - your work experience will be far more important.</p>
<p>Incidentally, I’m a software engineer and my immediate supervisor’s BA is in Composition. </p>
<p>My intuition leads me to believe that a “classical” music training, one with a strong focus on theory, is of greater general applicability than one with a greater focus on performance. It may be the potential of this classical training to which your quoted text refers. Note also that your quote gives an example of three professional degrees, and one which may be a professional degree or not..</p>
<p>So, that’s just to give some context to the quote you posted. Everything that everyone else has said is correct as well.</p>
<p>“Enough” courses in the second field is generally equivalent to a major in the second field, so if you truly have “enough” in the second field to appease a graduate admissions committee, then you have enough to double major at your school. A double major in music and this second field to which you cryptically allude, would be sufficient for a graduate admissions committee in the second field.</p>
<p>Applied degrees are different from liberal arts degrees. Applied degrees, like accounting and criminal justice, do not generally have the same breadth of undergraduate liberal arts requirements. In your example ( If I was to get a Bachelor of Science and major in accounting, could I go on to apply for a masters in Criminal Justice, etc.) you could indeed. A graduate degree in criminal justice may have a prerequisite or two, but an undergraduate criminal justice major is not a requirement.</p>
<p>It would be a lot easier to respond to your concerns if you were to articulate the real first (music, accounting or something else) and second fields. Also, a BA in Music is a liberal arts degree and all BA students, regardless of major, generally have the same general education requirements. A BM in Music is an applied degree and more of one’s degree credits are performance based and fewer in liberal arts distribution requirements.</p>
<p>“A double major in music and this second field to which you cryptically allude…”
“It would be a lot easier to respond to your concerns if you were to articulate the real first (music, accounting or something else) and second fields.”</p>
<p>Honestly, this “cryptic allusion” you speak of is only because I don’t have any clue what that second field is. Music is my primary interest, though like I said not necessarily in a “classical” sense… and for that reason I’d be totally ok not majoring (or for that matter minoring) in it (as previously suggested) provided the selected school and chosen major allow me enough flexability to fit in the desired courses.
That second, undecided field that I will eventually major in will be for the purpose of making a living. Other than music, the examples I provided were merely off the top of my head for the purpose of clarification.</p>
<p>If you’d like to direct me towards some resources (I’m sure there are many)that could help me find out information about different college majors and how profitable those fields look to be in the upcomming years, that would be greatly appreciated as well.</p>
<p>Otherwise, thanks again to everyone for the assistance.</p>
<p>Go to any bookstore or look at Princeton Review’s guide to College Majors (I think Fiske has one too). The information’s pretty general so it gives you a pretty good sense of what to expect in that major. You should also look in your school’s course catalogue to get a sense of what you need to do for the major. Many schools require you to take between 8-12 courses in the major and 5-8 courses for the minor. So I guess you can say about 6-8 courses at the minimum to show interest for MA programs. I mean, generally by the 6th course, you feel that you’re just getting your foundation and have a good idea of whether you can keep going or not.</p>
<p>Remember there are also LOTS of opportunities to play your music outside of the classroom like the university orchestra or the pep band, et cetera.</p>