Searching for good schools for music (esp jazz and music production) and humanities (esp philosophy)

College Search & Lists
1

Hello!

First time posting to see if anyone might be able to offer some guidance in my college search. I have a pretty good idea of what qualities I’m looking for in schools, but putting together a list is proving pretty daunting. Hoping to apply for spring semester if possible. Due to dual-enrollment I completed my AA degree at my local community college, so am hoping to find a place that will accept as many of my credits as possible; in most cases that seems to mean that I still apply as a freshman, and then they evaluate each credit once I’m accepted and hopefully give me junior (or almost junior) standing.

Anyway…

I am a musician (I play piano and guitar, sing, write songs, etc.) and really want to continue to pursue this in school. I would love to take some classes in music production, composition, scoring, musicology/ethnomusicology, as well as take private lessons and some more foundational music theory and history classes. Whether this would constitute a major, minor, or just taking various classes and playing in ensembles, I’m not sure. (I really like the Berklee music writing/production major, or their self-designed major option, but don’t want to go to a conservatory.)

However, I also have a lot of interests academically, and definitely want to study and major in something outside of music as well. I am particularly interested in philosophy (if I had to pick a major that would be it), but also literature, history, and global studies (understanding global human rights issues inequality from multiple angles–economic, historical, ethical and so on is really exciting to me).

I am hoping to find a college that has a solid and diverse music department that I could explore, as well as solid academic departments (humanities and social sciences, especially philosophy). Hopefully this college would have some flexibility so that I could explore both of these; maybe options for self-designed majors, or double majors/degrees, or minors. (I’ve been looking at The New School for this reason).

I think I would enjoy a small-ish school (liberal arts?) school (the emphases on smaller classes, good student-to-professor ratios, individualized learning, and professors who teach first not research first appeals to me), but I’m not set on that, and the quality of offerings at the college are my primary concern.

I would prefer to be in or near a large city, but that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker either.

I’m not super interested in super-elite places (not totally sure I could get into them anyway), and I think I would be happier somewhere with a more diverse student body.

So if anybody has any ideas on places to check out I would greatly appreciate it! Sorry this ended up being so long. There’s plenty more I could say so if anyone has any questions please let me know!

Thank you so much!

2

Hard to give advice without at least some academic qualifications, to be honest.

3

Completed my AA with a 3.86 GPA, but am considering retaking one class which was an outlier (over-filled my schedule and got by far my lowest grade) this fall quarter which would bump it up to a 3.94. I took many Honors classes at the college and completed the “Honors Research Track” (a year-long program in which students pick a topic, study it with a mentor, write a 30-50 page literature review on it, present their research at the University of Washington undergraduate research symposium and also at a speech in front of the community college at the end of the year).

Haven’t taken the SAT or ACT and was honestly hoping to avoid it (not great at math and it’s been a while since I’ve studied that type) by applying as a transfer student, but I will this October if the colleges I’m interested in require it.

4

Anybody have any suggestions? (bump)

5

You could look at a place like Lawrence University. They offer a BM degree through their Conservatory, but you can also get a major or minor in music if you are in a BA program. You can also get a dual BA/BM. They also have merit for transfers.

6

Check out Bard. Great music dept. Wonderful professors. Test optional. And many students who did early college and start at 18 with an AA. Not near a big city but close enough to NYC to make it accessible.

7

I’m not sure of your preferred area of the country or budget, but University of Southern California’s philosophy department is in a lovely building on campus, and its profile in philosophy has gone up a lot in recent years due to new faculty. USC also very strong in music, including in particular jazz and music production. They accept a higher than average number of transfer students for a university of their type, (if you are applying as a transfer) and is certainly a diverse campus in a big, diverse city. The university encourages double majoring, or majoring with a couple of minors. Expensive and not small, though.

8

I will check out all of these! Thank you!

9

Loyola in New Orleans

10

U Denver