Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the College has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With more than a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body of 4,000 students representing more than seventy countries, and a music industry “who’s who” of alumni, Berklee is the world’s premier learning lab for the music of today—and tomorrow.

Berklee has proven its commitment to this approach by wholeheartedly embracing change. The musical landscape looks nothing like it did when Berklee was founded in 1945, but the College has remained current by supplementing its core curriculum, with studies in emerging musical genres and indispensable new technology. Berklee also has responded to important developments in music education and music therapy, making good on its promise to improve society through music.

At Berklee, students acquire a strong foundation of contemporary music theory and technique and then build upon that foundation by learning the practical, professional skills needed to sustain a career in music. Majors such as music production and engineering, film scoring, music business/management, music synthesis, songwriting, and music therapy, as well as traditional mainstays of performance and composition, lead toward either a fully accredited four-year baccalaureate degree or a professional diploma. Perhaps more importantly, they prepare students for employment in the music industry.

Berklee attracts a diverse range of students who reflect the multiplicity of influences in today’s music—be it jazz, rock, hip-hop, country, gospel, electronica, Latin, or funk. The College is a magnet for aspiring musicians from every corner of the earth, which gives the school a uniquely international flavor. Of all U.S. colleges and universities, Berklee has one of the largest percentages of undergraduates from outside the United States—25 percent. Reflecting the interplay between music and culture, Berklee creates an environment where aspiring music professionals learn how to integrate new ideas and showcase their distinctive skills in an evolving community.

The college’s alumni form an ever-widening network of industry professionals who use their openness, virtuosity, and versatility to take music in surprising new directions. Notable alumni include BT, Gary Burton, Terri Lyne Carrington, Bruce Cockburn, Juan Luis Guerra, Roy Hargrove, Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Aimee Mann, Arif Mardin, Branford Marsalis, Danilo Perez, John Scofield, Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, Luciana Souza, Susan Tedeschi, and Gillian Welch.

Berklee offers a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree program and a four-year program leading to a professional diploma. Students may choose to major in composition, contemporary writing and production, film scoring, jazz composition, music business/management, music education, music production and engineering, music synthesis, music therapy, performance, professional music, and songwriting. The College also offers a five-year, dual-major option in which students graduate with an even more marketable education that expands their career options in the music industry.

Berklee students have the chance to work in the College’s state-of-the-art music technology facilities, using some of the most sophisticated recording and synthesis equipment currently available, in addition to facilities specifically designed for the areas of composition, arranging, and film scoring. The facilities at Berklee are furnished with the instruments and equipment that are being used in the world beyond the classroom. Berklee’s performance facilities include the Berklee Performance Center, a 1,200-seat concert hall hosting more than 300 concerts by students, faculty members, and others each year; Café 939, a state-of-the-art, all-ages, student-run music venue and coffee house; four recital halls equipped with a variety of sound reinforcement systems; more than forty ensemble rooms; seventy-five private instruction studios; 300 private practice rooms; and an outdoor concert pavilion.

The personal attention students receive from teachers at Berklee guides them beyond the theoretical so that they can apply what they have learned in their next ensemble rehearsal, evening jam session, or gig. Berklee faculty members teach all instruction. The teachers are talented artists who demonstrate their commitment to music education in the classroom—and beyond. Most faculty members also write and arrange music, perform in concert halls and clubs, make recordings, or perform on television and radio—some do it all. All faculty members bring to the classroom their knowledge of music and the wisdom that comes from professional music experience.

Berklee awards $20 million in scholarships each year to students from all over the world who demonstrate the potential to succeed in today’s music industry.

Prospective students should go to http://www.berklee.edu for admissions information.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: February 1. Notification date--freshmen and transfers: March 31. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, minimum 2.0 high school GPA, 2 letters of recommendation, interview, audition, English reference letter for international applicants, audition for scholarship consideration. Recommended: minimum 3.0 high school GPA, SAT or ACT test scores, TOEFL score for international applicants. Auditions held 45 times on campus and off campus in domestic and international sites; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions at discretion of Board of Admissions and videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions at discretion of Board of Admissions.

Berklee College of Music

Application Procedures

Undergraduate Contact