<p>I'm an incoming senior from the Indianapolis, Indiana area looking at Midwestern colleges. I would like to stay somewhere close in Indiana, but I'm also considering the city life of Chicago. Right now I would love to major in music, but I would also like a liberal arts degree (maybe in English or communications, something like that). Ideally, I would like to find a college that allows me to double major in music and a liberal arts program. I would like to go somewhere academically reputable but that still has a good music program.</p>
<p>I looked at IU-Bloomington since it's close and obviously has an incredible music school; however, it would be hard to earn a B.M. degree alongside a B.A. degree, and IU-B does not offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in music.</p>
<p>I'm considering:</p>
<p>University of Notre Dame - obviously an outstanding school academically, but I don't know much about its music department.
Loyola University-Chicago - don't know much about it except that I like the campus and city feel.
DePaul University</p>
<p>I’m not sure how she did it exactly, but a good friend of my S’s graduated from IU with a degree in oboe and a degree in Korean, and she graduated in 3 years. She started out in oboe performance, but changed part way through. I’d been thinking it was a BA in music, but since they don’t offer that, perhaps it was the “bachelor of science and an outside degree.” So it is possible to do two fields of study there.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m aware of the B.S.O.F. program at IU, but I was under the impression that while that’s a concentration in a certain liberal arts field, it does not garner an actual degree in anything but music and likewise isn’t considered a dual major.</p>
<p>Okay - I just checked her facebook page – she has listed BA music; BA Eastern Asian Languages and Cultures. All I can think of is that they used to offer it and don’t anymore. She graduated in 07. I suppose you could email admissions and ask if there is any way to do it. Maybe it is just something they don’t advertise because they prefer performance majors.</p>
<p>I myself am going to be a piano performance and engineering major at the university of Iowa. They have a good music program and a pretty good engineering program. It was the one place that I could go that was pretty close to home (Minnesota), had a decent program in both, and wouldn’t cost a fortune. I also looked at the university of Wisconsin Madison, but didn’t have any piano teachers I would want to study with. I also looked into Cleveland Institute of Music, as they have a good music program and have a partnership with Case Western. </p>
<p>If you were willing to go as far as Iowa, I would definitely look into that. They have a great piano teacher there, and give out a whole bunch of money (unfortunately they didn’t this year because of the economy, but they usually do). I am not sure how good their Liberal Arts program is though.</p>
<p>It depends how close close is. If you want to stay in-state then I don’t know what to say besides IU-Bloomington. </p>
<p>Do not consider a double major in music and any other field lightly, as it will be very very time consuming.</p>
<p>I was a music student at IUB last year. They do offer the kind of degree you’re looking for, its called the bachelor of science in music and an outside field (most people just call it bsof). I think the basic idea is that you have a somewhat abbreviated music curriculum, the courses relevant to your outside field (which is usually in the neighborhood of 25 credits) and then you throw out the extraneous stuff that you would normally get with either major on its own (humanities, freshman experience-type stuff, etc.) Somewhere on the IUB music site there are pdfs that show the suggested progression of classes for the different kinds of bsofs (piano, voice) and where the room for your outside field is, in order to graduate in four years, but I can’t seem to track those down at the moment. I’ll post a link when I do.</p>
<p>My concern with getting the B.S.O.F. degree at IU is that it is still just a music degree. My whole intention with wanting to study music AND a separate subject is so that I can satisfy my passion for music as well as earn an academic degree so that my options for the future are not limited solely to music. Would a potential employer look at the BSOF degree and say, “This proves that he studied music as well as became proficient in a more academic area” or would the employer say, “He got a music degree and took a few courses in an academic area, but still ONLY earned a music degree”?</p>
<p>You are talking with a bunch of parents who have just spent the better part of the past year immersed in the application/audition process which took our kids into some great school and top programs.It was every bit as intense as applying to the most difficult math/science/engineering schools in the country, so please, don’t use the words “only, or “just”…a music degree”, even in jest!!
I think I know what you mean though and know that you didn’t intend any disrespect. Are you saying that you enjoy music and want to keep it as an important part of your life, but that you really intend upon majoring in another field so that you are reasonably certain that you can support yourself? Would you be happy continuing lessons on piano in college while majoring in something else?
I have heard that Notre Dame’s music dept (especially the vocal dept) has been steadily improving, so that might be a school to look at early in the game. If you are not majoring in music, you should be able to find opportunities to take part in shows or musical events on campus.
You’re young, I know that, and this may be difficult, but could you think about where you want to be in 15 years? Then, tell us what you really want from college; what do you want to do there, what academic subjects really “grab” you, extra-curricular acitivities that you want to take part in… Some of those facts will help tie things together.</p>
<p>If you plan to double major with music as one of the majors…also plan to be in undergrad school for an extra semester to an extra year. At Oberlin, for example, double majors typically take five years to graduate.</p>
<p>If you are willing to go into the Chicago area, Northwestern. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that Medical Schools actually accept more music majors preferentially even to life sciences majors; that Law Schools will also accept any majors, and that the kind of discipline and focus required in music is generally recognized as a plus.</p>
<p>For med school do well on the MCATs and for law school do well on the LSAT. For both…get the highest GPA possible. For med school you also need to be aware of the courses required for admittance. I personally know several folks who were undergrad music majors but they also took ALL of the necessary courses to get into med school AND did very well on the MCATs…they are now doctors.</p>
<p>Mezzo’sMama, I know EXACTLY what you mean about the amount of work required to earn a music degree; that’s why I’m putting so much thought into this. By saying “only” or “just,” I wasn’t undermining the music degree as something less desirable. I merely meant “just” a music degree AS OPPOSED TO a music degree AND a liberal arts degree. “Just” was supposed to denote a singular degree as opposed to multiple degrees. Sorry for the misinterpretation!
Thank you for all your insight. Honestly, when I look 15 years in the future I have no idea what I see myself doing. I’ve gone to a career counselor, and he recommended law school. But I haven’t clicked with that, so I don’t think I’m going to pursue law. I really don’t know; I was hoping to go to college to “figure out” my life: what I want from it, what I really enjoy doing, and, to be cliche, who I am. That’s why trying to make decisions is so hard - because I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to decide on.</p>
<p>The ONLY thing I’m 100% certain about is that I love music with a passion. Even though I have no idea what the hell I’d do with a music degree (especially since I’m NOT at all interested in teaching), I know that deep down that’s what I love to do more than anything. And I DO know that in 15 years I’ll regret it if I hadn’t studied music.</p>
<p>Thank you for your candor. In so many ways, it’s GOOD that you aren’t already on a treadmill toward the future. Maybe a large university wouldn’t be the right fit for you right now. Although they do offer a lot of academic programming, it may be done in an impersonal way that wouldn’t help you on your undergraduate journey. Maybe you would be better at a LAC that has a good music department, and/or has music as an active extracurricular activity. You may find that you are better able to tailor your academic program to your needs at a smaller LAC. Check out the colleges at [Colleges</a> That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org%5DColleges”>http://www.ctcl.org). Also, what about Ball State University?</p>
<p>First, I think that it is reasonable and admirable of you to want to obtain some other liberal arts degree in addition to studying music in college. </p>
<p>But having read this thread, I have a couple of questions. You said you “haven’t decided between piano performance or vocal performance, but at this point…piano performance.” If you have not committed to one or the other for some time for the purpose of preparing repertoire for auditions, I am assuming you must be interested in a BA in music along with another liberal arts major. (I say that because admission to BM programs in piano and voice generally weigh auditions heavily and it would take most people a lot of time to prepare the required pieces for piano and I assume for voice). Also, looking at the schools you named -DePaul, Loyola (Chicago) and Notre Dame, I think that with the exception of DePaul, which may offer BA as well as BM degrees, the other two schools offer BA in music and audition may be optional? </p>
<p>From my observation, the majority of people who post here are parents of students who were or hope to be vocal or instrumental performance majors in BM programs, and the next most common group represent Music Education. It is less common for people to discuss issues related to the BA in music (also relatively less common is discussion about majors in academic areas of music such as theory or music history). I don’t know if it is easier to double major with two BA degrees (you mentioned English or Communication Studies, I think) than to get a BM in music performance and also a BA in something like English. </p>
<p>Anyway, I may be totally wrong about your interests and you may be planning to apply to a BM degree in piano performance along with a liberal arts major. If so, sorry for this post. </p>
<p>But what degree you are interested in would make a difference in schools that would be of interest to you, so it would be helpful if you would clarify that. Also, what kind of music are you interested in? Classical, jazz? I see VicAria asked you that already, and it may not seem relevant, but it could make a difference in school recommendations. </p>
<p>I also think it might be helpful for you to think about what kinds of activities related to music that you enjoy most and see what programs would give you the greatest opportunities for involvement in those areas. BA programs in music vary a lot in the extent to which private lessons and performance are a part of the program, for example.</p>
Sorry for the misinterpretation!