Music Schools in United States

Music study in the United States is offered by conservatories, university schools and departments of music, and liberal-arts colleges. Undergraduate programs are usually a Bachelor of Music (professional, performance- or composition-centred) or a Bachelor of Arts/Science in music (broader, with more general education); graduate study is a Master of Music, Master of Arts or MFA, and doctorates are either a performance/practice DMA or a research PhD. Some conservatories also award non-degree diplomas and certificates, such as the Artist Diploma, that are separate from degrees. Entry to a music major commonly runs through an audition, and some conservatories add a recorded prescreening round before any live audition. Naming and requirements differ by institution, so the individual program page is the authority.

Source: necmusic.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2026-2027/nec-academic-catalog-2026-

Degrees and conservatory diplomas

At one conservatory the catalog lists a Master of Music, a Graduate Diploma, an Artist Diploma and a Doctor of Musical Arts as separate programs; the diplomas are not degrees. Source

Bachelor of Music versus Bachelor of Arts

A public university department describes its Bachelor of Arts in music as less intensive than its Bachelor of Music and suited to double majors, showing the usual split between professional and liberal-arts undergraduate routes. Source

Several undergraduate award types in one department

One state university department lists a Bachelor of Science in Music Education alongside several Bachelor of Arts tracks (jazz studies, music technology, performance, theory and composition), so the award label can signal teacher-preparation or a broader liberal-arts structure rather than a single standard route. Source

Music therapy as a distinct professional route

The American Music Therapy Association states that a professional music therapist holds a bachelor's degree or higher in music therapy from an approved program, with 1,200 hours of clinical training including a supervised internship; the national exam of the Certification Board for Music Therapists leads to the MT-BC credential, and some states tie title protection or licensure to it. Source

National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)

Specialized accreditor of music units and programs; membership and accreditation are separate from institutional accreditation. (NASM's site blocked automated access during research, so this description is not confirmed from its own pages.)

Regional institutional accreditors (for example NECHE in New England)

Institutional accreditation of the college or university as a whole. (The U.S. Department of Education and CHEA pages were not reachable during research, so this role is not confirmed from those pages.)

Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT)

Grants board certification to music therapists, tests their competence and supports recertification; holders use the MT-BC credential.

American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)

Sets out the education and clinical-training route to becoming a music therapist, including approved degree programs.

Programs are measured in semester or term credit hours, and the number needed varies by institution and degree; no equivalence with other countries' qualifications is claimed here.

No degree on this site guarantees admission, funding, employment, a visa or teacher registration, and nothing here is visa or credit-transfer advice.

Teaching languages. en

Admissions and auditions. Admission to a music major or conservatory program typically involves an audition. One conservatory states that every program requires a prescreening video recording or portfolio by the application deadline, with applicants who advance invited to a live audition or, in some cases, a final recording; a state university department states that entrance to the major is by competitive audition. Composition, production and research programs may use portfolios or interviews instead. Repertoire and deadlines differ by department, so check each program's own admissions page. International applicants can start from EducationUSA, which outlines five steps: research options, finance studies, complete the application, apply for a student visa and prepare for departure. Teacher-preparation programs lead to state-specific requirements, which this profile does not verify. Source

• NASM
• EducationUSA - your five steps to U.S. study
• AMTA - becoming a music therapist