Music Schools in The United States - Conservatory As Part of A Larger University

Conservatory As Part of A Larger University

These schools are somewhat in between a university music school and an independent conservatory.

Several conservatories and contemporary music (jazz) schools that are tied to a university often function as a separate entity while being attached to a university. There are several reasons that music conservatories want to be affiliated with universities. Being affiliated with a university may enable a music college to offer a broader education to its students, because it enables students from the music college to take liberal arts courses from the university (e.g., English literature, history, etc.) as well as enabling musically-gifted students from the main university campus to have access to conservatory-grade music lessons. As well, with the affiliation, the students from the music college may be able to use the facilities of the university, such as the gym, swimming pool, and health services. Finally, affiliation with a university may enable a music college to offer a broader range of degrees, such as the Master of Music degree (M.Mus.), which the university may be able to grant. However, because of the separation, students are often given more freedom in choosing their curriculum than those in a typical university music school. For example, while they have the option of taking classes at the main university campus, they are generally not required to do so. Likewise, more academically-minded music students are given more freedom to pursue their non-musical interests than they would be at a regular, independent conservatory.

Notable cases of conservatories that are affiliated with universities are the Eastman School of Music (affiliated with the University of Rochester), Bienen School of Music (affiliated with Northwestern University), Mannes College (affiliated with the New School), Blair School of Music (affiliated with Vanderbilt University), and the Peabody Institute (affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University). All of these conservatories were independent schools before joining a larger entity. For example, Eastman and Mannes, while having separate admissions offices than the larger university, both share the larger's bursars and student services offices. These schools are also removed from their respective university's campuses further showing their independence.

Though some of these music schools do forego requiring prospective applicants to meet university admission standards, most still follow a strict complementary structure of general education along with music education.