Harvard and Berklee to offer dual degree: BA/MM or MA starting in 2017

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/07/harvard-and-berklee-to-offer-dual-degree/
“Here’s how the five-year program works: Students pursue their bachelor’s degree at Harvard while taking private lessons and preparatory classes at Berklee during the first three years. In addition, they participate in ensembles at either institution, and pass instrumental proficiency exams at Berklee. In their fourth year, students complete their bachelor’s requirements, including a senior thesis, if desired. They finish their selected master’s program (master of music or master of arts) in the final year.”

Seriously? That is too funny. My son has a friend who just completed the Harvard/NEC dual degree and is doing Berklee’s global Jazz next year. According to our son his attitude it is it another free year and he hopefully will get to travel.

It’s funny I was going to start my response with “Seriously?” too. Veeerrrry interesting. Lots of things going on in the Boston/Cambridge area in higher education for music…mergers, new programs, and Harvard seems to be finding ways to increase opportunities for applied arts.

Wonder how this will intersect with Berklee’s merger with Boston Conservatory too?

^It’d be really cool if BoCo students could take a liberal arts class from Harvard!

All an applicant has to do is get accepted at Harvard! Piece of cake!

Just fyi Bo Co students can take classes at other performing and visual arts schools:
https://www.bostonconservatory.edu/music/pro-arts-consortium

I wonder if credits from Harvard Extension would be accepted at BoCo. That would be one way to take a class at Harvard with a Harvard professor (though not all Extension classes are taught by Harvard professors…)

This new program is specifically for Berklee and Harvard admits. With the merger I do wonder if and when that will extend to BoCo. The number of students in these programs are sometimes miniscule but it is a PR coup for Berklee for sure.