<p>what sort of music education options are there for those who already have a bachelor's degree in some other field? i know of continuing education courses, are there any other options, something comparable to a degree program? </p>
<p>also, from what i've read on here, pursuing a second bachelor's degree in music is not out of the question, but federal funding drops after the first, or it has something to do with how much you've already used? i have not used a whole lot of federal funding, since i have university scholarships, so would i still be able to use federal funding?</p>
<p>I’m a bit confused by how you worded your question…</p>
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<p>Are you looking to continue your education in a specific area of music, or are you looking for a program that will provide training in the discipline of music education in order to obtain a teaching certificate?</p>
<p>The website here has the detail. There are different parameters for undergrads (dependent and independent) and graduate students.</p>
<p>Whymper…do you want to get certified in music education? Is that your goal? If so, you need to check YOUR STATE’s requirements for doing so. </p>
<p>In my state, you would have a couple of options.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Enroll in a Masters of Music Education program…but understand that you will have a lot of prerequisite courses to take if you do this. The coursework for music education is quite rigorous and unless you have already taken some of the courses, it could take you a while to finish.</p></li>
<li><p>Our state has a “Alternate Route to Certification” for those who were not music majors. This is primarily for certification in shortage areas (music ed is one in this state right now). You are required to have a bachelors degree to even apply for this. If your degree is in a related field it will be more likely for you to be accepted (e.g. music performance folks who want to become certified or engineer who wants to teach math). There are a couple of different varieties in this state…one is a summer course of study, the other year long with classes on the weekends. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>You mention “continuing education courses”. Many schools offer summer or evening college courses for those who are already certified in an area…to maintain their certification. Where I am, they are open to anyone who registers for them and pays…but they usually do not apply to getting certified in the area UNLESS you are a matriculated student in a music education program AND the courses are approved as part of your course of study.</p>
<p>sorry, i worded my question wrong. i am asking about options of receiving instruction in music (similar to music degree program) for those who already have a bachelor’s degree (that is not in music). hopefully my original post makes more sense now.</p>
<p>Are you planning to take these courses or whatever for your own interest and pleasure? If so, you can take private instrument or voice lessons. You can enroll in college courses as a non-matriculating student IF the school allows that. You can take continuing education courses in music. Some community colleges also offer courses in music theory and music history…you could take those.</p>
<p>Just as a side bar to this, as it is sort of related- D has found out that some required classes were difficult or impossible to get into this fall due to the fact that schools are accepting grad students who did not major in music as undergrads. Simply because of the “totem pole” rankings, graduate students take precedence over the undergraduates, so what happens when they haven’t fulfilled the requirements in keyboard classes or, especially, in languages? They get the spots and the others have to wait, or, if there is still room (or the prof permits more students to enroll), the older ones have had their schedules longer so all of the texts required for the courses are sold-out. Actually, this last event led us to some creative shopping alternatives- Thank You goes out to thumper1 for the suggestions! This all seems to be a relatively new phenomenon, since the administration really was caught off guard this year, but one has to wonder if it will continue to the point where it actually impacts the number of years required to graduate if one has to pack in “required” courses and can’t get into them?</p>
<p>i’m guessing these grad students who did not study music in undergrad have performance abilities at the graduate level? the problem is, i know i’m not at that level, nor will i be when i graduate from undergrad (the next 2-3 years).</p>
<p>i’m interested in studying performance (jazz guitar as primary, but also building upon my piano abilities), theory, ear training, history, analysis, and perhaps some composition. it seems that the continuing education courses do not get very advanced or varied in their scope.</p>
<p>mr.whymper, no, no, I wasn’t referring to you in any way,please don’t think that! I just inserted my comment as a side bar to all of this.I didn’t think that was what you intended when you originated the thread. I’ll leave it up to one of the “dads” as to whether or not I should remove it and put it in it’s own thread.
Are you still an undergraduate? If so, and you attend a school which also offers a good music program, could you fit the extra music coursework into your schedule? Would it be possible to pursue a “double-major”, even if it requires another year, as that might preserve your funding? There are universities which have conservatories associated with them ( Case Western/CIM and Rice/Sheperd come to mind), where you could do that, and Case also has it’s own music department which offers it’s own music degree, which does not have as rigorous entrance requirement as does CIM.</p>
<p>I’m still a bit confused. Are you leaning more towards a course of study to enhance your musical ability and training for personal pleasure, or as training for a potential career in music? The options run the gamut from self study and private instruction through considering applying for masters programs depending on what your goal is and what you need/want/expect.</p>
<p>I haven’t studied the non degree curriculum options that closely, but from prior scanning the programs run the gamut from basic instruction through college level curriculum. It’s conceivable to achieve an undergrad performance certificate level at Juilliard, Mannes and potentially a few others if I recall. </p>
<p>Going “back” for a second bachelor’s for a music BA, BM, or even an undergrad level performance certificate/diploma is another option, but again, suggesting a program based on your current skill level would require a broader picture of your current training and abilities. You may or may not be competitive within the audition based options suggested, but there are any number of programs that might work.</p>
<p>It’s also possible that you might look into Master of Arts programs in music, rather than MM’s. </p>
<p>Without more background and info, it’s difficult to ppint you in any one direction.</p>
<p>“It’s conceivable to achieve an undergrad performance certificate level at Juilliard, Mannes and potentially a few others if I recall.”</p>
<p>Be careful of underestimating the entrance requirements for “non-degree” certificate programs either at the undergraduate or graduate levels. Most (all???) conservatories and some universities offer certificate programs with various school specific titles - Performer’s Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Artist Diploma, Professional Studies Diploma, etc. The audition/playing level admittance standards are HIGHER for such than programs than the corresponding undergraduate B.M. or graduate M.M. degree. programs. </p>
<p>A student hoping to develop basic competence should be looking at the evening programs offered at some schools. (Maybe that’s what Violadad was referring to?) The full time “certificate” program run through the regular conservatory/music school will not be appropriate.</p>
<p>fiddlestix, a valid concern. I was specifically speaking about the options through the evening classes/extension programs. The rigor of the entrance requirements are indeed school specific and are often set at an extremely high bar.</p>
<p>And the parameters for GPD’s, AD’s are extremely high. Again, my reference was towards undergrad performance options (can be called performance certificates, undergrad (performance) diplomas in lieu of a BM pursuit. Again, these are institution specific, and those suggestions I offered may or may not fit the op either in terms of appropriate skill level, geographic location, or financial suitability.</p>
<p>mezzo’s mama, i realized it was a sidebar, and was just inquiring on the possible application to myself.</p>
<p>i’m interested in a music program to to enhance my ability for personal pleasure at the very least, but a career in music is definitely something i would like to pursue. </p>
<p>i’m not sure as to what level my ability will be at when i graduate, most likely 3 years from now, compared to what it would take to be admitted to degree program. let’s say i wouldn’t quite be at the level yet. it seems that taking private instruction, perhaps through the evening division of a university or conservatory, would one of the better ways to enhance my ability. but after that, what would the next step be in pursuing advanced studies in areas other than and including performance?</p>
<p>OP, could you please be more specific as to what you would like to do? “A career in music” doesn’t give us much to go on and you’re not going to get the help you seek unless we are all on the same page. Do you want to perform, teach, play in a group, an orchestra? All of those are going to require some expertise, so could you also say if you are in a position to continue on as an undergrad or would you consider switching majors at this time? If you truly don’t think you will have attained the level needed to enter a conservatory-other than taking lessons in its “community school”- by that time, then your options are going to be limited. Have you considered combining a business major with music or something on that order? Could you please tell us what you are majoring in now, come to think of it? That would provide us somewhere to begin…</p>
<p>the goal is to be in a small jazz group, ideally one i form with people i meet. so while i’m not looking for a name-brand degree to help bolster my chances of landing a job in music (i don’t know if this is the way it works in music, as it would in, say, law), i would also like a high-quality education.</p>
<p>my current major is english, and i would definitely consider double majoring or all the music courses i could fit into my schedule, but i do not want to change majors. english is just as much of a passion as music is, and i would love to be able to combine the two with lyrical writing. plus, while i didn’t choose english for the practicality of it, i imagine writing skills are more marketable than music proficiency which would help secure my future a bit more while pursuing a career in music.</p>
<p>the university i am at now (i would like to refrain from mentioning a name) has a fairly large music program (it’s a large university), but is not a go-to school. i’m not sure how rigorous the audition process is, but i doubt i would make it through at this moment. there are a number of courses that do not require entrance into the major. actually, the only courses that are not available are performance-related classes and keyboard harmony, etc.</p>