My daughter is set to graduate with a BA Music from a SLAC with a conservatory in 2024. It was really tough to stick it out with music during the Covid years but she did it and now can’t imagine her life without music. Yay. Her thought right now is that she wants to begin her working life as a public school band director. However, she will not be certified to teach when she graduates next year since she did not major in music ed. Since she enjoys academia, she is thinking about getting her master in music ed at a school that offers the masters plus licensure for non BM Ed students. I am finding programs that say they take 10 months to complete (Longy and HOW is this even possible??) and others say 3 years (CU Boulder). I have also seen SMU and Eastman offer masters+licensure as well. Does anyone have suggestions of other schools? What should we consider when looking at programs? We are looking primarily at the Northeast and Texas. Her goals are to 1) be certified to work as a public school teacher and 2) get a good foundation for additional coursework if she ever wants to pursue a doctorate.
Ithaca, Hartt, various state universities? (UVM. UMass, Suny?) UNT?
UNT doesn’t offer a masters with licensure.
Vandercook college in Chicago has one. That’s a specialized small college that only offers music Ed but a good program.
I’d be suspicious of a very short program. The Ed part of a music Ed degree is pretty important. Closer to a second major than a few extra classes added to a performance degree.
Hadn’t thought about Hartt. Ithaca no longer offers grad programs.
I have heard of Vandercook but know very little about it, I’ll tell her to take a look. Since we are talking Midwest I know Northwestern has a post bacc licensure but I assume it’s super competitive.
@murray93 I forgot about Ithaca. I checked it online before posting so the info was dated! Is she looking at a state u in the state she wants to teach.
I also thought Oberlin had a program but couldn’t find it so…guess not.
In what state does she want to teach? If she knows, I would start there…looking at what some of the public universities offer. She should contact the music education department chair at the colleges, and ask what it would take to become certified as a music teacher in that state…from that college.
There are plenty of music performance majors who make that decision after getting their bachelors, or later in their career.
She has no idea where she wants to live so was going to let her choice of grad school direct her. Not the way I’d do it, but she seems paralyzed by all the different possibilities. I suggested she focus on states with high teacher pay and arts support since she is open right now. And we live in Texas so that’s on the table, although I’m not sure she would enjoy the hyper focus on marching band and all-state.
I would suggest she also look at the total cost of getting that music education certification. We need good music teachers…but frankly, beginning pay isn’t the highest. She should look to keep her debt to a minimum, in my opinion.
Yes, good point. Not sure what kind of money is out there for master in music ed. That was why we were initially interested in the Longy program. Certified in 10 months!!
Are you asking about possible funding for a masters in music education? I’ll opine…there isn’t much.
Does your state have an alternate route to teacher certification? Check that to see if music ed is included.
Yes, I am asking about scholarships. Sad to hear there’s not much. I believe there is alternative licensure but the process is vague and daunting.
What is vague and daunting about the alternate route to certification in Texas?
The route to obtain it and how much support you would get from the hiring director. Is it so complex that you would be skipped over for job opportunities because they don’t want to deal with it. It’s something that she would need to research.
Is music teachers a shortage area in Texas? Where I am, the only alternative routes are for areas of shortage. Because if this, these teachers have a good chance at finding A job…not THE job.
The alternative route assumes the applicant has the course material down, but doesn’t have the other things needed to become certified as a teacher. Your daughter has the music content…she doesn’t that the “other”.
Dig deeper into this. And find out the time obligations.
Definitely will look into this. Thanks.
Master of Music in Music Education Online | Graduate Studies | Longy School of Music
Longy is part of Bard now. Looks like there is an in-person program that grants a license, that takes 10 months, and then an asynchronous online program that takes 1-2 years. They emphasize making it affordable and many work during the program. It has an emphasis on being culturally responsive. Looks great! Living in Cambridge is expensive but with roommates it is doable. OR she could do it online.
I think your daughter should attend her state school, or any school that will be similarly priced (or lower). If she moves, she can become certified to teach in that state.
Keep in mind that some/many school districts will hire full time music teachers (especially when they can start at the lowest point on the pay scale), while others like to hire part time specials teachers (art, music, gym etc) to save on benefits. If your daughter can take a test (not sure how that works in other states) to teach RTI in addition to music, she will be more marketable.
I have been working in the public schools (northeast, not music) for 14 years.
RTI (I’m assuming this is Response to Intervention)…is a regular education initiative. Some schools pay folks as tutors to do this. Where I am, any teacher doing this would need to be certified in the area in which they are doing interventions. There is no “test” to teach RTI in my state. So…here, to do this, one would need to be certified in literacy or math or science…or whatever content area RTI is being used for.
Frankly, a part time music teacher can likely earn a lot more teaching private instrument lessons if they are hired part time in a school.
In my district, specials teachers who are part time can study for the praxis (that general education teachers take) and increase their hours by also doing RTI. It depends on the district/state/board policy.
I agree that a part time music teacher can earn more by providing outside music lessons. It’s also very possible that a true musician will not want to do RTI- but you might not get health insurance and your pension will be impacted by the lower salary if you are not full time.
Ideally, this student can work as a full time music teacher with full benefits. She can supplement her income by teaching on the side.