Berklee College of Music, a non-profit music institution and world leader in contemporary music education, will offer accredited bachelor degrees online. Berklee Online, the online continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, will offer 120-credit bachelor’s degrees in Music Business and Music Production.
The Music Production degree provides courses on the world’s top software programs, recording, engineering, mixing and more. The Music Business degree offers courses on licensing, management, marketing and touring, with a focus on mobile music, streaming, funding and developing revenue sources.
The final application deadline for Berklee’s online degree program is May 16, 2014. The inaugural class begins this coming September 2014.
The online degree program will accept no more than 300 students in its inaugural class. As with the physical college, Berklee’s online degrees are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). All courses are taught by Berklee faculty members or industry experts.
The $14,500 per year tuition for the online degree is 60 percent less expensive than the tuition for attending the college in person. The college reports that applications to attend its Boston campus are up 300 percent over the last decade, and states that its online degrees help achieve Berklee’s goal to make quality music education more accessible and affordable to students around the world.
“Berklee has learned a lesson from our front row seat observing the music industry, namely, lead the change or be a victim of it,” says Berklee President Roger Brown. “With an online degree, we can expand access to the powerful tools of contemporary music making to many more students. And coupled with MOOCs, which are free, and online education that is less expensive, we have created a multi-faceted global search for talent.”
Since 2002, Berklee Online has taught more than 30,000 students from 144 countries in various disciplines, from for-credit, instructor-led online courses to free non-credit offerings through Coursera and EdX. Berklee Online is a University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Award-winning school for nine years running.
Berklee Online’s curriculum also offers courses on composing and producing electronic music, direct-to-fan marketing and sales, game audio and music video editing.
Berklee reports that Berklee Online students have included members of Nine Inch Nails (Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini), Dave Matthews Band (Stefan Lessard), Karmin (Amy Heidemann), and Sugarland (Annie Clements), producers running major studios, industry executives at leading technology and business firms, and more.
Find more information about the Berklee Online Music Production Degree program.
