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Jul 15, 2024
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[PRELIMINARY] Course Catalog 2024-2025
About the Bachelor of Music Degree
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This program of study, completed within four years, leads to a Bachelor of Music. Offering concentrations in 45 areas of private study, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music transforms talented undergraduate musicians into disciplined professionals.
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Conservatory English Language Proficiency (ESOL) Requirement
All entering undergraduate students for whom English was not the high school language of instruction will be placed in an ESOL course based on scores submitted as part of the application to Oberlin Conservatory. English proficiency scores are accepted from the following English Proficiency exams: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Duolingo English Test (DET). Students will also be evaluated during the first week of class to ensure appropriate course placement. Student-initiated adjustments to initial ESOL placement need to be supported with documentation of completed college-level ESOL coursework, and students may be asked to take a level-appropriate language proficiency assessment.
Notes for students testing into the ESOL sequence:
- ESOL 120 is a prerequisite for MUTH 101 and MUTH 131 , which are the gateway courses to the aural skills and music theory requirement sequences respectively.
- ESOL 130 is a prerequisite for MUSY 101 .
- Students who complete ESOL 140 will fulfill the Bachelor of Music degree writing requirement.
- It is not recommended for students enrolled in ESOL 140 to take MUSY 101 during the same semester.
- All ESOL courses must be completed with a C- or better.
Types of Study Within the Bachelor of Music
Students wishing to declare a specific path of study must do so before graduation by the deadline published in the academic calendar. 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.
Major Study
Requirements for each major are described in the Oberlin College and Conservatory Course Catalog each year.
Students are responsible for compliance with the major requirements as stated in the course catalog in effect when they first matriculate at Oberlin, unless action by an appropriate faculty body specifically directs otherwise. Unless so directed by the faculty body, the student may elect to follow either the requirements in effect when entering Oberlin or those in effect in any subsequent year; however, the student must follow one complete set of requirements.
Major requirements generally consist of course requirements and non-course requirements (such as committees, hearings, portfolio submissions, departmentals, recitals, etc.), which vary by major and by concentration.
Any student who returns to Oberlin to complete a major after more than four semesters away may be required to follow the requirements in effect at the time the student reenters Oberlin. These requirements may be altered as necessary in individual cases by the departments or programs. The completion of a major is included on the transcript.
 See majors available to students pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree.
See specific degree and credit requirements and the recommended distribution across years of study for completion of various majors.
Declare a major administered by the conservatory.
Change of Studio Within a Major
Any student in a multi-studio department who wishes to request a change of studio must first schedule an appointment with the Conservatory’s Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs to discuss the rationale for such a request. If a possible change seems warranted, the associate dean will instruct the student to meet with the current teacher to attempt to resolve any conflicts. If both the student and teacher agree that the teaching relationship cannot continue, the teacher will sign the change of studio form. The student will take the signed form to the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs. The Associate Dean will make every attempt to place the student in another studio on a space-available basis. Students should not approach another faculty member with a request to change into their studio until the above steps have been completed.
Studio changes normally take effect at the beginning of the academic year; mid-year studio changes are not typically possible. Studio change requests for the next academic year must be made by June 1.
Visit the Conservatory Student Academic Affairs web page for information on requesting an appointment.
Major Status
In addition to enrollment status, which is determined by the number of credits completed towards graduation, the conservatory recognizes major status, which is determined by the requirements completed towards the major in a given semester. Major status for each major is defined in the relevant section of the catalog.
Individual Major
An individual major leading to a Bachelor of Music degree may be designed with a concentration in a single conservatory department or among two or more conservatory departments. In some cases, Arts and Sciences courses may be an integral part of a student’s conservatory individual major.
Examples of possible concentrations include liturgical music, inter-genre composition, Suzuki violin pedagogy, music administration and community engagement, new media narratives, and arts leadership and marketing. Programs of study for an individual major must be based on teaching and course resources available at Oberlin or at other schools with courses transferable to Oberlin. Private reading courses may not be planned for key areas of the major and only a small amount of course credit central to the major may be earned away from Oberlin.
Learn more about requirements and guidelines for the individual major.
Minor Study
A student may not pursue a minor in the same subject area in which they have declared a major.
Bachelor of Music degree students in the Conservatory of Music are eligible for a minor area of study in the conservatory and/or the College of Arts and Sciences (with the exception that students enrolled in the conservatory may not pursue a minor in music).
Minor requirements generally consist of course requirements and non-course requirements (such as committees, hearings, portfolio submissions, departmentals, recitals, etc.), which vary by minor.
The requirements that apply to a student are those published in the most recent edition of this catalog at the time the student submits the declaration form; however, any student who returns to Oberlin to complete a minor after more than four semesters away may be required to follow the requirements in effect at the time the student reenters Oberlin. These requirements may be altered as necessary in individual cases by the departments or programs. The completion of a minor is included on the transcript.
See minors available to students pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree.
Declare a minor administered by the conservatory.
Interdivisional Minors
Interdivisional minors allow both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music students to deepen and widen their understanding of music by learning about it in a variety of contexts and disciplines. Students can complement their major study with an academic experience that encompasses depth of study in a well-established field with an experimental curriculum in an emerging area. Interdivisional minors are declared using the same process as departmental minors. The completion of an interdivisional minor is included on the transcript.
Declare an interdivisional minor.
Integrative Concentration Study
Integrative concentrations are educational pathways that connect course work from a range of disciplinary perspectives with experiential learning opportunities such as high-quality internships. Integrative concentrations have two overarching goals:
- enhancing student learning by enriching student’s academic learning with direct practical engagement; and
- helping students explore meaningful career options.
Integrative concentrations are designed to deepen the interplay between ideas learned in the classroom and experiential learning. Toward this end, students are required to reflect on the relationship between the course work (theory) and the experiential learning (practice). This “integrative” requirement is met by completion of a learning portfolio.
Integrative concentrations thus include three components:
- Curricular
- Experiential
- Integrative
Integrative concentrations do not replace majors. They are open to undergraduate students in both the college and the conservatory. The requirements that apply to a student are those published in the most recent edition of this catalog at the time the student submits the declaration form; however, any student who returns to Oberlin to complete an integrative concentration after more than four semesters away may be required to follow the requirements in effect at the time the student reenters Oberlin. These requirements may be altered as necessary in individual cases by the departments or programs. The completion of an integrative concentration is included on the transcript.
See integrative concentrations available to students pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree.
Declare an integrative concentration.
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