where does one go to get a masters degree in music?

[jonathan_matos5]

i know the program has to exist but what schools offer it?

im still working on my bachelors degree so ive got time but this will most definitely help me choose what college i transfer to out of the local community college.

[iamlowsound]

Any university that offers music and graduate studies will offer a masters in music.

lowsound

[MonetBass]

Believe it or not, Oklahoma State now offers a Masters in Music focusing on pedagogy and performance. I know they have excellent instructors there. But if you wanted to pursue any further education, you'd have to go somewhere else for your PhD. Check out the programs at Kansas and Texas also.

[BassChuck]

It's good that you are planning ahead and thinking of music. I would have to gently and respectfully suggest that if you have to post a question like you have on a public forum, you probably need to spend a good bit of time researching schools, curriculm, faculty and job opportunities.

Also.... many music students prefer to get their undergraduate degree in one school and graduate in another, that way they have more points of view to their education and a wider scope to their training. Like I said, there are a lot of ideas you need to get in touch with.

[John123z]

Assuming your currently a music major.
Go to your local library or book store and check out "Fiske Guide to Colleges" and another is "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report. Both of these books will give you a great overview of colleges and Universities that offer Music programs. It will also tell you the SAT score and class rank or GPA required for admission. Oh and also it list the cost of the schools.


Assuming your not currently a music major;
I would also note you really should be checking out some of these schools now. You may find that a lot of the classes your taking may not transfer for a music major. Other than your gen ed's your probably wasting your time in the community college. Also you need to determine what major your interested in, Music Performance, Music Business, Music Education, Music Technology and so on. Lastly, I don't know of any way you can get a Masters of Music if you don't have a Bachlors in a related field. Thats like me saying I have a Masters in Economics and now I want to put in one more year and get my Phd. in medicine.

John

[jonathan_matos5]

Originally Posted by John123z

Assuming your currently a music major.
Go to your local library or book store and check out "Fiske Guide to Colleges" and another is "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report. Both of these books will give you a great overview of colleges and Universities that offer Music programs. It will also tell you the SAT score and class rank or GPA required for admission. Oh and also it list the cost of the schools.


Assuming your not currently a music major;
I would also note you really should be checking out some of these schools now. You may find that a lot of the classes your taking may not transfer for a music major. Other than your gen ed's your probably wasting your time in the community college. Also you need to determine what major your interested in, Music Performance, Music Business, Music Education, Music Technology and so on. Lastly, I don't know of any way you can get a Masters of Music if you don't have a Bachlors in a related field. Thats like me saying I have a Masters in Economics and now I want to put in one more year and get my Phd. in medicine.

John

im taking just gen eds right now and a couple of classes to refresh my theory and playing. and my community college says that all of their classes will transfer to any of the public colleges in the state. im yet to confirm that but i will be calling my top 2 transfer to schools UCO and TU before i enroll in classes for spring. my major is music education focusing on instrumental but i might switch to music history or jazz studies for my masters

[John123z]

Originally Posted by jonathan_matos5

im taking just gen eds right now and a couple of classes to refresh my theory and playing. and my community college says that all of their classes will transfer to any of the public colleges in the state. im yet to confirm that but i will be calling my top 2 transfer to schools UCO and TU before i enroll in classes for spring. my major is music education focusing on instrumental but i might switch to music history or jazz studies for my masters

Then your really looking to get a BS or BA in music at this point. You should check out both schools audition and academic admission requirements at this point. And then I would contact the professor that will be teaching you on your primary instrument and set up a visit to get a feel for him and the school. Your going to be spending a lot of time with him or her and you better have some chemistry.

John

[jonathan_matos5]

Originally Posted by John123z

Then your really looking to get a BS or BA in music at this point. You should check out both schools audition and academic admission requirements at this point. And then I would contact the professor that will be teaching you on your primary instrument and set up a visit to get a feel for him and the school. Your going to be spending a lot of time with him or her and you better have some chemistry.

John

true there is a recruiting event coming up in about 2 weeks where i can find out more info on transferring but from what i hear UCO and OU have the better music programs but ill need to do some leg work to decide

[Johnny Crab]

Older sister went to University of North Texas in Denton, Texas for her Masters.

http://www.music.unt.edu/
http://www.music.unt.edu/admissions/gradprocedure.shtml

and then to a large state college for her PHD.
She's now a "Prof" in a college + gives private lessons + church + weddings + etc.

The bass pipes on pipe organs RULE THE WORLD!!!

[Munjibunga]

University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University.

[John123z]

Are you limiting you options to just Oklahoma schools? You really shouldn't short change yourself. Check out the college guides and definitely check out some of the colleges previously mentioned. You need to get a list of several potential schools, then apply and audition. Check out each schools audition requirements, so you can start preparing the pieces. Audition season starts as early as November and runs to March or April for the 2008/2009 school year. Don't leave out private schools because they are expensive. They have big endowments and if they want you, they can give you a lot of free money.

Tip - all schools cater to their top 5% of talented students. It's better to be a principal chair at a decent small state school than last chair at Julliard. The top 3 chairs get all the ensemble work and all the attention. When we visited Ithaca college thay made a huge thing out of the fact they didn't have a graduate program in music. This, they said allow the undergrads to occupy the principal chairs to be constantly challenged and grow as musicians. This is something to consider, as someone previously mentioned it's really considered better to get your degress from a variety of schools rather than just one.
John

[jonathan_matos5]

Originally Posted by John123z

Are you limiting you options to just Oklahoma schools? You really shouldn't short change yourself. Check out the college guides and definitely check out some of the colleges previously mentioned. You need to get a list of several potential schools, then apply and audition. Check out each schools audition requirements, so you can start preparing the pieces. Audition season starts as early as November and runs to March or April for the 2008/2009 school year. Don't leave out private schools because they are expensive. They have big endowments and if they want you, they can give you a lot of free money.

Tip - all schools cater to their top 5% of talented students. It's better to be a principal chair at a decent small state school than last chair at Julliard. The top 3 chairs get all the ensemble work and all the attention. When we visited Ithaca college thay made a huge thing out of the fact they didn't have a graduate program in music. This, they said allow the undergrads to occupy the principal chairs to be constantly challenged and grow as musicians. This is something to consider, as someone previously mentioned it's really considered better to get your degress from a variety of schools rather than just one.
John

not at all am i limiting my school choices to just Oklahoma.

From what i hear when transferring from community college to a major university the in state colleges will allow certain credits to transfer and out of state you may end up retaking classes. i have already narrowed my choices for my bachelors degree to about 4 colleges in Oklahoma which are University of Central Oklahoma, University of Tulsa, Northeastern State University, and University of Oklahoma(the real OU) and masters degree practically requires me to leave the state.

i can narrow down what college i want to go to for my bachelors degree in the next year after finding out what classes will or wont transfer. and ill either get a teaching job if i can find and apply for a grad program.

[CamMcIntyre]

I'd be more concerned about your bachelors at this point.

If i'm reading this correctly, you're currently enrolled in community college and are looking into what school to transfer to for a bachelors in music education. Focus on that part for a while.

I feel it's needed to emphasize this as someone who is IN their major program for a bachelors, don't plan your masters until you have an idea what your bachelors will be like. I've flipped and flopped and had all sorts of ideas of what i'd like to get a masters in. If you would have told me before i got here that i'd be considering a masters in education, jazz pedagogy, or something entirely outside of music-i would have laughed at you. Why? Because i've realized that this is the time of our lives where we grow more each year than we have in the past decade that we have been alive entirely.

Once you're in your bachelor program, you'll be able to decide much more easily what you want to get a masters in, or even if you want to get a masters.

That came off far more rant like than i intended.

As far as what school for your bachelor's goes-talk to the teachers who you would be studying with. For me, that was about 95% of why i chose the school that i did. The other 5%? Location. I was accepted to 2 schools [i applied to 3], one offered me a full ride as a music ed major w/a jazz minor, the other offered me a drop in the bucket as a jazz performance major. This *seems* like i should have chosen the first school. I did not. The first school did not have the quality of instruction or location that the second school does.

We are given the option of switching teachers [there's 3 jazz bass people at my school] and i've opted to stay with the same one thus far. I have no plans on switching out of his studio. I may study improv with another teacher, but my core lessons will stay with him.

good luck with it.