<p>I cant believe its time to start looking at grad school. Seems just like yesterday I joined CC to help deal with my fears about getting my violinist into undergraduate music school. So here I am again, looking for advice from the CC community....Looking for a college with a great MM with emphasis on pedagogy (Traditional and/or Suzuki)...Of course, like undergraduate we are following the money trail....your suggestions are eagerly anticipated.</p>
<p>For grad suggestions, some of the best sources are really your peers and department faculty, instructors/mentors at your undergrad program. These are honestly the people that know you, your strengths and weaknesses. </p>
<p>I’d start there first.</p>
<p>I concur with violadad, that for graduate degrees, your department’s faculty will often be the best place to start. Encourage your child to talk to the string pedagogy faculty and to their own studio teacher about grad school suggestions. Being full time in the field, they will be more current and knowledgable than many here might be. As well, they have the huge advantage of knowing your child and therefore having some idea as to good possible fits.</p>
<p>Having said that, here are some suggestions for places to start looking for graduate study in string pedagogy. I have heard positive recommendations about each of them, but one student having a good experience does not necessarily make a school a great place for all students.</p>
<p>Indiana University–Bloomington (Mimi Zweig); University of Minnesota (Bjork); CIM; UTexas Austin (Mark Lewis is there and he is certainly a renowned pedagogue who works well with young and old students, but I don’t know if he actually teaches pedagogy courses); Longy School; Hartt School, U of Maryland; U of Wisconsin Milwaukee; Eastern Carolina University in Greenville; Peabody.</p>
<p>The above list is certainly not comprehensive and I am certain that I have missed many excellent graduate programs in string pedagogy. Most of them either offer specific Suzuki training or incorporate Suzuki principles in their training. As well, some of the above might not a specific degree in pedagogy (just courses in pedagogy). The list is just a place to start.</p>
<p>Another thought that perhaps you have already considered: There are many summer string pedagogy programs. Many are only one or two weeks in length, so they are relatively inexpensive. Most of the best known grad school pedagogy teachers do at least one summer program. </p>
<p>Just as high school students looking at performance are encouraged to make contacts through summer programs, your child might want to attend one of these summer pedagogy programs to get familiar with and network with potential grad school instructors. </p>
<p>As well, some of the fellow participants at these programs (some of whom will be double or triple your child’s age) will have knowledge about grad programs that they will willingly impart.</p>
<p>Yet another thought: many of the grad programs have strong connections to existing string teaching programs for young children and thus are able to give their grad students a great deal of experience both observing children and teaching them. If this is important to your child, be certain to inquire about these opportunities at various schools.</p>
<p>The MM in music education and performance at Boston University would be a logical choice. The string pedagogy teacher is extraordinary, and the violin faculty is very fine.</p>
<p>Thanks to each of you for your advice. As always, I can find answers to my questions here. Will keep you posted.</p>
<p>We loved Boston University’s Undergrad program for violin, and may soon have undergrad cellist student there as well!</p>
<p>My S is also starting his MM search but for viola performance. He is already arranging lessons with potential teachers for this winter. Luckily he has made some good connections so at least has a starting list of teachers / programs. Hopefully these teachers will also be helpful in making suggestions. This time around I have a much smaller role but he has been grateful for all the feedback from members of this forum. I hope that more students and parents will post their MM search experiences.</p>
<p>I’m listening to all the talk about MMs with interest, as D has her eye on grad school auditions in a couple of years (didn’t we just do this??). :)</p>
<p>For Suzuki, we know people who have found Ithaca and Hartt to have good programs that can combine a performance degree with Suzuki pedagogy. I know Hartt offers teaching opportunities to grad students through their Community Division, and my (unverified) understanding is that Ithaca may do the same. I believe the Suzuki Association website maintains a listing of both long term and summer programs.</p>
<p>One of the advantages of a long term program, other than the opportunity to earn a master’s degree along with the teaching qualification, is the ability to cover the entire range of teaching (beginning to advanced) with the same trainer over the course of the program (potentially giving a clearer connection between developmental skills), rather than picking up a “book at a time” which is the common approach over the summer.</p>
<p>It is also possible that in the end, a graduate program with merit aid and paid teaching opportunities may make more financial sense than putting out several hundred dollars each summer for tuition and lodging at Suzuki Institutes. (Disclaimer: I’m basing this on my experience with Suzuki Method. There are certainly other quality pedagogy programs out there, but my knowledge does not extend to those.)</p>