Music Ed Schools in Boston/MA?

MomOf3Stars · 06-30-2007, 08:56 AM

Hi,
D is looking to broaden her college search geographically by possibly auditioning for a school in Boston/Mass. I know that Boston University has a Music Ed program and although her academic record is stellar I am not sure how competitive BU's music ed program is.

I know that in most states there are a few colleges where a lot of the state's music teachers attended. For instance, in NY state a lot of music teachers attended Ithaca or Potsdam (Crane). I was wondering if there were any such schools in Massachusetts. I see that U of M Lowell has a music ed program but it is only at the master's level from what I can tell. If anyone knows any differenly please tell me so.

D was going to audition at Indiana University of PA but as the school is 7.5 hours from home and no sign of any type of mass transportation available nearby we were thinking that something in Boston or near Boston would be better. That way she could have the option of taking the train home mid semester if she needed to.

I appreciate any advice that anyone can give us. We had considered Berklee in the past but they do not offer guaranteed student housing and for us that is a must. We are basically looking for something urban to suburban, lower priced if possible, and with guaranteed student housing. Conservatories need not apply as D and I both think she is a little too relaxed for conservatory life.

TIA

violadad · 06-30-2007, 09:46 AM

Are you specifically looking for a Massachucetts school for MA state teaching certification? Without knowing your current geographic location (I'm guessing NY) take a look at Hartt (University of Hartford). Their music ed program is very highly regarded, and successful completion results in meeting all CT state pre-certification requirements. My son was a 5 year viola performance/music ed double degree who dropped the ed portion 9 credits short of finishing to concentrate on performance.

He was very happy with both the performance and education departments, and there is a magnet school on campus that has had an ongoing (7-8) year
String Project http://www.stringprojects.org/ that allows string ed majors the opportunity to work directly with the elementary-aged kids beginning in their freshman year. They have also instituted a Band Project at the school (starting either year 3 or 4 this coming fall). Music ed classes include a lot of off-site direct experience at a number of the local suburban public schools.

My guess for next year's COA is $38k, but our experience is that Hartt is generous with merit aid. An audition on a primary instrument or voice is required, and the program requires both admission to UHartford and Hartt. A good portion of the freshman dorms have or are being redone within the last 2 years, and there is a brand new dorm slated to open in '08. Campus housing is available for all years of attendance. School is located in suburban West Hartford, but borders on a less than desireable area
of Hartford proper.

Off campus housing is fairly reasonable as well, particularly if you compare it to Boston and environs. Boston is accessible via I-84, about 2 hours by car. There is Amtrak service at the Hartford rail station as well. Bradley Int'l Airport is a 20 minute drive.

If you're looking for certification within your own state, quite often the cheapest way to go is your state universities and colleges.

violadad · 06-30-2007, 10:13 AM

UMass Amherst has a music education program as well. I can't speak for the quality of the program, but Amherst is the flagship state U.

MomOf3Stars · 06-30-2007, 11:21 AM

Thanks Violadad. I have thought about Hartt but in past postings on CC I have gotten the impression it is quite selective. I am not sure that my D (a horn player btw) is good enough or has enough outside experience to get into a school of Hartt's caliber. However, it is good to know that they are generous with aid as well and the upcoming band program you speak of sounds intriguing. I will do some extra research.

We are in NYS however, my D has made it clear that her intentions are not necessarily to stay in NY after college. Ofc, it is a possibility but I am pretty sure that PA, MA, and most of the northeastern states are pretty close as far as what is required for certification. That is minor now, she can find out more on visits.

I will look at U of M Amherst again. I was sure I had checked their majors list and found only a general music major.

As for the SUNY schools, we are Northern NY's and LOTS of students from our school got to SUNY Potsdam, and Clarkson U (which is also in Potsdam). My D's whole thing (and mine too) is for her to shake off the dust of our small town and mingle with different people. That said, Crane is quite separate from the main school socially (people who have gone there have told me this) but it is on our audition list as we have known people who have done quite well with merit and need based aid there.

SUNY Fredonia is also on our list and is the more attractive of the 2 SUNY's we have but again is quite remote and mass transit not possible to get unless it is a Greyhound bus which for the 4 hour trip from our home is probably not the worst scenario.

VicAria · 06-30-2007, 12:21 PM

McGill in Montreal would certainly be a change! I believe I found in my research that they offer both music performance and music ed majors.

violadad · 06-30-2007, 02:32 PM

McGill is indeed a fine school and has produced a number of outstanding performers. I'm curious though as to the advantages and disadvantages in pursuing a music ed degree at what is in effect a "foriegn" school. I have no idea of the basic differences in provincial versus state certifications... there is much difference between our own states' criteria; I'm sure there are comparable differences within the provincial standards, as well.

The relatively low cost of McGill in comparison to top US music schools and the institution's continued great music repuation makes it attractive to many. I think there is a paucity of university housing and many students
live off campus. The exchange rate with the US/Canadian dollar has been far better than in the past.

Montreal is a vibrant, beautiful city with plenty of musical opportunities.

But it does get cold, even for a New Englander.

And Momof3, Hartt is competitive and the audition is a major factor in admission. Academically, your D's stats are fine.

MomOf3Stars · 06-30-2007, 04:29 PM

VicAria: Thanks for the suggestion. McGill is an interesting idea, I will have to look into possible licensure issues between Canada and the US.

ViolaDad: I do think that Hartt is out of our league. However, I did delve further into UofM Amherst and their Music Ed program sounds really great. Plus, there is Amtrak service there and it is only 90 min from Boston (she will have a car as soon as whatever college allows) and not so far from where we live (I would hazard a guess of about 4-5 hours). I think they will deserve a visit from us and a further look-see into their programs. So far I have only told D about it when we were driving her home from her job today but we will do more research later. The best part is that UofM Amherst also has an honors college which is something D has been looking into as well.

musicmom · 06-30-2007, 10:00 PM

A bit off topic, hope not too far:
What is COA for McGill? I've looked at their website and remain a bit cloudy. Son is considering for grad school and we've heard it's 'reasonable'.
thanks in advance for any help.

Chedva · 06-30-2007, 10:14 PM

You may want to check out Brandeis. It has both an education program and a music program, so I'd guess your d could easily develop her own music ed program if they don't have one.

*KatMT* · 07-01-2007, 10:01 AM

I am not sure if it is really possible to devise one's own music ed degree program. Most states have pretty specific music ed certification requirements...

However, she could possibly become certified in another area than music to begin with, and then complete the states requirements for a second certification in music if this was of interest to her.

violadad · 07-01-2007, 12:24 PM

I have to agree with KatMT regarding Chedva's suggestion.

Brandeis, while a fine school really does not seem a fit at all. Their music undergrad degrees are BA, rather than BM, and from a quick perusal they do not offer an education degree, but a minor in ed.

There are many available high quality programs that will provide the proper faculty, program, technique and training required to finish undergrad work with an accredited BA, BM, or BS in music education.

violadad · 07-01-2007, 12:51 PM

musicmom- From what I could gather, music undergrad and fees run about $15500 per annum, and grad music students on full credit load are about $12000 including fees. These are the rates for international students and I assume a US citizen is treated as an international student. I'm also assuming the figures are in Canadian, not US dollars.

At the current exchange rate, the converted grad cost is about $11200 USD/year.

It was a far better deal in other times when USD was worth $1.35 or so CAD. Right now, USD = about $1.06 CAD. We traveled extensively in the Canadian Maritimes in the 70's & 80's and the favorable exchange rates back then made for some very cheap and therefore extended vacations.

I have no idea what housing or board would cost, or what the rental rates are currently in Montreal. I'm assuming fairly high, being a metro area. Even back in the 80's we found food costs relatively high in Canada, many items exceeding our at home costs (CT suburb of NY metro area). Plus there are the GST (general sales tax) and PST (provincial sales tax) that are added to most sales. In some provinces, the combined total amounted to 10% of the bill, although as tourists, most was reimbursable.

Now, these figures exclude room and board. I looked, but could not find a fee schedule on McGill's pages for room & board.

It's worth looking into, depending upon instrument, and may very well be a viable alternative to a top name US school.

tubamomNY · 07-01-2007, 05:08 PM

I believe Syracuse U has a music ed major (Setnor School of Music). They give scholarships, but it is still very expensive. May be worth checking out.

cathymee · 07-01-2007, 05:29 PM

Momof3
Take a look at UMass's Honor's program .They also have some out of state merit $$ available for the right stats.Have D apply early for the best $$ chances.
S (we're from NY but metro NYC) looked carefully at UMass for a totally different major but with the Honors realm. The schools location is rural but very college town oriented.There are transportation options right from campus(bus company picks up ) but I dont know how they would match up with an upstate NY'ers needs.

MomOf3Stars · 07-01-2007, 06:27 PM

TubaMomNY: Syracuse is quite close to us and not an option. We visited last year and the location in the city was not to our liking. Besides, if she were so close (about 1.5 hours away) I could never leave her alone!! We know a girl who is at SU and her mother and sister go out every weekend to visit her. It is just too easy to keep the umbilical cord attached. Also, we have a good selection of in-state schools already.

CathyMee: I will look more into the Honors program at UMass. Unfortunately, the school as a whole is not getting the best reviews on CC or anywhere else on the web. It seemed like a good safety (is anything safe when auditioning though?) for awhile though.

Does anyone know much about Boston U and the Music Ed program there? I am thinking they are on the competitive side to get into. As far as being competitive would it compare more to say, Eastman or to Crane or somewhere else?