Northwestern University

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Music Degrees Available at Northwestern University

This school appears in our ranking of the 10 Best University Jazz Programs 2017-2018. Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music offers students the opportunity to study many areas in music, as well as focus on specific instruments or voice studies. Studying music at Northwestern offers students the chance to participate in the school’s musical groups, as well as prepare for a career as a professional musician, music teacher, or recording artist. Areas of study include instrument groups like woodwinds, brass, and strings, as well as degrees in Jazz Studies, Conducting & Ensembles, Music Education, and Music Theory & Cognition. Students who participate in the school’s orchestra may have the opportunity to travel overseas for music tours around the world. The university offers several degrees in each available area of study. For example, there are four degrees available in Composition & Music Technology. Those degrees include a Bachelor of Music in Composition, a Bachelor of Arts in Music in Composition, a Bachelor of Science in Composition, a DMA in Composition, and a Ph.D. in Composition. Classes in the program include Materials of Music Since 1945, Technology-Based Performance, Composing with Computers, and Phenomenology of Sound. Students get to participate in a weekly forum where faculty and students discuss what they’re currently working on, as well as meet with composer guest hosts. There are numerous opportunities for composition students to have their work performed each year at the university. For students interested in jazz, there are two degrees in the Jazz Studies area at Northwestern University. Those degrees include a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music. The university suggests the school’s convenient proximity to Chicago and that city’s status as a “jazz capital” give students excellent opportunities to study jazz and experience it in its native habitat. Jazz Studies at Northwestern is partly supported by a grant from the Owen L. Coon Foundation, and there are several jazz concerts given at the school each year by the Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra. Graduates of the program have gone on to a variety of university settings and performance jobs throughout the country and abroad. Students who wish to study Music Theory and Cognition will find several available degrees in this area of music research. Students may seek a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory, a Bachelor of Music in Music Cognition, a Bachelor of Arts in Music, a Bachelor of Science in Music, a Master of Music in Theory, or a Ph.D. in Music Theory and Cognition. Topics in the programs include Tonality, Music and Memory, Eighteenth-Century Music, Musical Design in Relation to Gender & Sexuality, and Popular Music. The program features an interdisciplinary approach to musical inquiry and its theoretical dimensions, as well as a practical approach to musical settings. Students who choose to enter the Music Theory & Cognition Ph.D. program and are accepted receive a scholarship that covers tuition, as well as a work stipend. Students who wish to make use of their voice in performance have three degrees available in the area of Voice and Opera. Those degrees include a Bachelor of Music in Performance, Master of Music in Performance, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance. The university shares that graduates of the program have roles in a variety of universities and opera houses around the world. The programs in voice performance offer students weekly vocal instruction and course offerings that support technical and pedagogical foundations in music. Students will have the opportunity to perform on many occasions during their degree program.

About Northwestern University

Northwestern University was established in 1851 and was once affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded by John Evans for whom the town of Evanston was eventually named. There are many programs at Northwestern that are quite selective in who they will admit, and the university is known worldwide for its highly regarded Kellogg School of Management. The university is considered a large research university with more than 21,000 students attending its campus in Evanston, Illinois. The university also maintains other campuses in other areas including Chicago, the country of Qatar, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The university possesses a large endowment that’s the tenth-largest in the entire country and is valued at more than ten billion dollars.

Northwestern University Accreditation Details

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) has accredited Northwestern University, and this accreditation ensures students at the school are eligible for federal student aid in the form of loans and grants. Many departments, degrees, and programs are accredited throughout Northwestern University. The Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University is accredited by the National Association of the Schools of Music. The university’s Teacher Certification in Music is accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education. The American Chemical Society has accredited the chemistry program, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business has accredited the Kellogg School of Management, and the American Bar Association has accredited the Law School.

Northwestern University Application Requirements

Applicants to Northwestern University will need to submit familiar application materials like transcripts and standardized test scores, as well as supplemental materials if they wish to apply to a program within the Bienen School of Music. In addition to the application, secondary school report, and academic teacher recommendation, students must also submit a portfolio or arrange a music audition. Although it’s not required, the school prefers that students submit a recommendation from a music teacher. Depending on the student’s timeframe for entering the school, he or she may also need to submit an Early Decision Agreement, Midyear Report, or International Supplement to the Secondary School Report.

Tuition and Financial Aid

The tuition costs at Northwestern University include tuition, room & board, fees, and various expenses. Tuition is $52,239, room & board is $16,047, fees total $439, and books, supplies & expenses come to $4,255. The total cost of attending the school for a year is $73,980 for undergraduate programs. Students may also need to budget for variable expenses like transportation, which may come into play if a student attends Northwestern University but lives in a different state when not enrolled in school. Students in graduate programs at the Bienen School of Music will pay $17,413 per quarter if they attend full-time, and some graduate programs come with stipends to assist with tuition costs. Students may apply for federal student aid at Northwestern University, as well as for scholarships, grants, and loans from private entities. The parents of a student may consider federal unsubsidized loans, as well as private loans and installment payment options. Students may also apply for loans on their own in circumstances where they’re older than the traditional age for a bachelor’s degree program or are attending graduate school. Northwestern University also awards more than $144 million in scholarships each year, and students applying to the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University are encouraged to apply to help pay for the cost of college.

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