<p>My D is a music ed major and wants to continue after she graduates to get a masters degree. She is currently doing very well in her schools honor program but wonders if graduate schools care about that type of thing. It is not to hard to get the two year honors degree at her school but the 4 year degree takes a much larger amount of work including some winter and or summer additional classes. She is a voice major and would love to get a grad degree in conducting. I know she can handle the work load but I don't want to push her to hard if she doesn't need it,does anyone have advice on this? She is only a freshman but her schedule would have to be augmented if she is to continue with honors for 4 years. Just to be clear the school will show that she has the two year degree even if she stops at that year. I don't think she is going to change her mind about graduate school for conducting since she told me she wanted to be a music teacher when she was 8 years old.</p>
<p>Yes, graduate schools do care about your grades but I don’t know if honors program is as important for a music ed major; I would think that they’d be a good indicator of ability to handle advanced work and could be a deciding factor if all other things are equal( Personally, I believe that teachers should have the best of everything!). Your D is a freshman, so right now I’d back off and let her get through this year. There’s plenty of time and she should be the one to discuss this with her advisor at school when picking out her courses for the future. All VP majors take at least one choral conducting class and maybe more than one for an ed major, but I can’t see much point in taking a Master’s in conducting if one wants to teach at the school level. If your D intends to teach college, that’s another matter- again, these are questions for your D to talk over with her advisor.</p>
<p>I’d suggest she sit down and do a bit of research into some schools she might be considering, and begin to look at the requirements for grad programs across the disciplines. A talk with her advisor, or other faculty/dept heads, maybe a few grad students either at her current school and through her network in either an MM ed or (I’m assuming choral) conducting track will also shed some insights.</p>
<p>The requirements may vary widely for either, and by institution. Also GRE’s may or may not be required (again for either), it’s also institution and sometimes discipline specific.</p>
<p>As in undergrad, the performance disciplines tend to be audition centric, and in the case of MM in ed, a videotape/DVD of class room teaching technique is typically required, and most will also have a similar requirement for conducting.</p>
<p>Having said that, academics will play a role in selection, particularly in the music ed field, and can make the difference in sorting out potential candidates. It also is a factor in awarding fellowships, assistantships, stipends regardless of discipline. </p>
<p>If she’s planning on a teaching career in a public k-12 setting, she may want to weigh the effect of having the MM in music ed versus conducting track. The conducting MM may not “hurt” her, as it broadens the chances for employment in community/faith based settings, and might be more beneficial if she wants to pursue teaching at the college level.</p>
<p>The two versus four year honors track is a toughie… how well can she balance academic and music ed degree requirements (time and typically credit intensive, and highly sequenced) without making herself crazy? A lot will depend on how she’s handled the first couple of semesters, her time organization skills, etc. If anything has to slip, it’s best that the loss NOT occur within the coursework that encompasses the undergrad major degree requirements.</p>
<p>And you can help investigate, inform yourself and be ready to act as a sounding board or a shoulder to cry on, but the common wisdom is that they really need to sort the path out for themselves. Your well intentioned desire to help may or may not be met with rolled eyes or open arms. </p>
<p>Again, nothing really concrete in the above, just some info we’ve gleaned from both son’s and his peers undergrad and grad search/selection process. It doesn’t get easier. ;)</p>
<p>FYI: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/753651-graduate-conducting-programs.html?highlight=graduate[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/753651-graduate-conducting-programs.html?highlight=graduate</a></p>
<p>D’s undergraduate Honors Program came into play when she applied for Grad School…but it was for Musicology.The Honors College required a Senior Thesis, which she wrote on a music topic and which she used for the writing sample the Grad apps required.While doing the research for the thesis in her junior year, she came across the name of the person she had the most interest in studying with for the PhD and it helped her formulate her list of schools.</p>
<p>Hi SopDad819: As you know, D is one year ahead of yours (summer-program friends). I’m just passing on her perspective. She made the decision part way thru spring semester that she would not continue with honors this past fall semester. She found that with all the required reading/writing/group work she knew she was not getting the amount of practice time she should. I am glad she at least tried it- I can see a big leap in her critical thinking and vocab. She feels like she can write much more easily. And, she had the opportunity for a wonderful honors college study abroad program this past summer. At her school, there was no such thing as 2 year honors-that might have been a nice option. There were other music majors in the HC, but it was difficult for them from a scheduling point of view. And, again, she knew she wasn’t getting as much PRACTICE as she would have liked! Of course, all this is in a way a moot point, since her professor took a new job at a different school and she transferred in order to stay with him! Which could be a thread of its own! I would guess that most music grad school admission depts. would understand the dropping of Honors College program to be more of a time-related issue than an academic one, especially if a student’s grades in the honors classes had been good.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great advice I am going to have her read the responses.</p>