Indiana University BSOF

Is anyone familiar with this degree program at Indiana University? Bachelor of Music and Other Field. My child is wanting to go this route through IU. I am curious if anyone else can offer the do’s and don’t’s of it.

My D graduated in 2015 from IU for VP with a BSOF (theater). It’s a Bachelor of Science (in music) with an Outside Field. It’s been a few years since she entered the conservatory (the degree is part of the Jacobs conservatory) so you will need to check if any details have changed…but I think the Outside Field is limited to specific areas of interest. Arts administration is common. Theater was possible. There has to be some cross-over in study for the Outside Field to be acceptable to the conservatory. For example, biology would not work but theater would. It is a bit more flexible on music courses than a BM; however due to the OF requirements it feels like a BM in class choice as 3/4 of your classes will be pre-determined and with gen eds there is not much room for other courses unless you have some AP classes (which my D did).

My D really liked it. It was a major attraction for her since she wanted to continue theater studies. I think it’s the right program for the right kid. I wouldn’t suggest it if trying to use the OF as a Plan B…that rarely works. Theater was not a Plan B for my D (as it is no more safe). But she had a hard time giving up theater…and now out of school she has made money from acting…so all is good.

My D did get accepted into several grad programs who viewed the BS as the same as a BM. So no downside there.
My D did have to work a little extra hard to get some of her diction work done to assure that she was prepped for grad school but it was not too difficult. If you have not already, go to the Jacobs website and check out the semester-by-semester curriculum for the BSOF degree. If you have any more questions, you can PM me.

Thank you bridgenail. We have reviewed the website and the course map. Based on the below, it looks like the outside field can be anything.

This curriculum provides a double focus in music and another area. Outside fields may be
(1) an area other than music;
(2) Music associate degrees in technology (audio or string instrument technology); or
(3) an interdisciplinary individualized music cognate area. Applications for approval of an individualized music cognate area are available in the Music undergraduate office.

Glad you found the info on the website. IU administration is pretty helpful so you can feel comfortable calling and asking anything…any clarifications on majors etc. It’s a big school so you don’t have to worry about it affecting your D’s acceptance.

If serious about the BSOF, I would also look at ensemble requirements for the instrument (should be on the website - but may be vague). Besides classwork, students are required to be in an ensemble each semester and most meet after 4:00 and into the evening many nights a week (and you can’t pick which ensemble as you audition for them). So all classes need to be done by 3:30ish - at least a few years ago for VP. So if the other area of study requires labs (for sciences) or other meetings in the evening (group assignments for business courses), this can be difficult (not always impossible but challenging). My D was never able to do a play at IU due to this…so all her theater was course work only. There was another student who did theater too and in the end leaned more to theater and somehow worked it out…but I think he was willing to accept less in the music school (maybe a low level choir instead of opera chorus for a semester) and he did not continue on to grad studies.

I explain this because doing a BSOF can really work well…but I would get a good sense of the OF requirements to be sure it doesn’t become a disappointment. I believe IU will want to “sign off” on it to some degree. I know the theater dept and music dept needed to do some “magic” for some of my D’s class choices (meaning admin approvals). But maybe things have changed. It is easier to simply do the BM as schedules “work”. I often hear of kids starting with double degrees as Freshman and quitting bc it can be hard to coordinate everything. It’s also hard to keep up with kids committed to music when focused elsewhere. I think the BSOF with the lighter side to the OF (more like a minor) and admin support for the degree makes success a lot more possible. Just be aware there are always trade-offs so that is why taking a close look at the requirements and having an open discussion with IU about her desires would be worthwhile.

Clarification: Talk with the music school admissions about the desired OF - not general admissions. And I looked at the site again…I noticed you found the degree requirements…but be sure you also looked at the semester maps too…very helpful. I remember vaguely the theater dept gave her specific required classes…so that is why I would check at some point with admissions about the class requirements (if they exist) for the OF…again maybe things have changed.

Yes, there were specific courses on the course map and then other open lines for general education and other field course selections. Thanks for your help!