About the Double Degree Program

This program of study, completed within five years, leads to both the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Music degrees. Students must be admitted to both the College of Arts and Sciences and to the Conservatory of Music and complete a major in both divisions.

General Educational Guidelines

Double-degree programs must be carefully planned. The college offers a broad liberal education, thus encouraging intellectual breadth and depth. Music study in the conservatory is pre-professional study with an organized sequence of courses and requirements designed to prepare students for professional careers in music.

It is strongly advised that each double-degree student, at every stage of their Oberlin career, prepare and update a ten-semester course distribution plan of study, and that this plan be regularly reviewed by the student in consultation with their advisors.

Advising for Double-Degree Students

Students admitted to both divisions are assigned advisors as follows:

For Bachelor of Music performance majors, the principal applied study teacher is normally the student’s faculty advisor. For all other conservatory majors, a faculty member from the major department or program is normally assigned as advisor.
For Bachelor of Arts students, an initial advisor is assigned, usually in the areas of their prospective majors. When the student officially declares a BA major, an appropriate college faculty advisor is chosen. Whenever possible, advisors are selected who have a particular interest in and knowledge of the concerns of the double-degree student.

Double-degree students should consult with both of their faculty advisors for help in recommending and selecting an appropriate distribution of courses over ten semesters for majors in the two divisions.

Types of Study Within the Double Degree Program

Students wishing to declare a specific path of study must do so before graduation. Majors, minors, or integrative concentrations may not be declared after a student’s degree is conferred, even if all the requirements were met before graduation.