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Finishing a Music Masters - bghill - 02-02-2019
Hi,
A friend of mine almost, but did not quite, finish a Masters in Music Performance several decades ago. After a number of life detours, he's now interested in getting into music education, preferably at the college level.
Is there any way that he can complete his masters without having to start from scratch?
Thanks for any pointers you can provide.
RE: Finishing a Music Masters - sanantone - 02-02-2019
I'm assuming he's passed the time limit to finish his master's at the original school. Everywhere else will evaluate his transcript for transfer credits. Six to nine credits is the typical transfer credit limit for master's programs. If he's lucky, he might find a rare program that will accept 12 to 15 transfer credits.
Here are links to online master's programs in music.
https://www.geteducated.com/online-degrees/master/art-liberal-arts/music
https://www.gradschools.com/masters/performing-arts/online
RE: Finishing a Music Masters - eriehiker - 02-02-2019
https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/business-and-management/customised-awards-scheme/
This is a UK university that creates customized degrees. I have no experience with this university, but it would be at least worth some digging.
Amberton University is a place where people sometimes go with this kind of issue:
https://www.amberton.edu/programs-and-courses/masters-degree-programs/professional-development/index.html
This is another strange master's program that might be worth a look:
https://interdisciplinary.wnmu.edu/graduate/masters/
RE: Finishing a Music Masters - cookderosa - 02-03-2019
(02-02-2019, 09:47 PM)bghill Wrote: Hi,
A friend of mine almost, but did not quite, finish a Masters in Music Performance several decades ago. After a number of life detours, he's now interested in getting into music education, preferably at the college level.
Is there any way that he can complete his masters without having to start from scratch?
Thanks for any pointers you can provide.
Probably not. Performance credits are tough, especially very old ones. Master's transfer credits commonly appear in programs that colleges use to entice enrollment- you'll see them in education, business, or leadership to attract adults. TESU allows it in liberal arts, but music is still a tough master's to find anywhere online, and in this situation, my guess is that it will require both deep pockets and starting from scratch.
but... I have a better idea.
Any chance your friend already accumulated 18 credits in the previous performance degree? If so, then no reason to worry about transfer credits- your friend could get a master's in something more user-friendly (cheaper faster) related to teaching/instruction (readily available online) and use the 18 credits to qualify for community college teaching. CC requirements are minimally masters in the field OR a masters in any field + 18 in the field. This can be a hard sell in some fields, but if your friend has been DOING performance for the past 2 decades, he brings experience to the table, and that is highly valued at a CC.
This is a good example to show your friend: My local CC is part of the #2 largest in our state, so not the biggest, but big. They indicate 100 music majors in our college system. Here is a listing of the faculty that is required to run that size department: http://appserver.cpcc.edu/edirectory/departments.asp?dept=404&subdept=425#listing
As you can see, there are 6 full timers each representing a specialization (voice, piano, appreciation, etc.) and then about 25 part timers. I assure you at least half of those part timers are working as a part timer just waiting for a full timer to quit or move on so they can move to full time. In short, though this is just one example, it's a good one- and should be used to inform his rational as he calculates his return on investment. It makes sense to spend $10k to make this happen, but spending $40k will put him in debt for decades especially for a degree that may never land him a job. Part timers (adjunct) faculty don't earn a lot of money- I never made more than $10k in a year working as an adjunct (5 sections per year at $2000 per section) but the number of sections you can get and the rate per section totally depends on where you work and the size of the school.
RE: Finishing a Music Masters - burbuja0512 - 02-03-2019
I agree with Cookderosa about looking at different options. I know this isn't maybe what you're asking, but I would do whatever it takes to make sure that the masters will work in the local area where your friend lives.
One of my younger brothers has his MM and for years struggled to find enough work to put food on the table. Even when he was an award winning band teacher, with articles in the newspaper about his success, it wasn't enough to keep the job. Budget cuts meant that he had to drive all around the Phoenix area to different school districts to piece together a full-time day.
Based on all of these K-12 budget cuts, anyone who could teach at a local CC or university was already doing it. I'm sure my brother would have been a candidate, but there weren't any openings at the higher-ed level.
My bro is now in technical support at a website company. He could have easily gotten this job without a masters degree and watching his music dream go down the toilet was incredibly painful for all of our family. Maybe moving to a different metropolitan area might have helped, but his lack of money combined with a divorce (caused partly by financial issues) made it impossible. Really, really heartbreaking story and I know for a fact he did his best. I was there with him and tried to help him as much as possible. I would personally only recommend the MM to anyone who is just doing it for fun or who is living in an area that supports music curriculum in schools.
RE: Finishing a Music Masters - cookderosa - 02-03-2019
(02-03-2019, 11:13 AM)burbuja0512 Wrote: I agree with Cookderosa about looking at different options. I know this isn't maybe what you're asking, but I would do whatever it takes to make sure that the masters will work in the local area where your friend lives.
One of my younger brothers has his MM and for years struggled to find enough work to put food on the table. Even when he was an award winning band teacher, with articles in the newspaper about his success, it wasn't enough to keep the job. Budget cuts meant that he had to drive all around the Phoenix area to different school districts to piece together a full-time day.
Based on all of these K-12 budget cuts, anyone who could teach at a local CC or university was already doing it. I'm sure my brother would have been a candidate, but there weren't any openings at the higher-ed level.
My bro is now in technical support at a website company. He could have easily gotten this job without a masters degree and watching his music dream go down the toilet was incredibly painful for all of our family. Maybe moving to a different metropolitan area might have helped, but his lack of money combined with a divorce (caused partly by financial issues) made it impossible. Really, really heartbreaking story and I know for a fact he did his best. I was there with him and tried to help him as much as possible. I would personally only recommend the MM to anyone who is just doing it for fun or who is living in an area that supports music curriculum in schools.
This is a good story- and that's one thing we share, my younger brother also has his music masters. He is in a Chicago suburb school district that is very music-friendly, but his school (he teaches high school) offers tenure, so he's protected. HOWEVER, my brother had 2 best friends all through high school / band days. Friend one went to Juilliard and has a degree in percussion performance. He has never had a good stable job- and that's friggin Juilliard. He has taught private lessons as long as I've known him, and besides some symphony work, is very much a struggling artist. My brother's degree was in music ed, so he's been a teacher since day 1, but did have to change districts to get a decent job. He got a master's to bump his pay, but couldn't do that until he was in his current position because he explained many times that you all but remove yourself from the running with a master's in k12 public ed - you're just too expensive. Anyway, he's doing good- but friend #3 didn't go to college at all but has gigged with his dad's band since he was a teen. He struggles a bit, but is a very happy and ALWAYS WORKING musician (with no student loan debt I might add!)
So, the point is that this could go a lot of different ways for your friend, and that of course there are never any guarantees, a master's in music feels risky to me without knowing more about what he's been doing in the 20 years since he left his master's program. I still stand by getting a master's in something different, but since posting earlier this morning, I will add that the adult education / continuing education / professional development options at the community college will probably hire you asap. Those departments are usually very understaffed and are a great way to get your foot in the door teaching (if he isn't already a teacher).
RE: Finishing a Music Masters - Sacricolist - 02-03-2019
Another option might be Liberty University’s online Master of Arts in Music Education (https://www.liberty.edu/online/music/masters/music-education/).
According to the website 50% of the degree requirements can be transferred into the degree program. So your friend may be able to use his previous MM credits to satisfy some of the degree requirements. The courses at Liberty are all offered online with optional on-campus intensives. This may be a good fit for what your friend seeks. Hope this info helps.
Liberty has several other online music Masters including a Masters of Arts in Music and Worship (church/worship arts focused)AND a Masters of Arts in Ethnomusicology. Again, the website states up to 50% of the degree requirements may be transferred in from other graduate programs.
RE: Finishing a Music Masters - natshar - 02-03-2019
I don't know about a masters in music. But I would look for Universitys that offer masters in anything that accept transfer credit. Central Michigan University (I think it was CMU, might be somewhere else) has a masters in leadership that is 30 credits with 15 of them being electives and they allow you to transfer in 50% of your degree. However the electives have to be in an (any) area of study, as in, just not random credits, but music performance could be an area of study. I forget what University (I'll update later with the link) but I remember seeing it and thinking "this is the closest thing to the big 3 BALS for masters."
RE: Finishing a Music Masters - bghill - 02-05-2019
Wow, some great responses there! Thanks for the thoughts.
My friend was mostly finished with his masters, so I imagine he'd have plenty of credits to transfer, if the school will take them.
And yes, making a living in music (or any of the arts) is a tough row to hoe indeed! I know several people who are barely making it or who gave up trying.