Thoughts on Music Education Schools

Son is a sophomore who is interested in Music Ed for band. His instrument is horn. He is academically very strong and is a strong performer as well but he does not think that he wants to go the performance route. We are starting on his list and I would love some suggestions.

We live in the Midwest/Plains and he probably would want to stay in this general vicinity, but that is not a must. He loves college football, so he wants to go to a school with a strong marching band and a good football team. He wants to find a great horn professor to connect with, so that is a must.

We have heard some advice recently that many schools are really focusing more on performance and that music ed. is taking a back seat at some of the larger universities.

Thoughts on schools to look into, those to avoid?

Many thanks!

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My son is a freshman music Ed major (choral, strings, not band) at University of North Texas. We’ve been very impressed so far with the quality of his education. The music Ed degree is a performance degree. His lessons are hour long, just like performance majors. The band is excellent ( the football team is ok). There’s a lot of music Ed students, a lot of band students, and a lot of opportunities there. In addition, the cost is very reasonable, comparatively speaking, and a scholarship of $1000 or more will also come with an out of state tuition waiver.

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I’m also a UNT mom of a music ed major. The football team is not Big 10-quality but the Green Brigade marching band is awesome! And music ed is a serious major at UNT, jumping into the curriculum freshman year. Among the more affordable schools for out of state students. UNT has an honors college and nice honors dorms, and the College of Music has many honors students.

Beyond UNT, I would suggest University of Nebraska-Lincoln for music ed/football/band. Also among the more affordable, and I was also impressed with their honors college.

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Also consider the hiring horizon for when your son completes his degree. Each state has different license requirements. Not an insurmountable obstacle to become licensed in another state, but requirements can vary and it is another step in the process. It can be easier to find a job in the state from which you graduated college - sometimes college profs have “inside” knowledge of openings and have maintained relationships with past grads who have knowledge of districts. Placement offices will also have more local than national openings listed. Finally, check out teacher starting salaries for various states - the differences can be absolutely stunning.

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I would highly recommend the University of Iowa. My daughter is a music ed major there. The school is set up so that music ed majors also get a performance degree so that you can do both. The horn teacher at Iowa is very nice (even to non-horn players), innovative and has worked with my daughter’s studio on improvisation. The facilities are beautiful, and Iowa football is fun, as is the Hawkeye Marching Band. And Iowa City is a great college town that abuts the campus.

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Agree about North Texas. If willing to venture further away, FSU has a great music education program that is very well supported at the university. If he is a strong student with a 31 or above he can get in state tuition (which is pretty low). Also if admitted to the music school he will get at least 50% of OOS tuition waived and may get 100% of the difference waived.

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Have a look at Michigan State, IU Bloomington, and Ohio State. My understanding is that they are highly respected for music ed. They also have strong marching bands and great football teams. Good luck!

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@klce2001

My son is considering music education as well. Also in the midwest. UW-Madison is good with football and marching band.

My son is also a sophomore and only just starting to think about college plans. He too loves football and would prefer a school that has some school spirit. We have the complicating factor of finances of course. And as he may be eligible for free tuition at some Jesuit schools, that will be hard to pass up (but only 1 has football). Theres some Tuition Exchange possibilities but with covid and my son not having top notch grades, cant depend on that.

Hard to find the perfect fit for my son but we have time.

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My S22 percussionist is also interested in music ed but may also go performance, jazz studies, or even production. He wants a more personalized experience than most large schools offer, so is going to apply to some smaller schools with the plan of doing DCI drum corps for a few summers to get his fill of marching band (which he LOVES).

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Totally recommend Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music for this (I’m an alum). The “B2P” program (“Blair to Peabody”) is just an amazing opportunity - B.M. and M.Ed. in 5 years.

100% job placement, everyone’s involved in Spirit of Gold marching band with the football, the wind ensembles at Blair are really good, and the horn prof. is a phenomenal player and person (Nash. Symph. principal). Check it out!! And DM me for more info if you want, too.

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