A straight A, high SAT scoring student (800 math, near 700 English) is looking for colleges that offer both ethnomusicology and engineering. Musicology and engineering would be second choice. Interested both in universities and LAC. Finances secondary. Thank you!
Looking for colleges offering both ethnomusicology and engineering for high scoring/ A student--thx!
Forgot to add that the student is an accomplished musician in non Western folk instrument.
Tufts is a small university that has both Engineering and Ethnomusicology as well as a Music Engineering Minor to bridge the two. Acceptance rate into Engineering is around 10%. Essays are really important.
http://www.ethnomusicology.org/?GtP_Tufts
http://www.tuftl.tufts.edu/musicengineering/
URochester offers combined programs through its Eastman school that could of interest to you.
You can search all the ethnomusicology programs here: http://www.ethnomusicology.org/?page=GtP and all the ABET accredited engineering programs in the field you want to study here: http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx and cross reference them. Narrow down based on other intangibles like location, size, weather, etc.
It’s important to know that engineering curricula are packed with requirements as are music curricula. It would be very, very challenging to find the time to double major. Minoring, depending on the school might be more doable.
A third option is to find a school or an associated school that has an instructor you’d like to study privately with. My son, after ruling out conservatory as a primary option, looked seriously at Case Western for engineering because his favorite master class teacher was a professor at Cleveland Institute of Music.
In the end, he concentrated full time on engineering.
Good luck.
Wesleyan is definitely one of the strongest schools in the country for ethnomusicology and non-western music (both at the undergraduate and graduate levels). It doesn’t have engineering, but it does have a number of different “3-2” combined engineering programs with other schools (Columbia, Dartmouth, CalTech): http://www.wesleyan.edu/engineering/3-2_program.html
Wesleyan also has a new interdisciplinary minor in design and engineering which would include some foundational courses in engineering:
Beware of 3/2 engineering programs. You should ask about them on the engineering forum, but I’ll give you a synopsis. Admission to the 2 isn’t typically guaranteed. Financial aid at the 2 isn’t typically guaranteed. Most students don’t want to give up their senior year at their 3 institution. You’ll spend an extra year. Transition to the two, especially to a school like Columbia or particularly Caltech, can be traumatic, as the students you’ll join have had two years of intense rigor already. All in all, the success rate is not high. There are lots of good schools that meet your needs without the risk.
I’m leery of advising anyone to double major in anything with engineering. Most people I know would wind up choosing one over the other. Choosing to minor in one sounds doable. However, while I can think of lots of schools that might allow a minor in music, I can’t think of any (besides Wesleyan) that allow you to minor in engineering.
Thank you! How easy it to switch from music to engineering sophomore year if the engineering courses have been successfully taken freshman year at Tufts, Wesleyan, Rochester and Case Western?
Thank you! How easy it to switch from music to engineering sophomore year if the engineering courses have been successfully taken freshman year at Tufts, Wesleyan, Rochester and Case Western?
I would look at the websites to see how the admissions are done and also read about dual degrees when one is engineering. For Tufts, I suspect that a student who has completed the first year of engineering classes successfully was enrolled in the engineering program in the first place. It’s been a while since I looked at this, but that’s how it used to be… The course catalogs and degree requirements are online for most of these schools. Your research now will definitely pay off - this isn’t a double major but a dual degree. You may find a different path as you explore.
Btw, when we toured Union, we met some engineering students who were doing very interesting work with music and sound. Another one to dig into!