<p>I'm interested in administration(dean of academics or admissions) of a top-tier school of music or conservatory one day. What degree route is recommended? Education? Music? Combined with business? What other information/recommendations can be offered?</p>
<p>I would suggest you go to the websites of the major conservatories and read the bios of the people who are currently employed. My guess is that you will find that most of them earned BM degrees as undergrads. I doubt that most set out with the goal of being a conservatory administrator, but by various paths, ended up there. Most college administrators do not have business backgrounds or education backgrounds. They usually have a PhD or some other terminal degree.</p>
<p>My guess is that you don't have to have a music degree to work in admissions at a conservatory since the musical admission part is made by the faculty. However, it would certainly be helpful. But for the most part, colleges and universities do not usually have specific degree requirements to be an administrator. They often seek a specific set of skills rather than a degree. Some schools will also require you to be a member of, or eligible to be a member of, the faculty for certain positions.</p>
<p><<most college="" administrators="" do="" not="" have="" business="" backgrounds="" or="" education="" backgrounds.="" they="" usually="" a="" phd="" some="" other="" terminal="" degree.="">></most></p>
<p>Shennie, I'm not sure I agree with this, but then I may just be taking it personally as I have an MEd. in Student Personnel Services. More and more these days, colleges searching for administrators look for graduates of programs in Educational Administration, just as businesses look for people with MBAs. You may be right in assuming that conservatories have less interest in formal ed. degrees than, say, large State schools do, but I would hesitate to say that most conservatory administrators don't have education backgrounds. Reading the backgrounds of current administrators is a good idea, but so is looking into Ed. Administration programs. If bkb knows that s/he ultimately wants to go into adminitration at a top-tier school, music or otherwise, a terminal degree in Ed. Administration is something to be seriously considered.</p>
<p>My experience has been the opposite. Hubby is an administrator at a major state U. He has a PhD in Chemistry. Many of the other administrators also have terminal degrees in their area. Hubby does have one person in his department with an MBA. She takes care of a lot of the budgeting things. Most of the deans at the U do not have education degrees unless they are affiliated with the School of Education. (That may not be true for some of the associate deans, however.) </p>
<p>It also may be that things are changing and more and more schools are looking for people with degrees in Ed Admin. However, I think there will always be room in unversity administration for a person with the right skill set to be hired, regardless of the degree. I know that my husband has benefited greatly from having a chem degree in running the chemistry department. The faculty know that he understands their issues and has faith that he will make sound decisions. It would be more of a struggle for him without that background. My guess is the same is true in other disciplines. This would be less relevant in admissions or working as a dean of students. The field of university administration is very wide indeed!</p>
<p><<i think="" there="" will="" always="" be="" room="" in="" unversity="" administration="" for="" a="" person="" with="" the="" right="" skill="" set="" to="" hired,="" regardless="" of="" degree.="" i="" know="" that="" my="" husband="" has="" benefited="" greatly="" from="" having="" chem="" degree="" running="" chemistry="" department.="" faculty="" he="" understands="" their="" issues="" and="" faith="" make="" sound="" decisions.="" it="" would="" more="" struggle="" him="" without="" background.="" guess="" is="" same="" true="" other="" disciplines.="" this="" less="" relevant="" admissions="" or="" working="" as="" dean="" students.="" field="" university="" very="" wide="" indeed!="">></i></p><i think="" there="" will="" always="" be="" room="" in="" unversity="" administration="" for="" a="" person="" with="" the="" right="" skill="" set="" to="" hired,="" regardless="" of="" degree.="" i="" know="" that="" my="" husband="" has="" benefited="" greatly="" from="" having="" chem="" degree="" running="" chemistry="" department.="" faculty="" he="" understands="" their="" issues="" and="" faith="" make="" sound="" decisions.="" it="" would="" more="" struggle="" him="" without="" background.="" guess="" is="" same="" true="" other="" disciplines.="" this="" less="" relevant="" admissions="" or="" working="" as="" dean="" students.="" field="" university="" very="" wide="" indeed!="">
<p>Oh, I agree that there are areas where having a specific kind of degree is not only helpful, but should be required. I can't imagine having someone heading up the Chem. dept. who doesn't have a degree in chemistry! Likewise, however, it doesn't make sense to me to have someone heading up an area of student services who doesn't have at least experience in, if not a degree in, that particular area. So many aspects of student services - admissions, housing, financial aid, student activities, and often counseling services and/or job/career placement - seem like they could be handled by unskilled labor at first glance, but they require as specific a set of skills as any hard science would. If the original poster is interested in a position as an Academic Dean at a conservatory or music school, then a degree in music would be most helpful. However, if s/he wants to be the Dean of Students or work in Student Services, I still recommend getting an Ed. Admin. degree.</p>
</i>
<p>thanks for your responses. as to your comments, i'm not really sure whether i want to do academics or admissions but to just keep my options open. i certainly hope this thread stays active, and more responses come this way!</p>