Integrated Music Studies at JBU
Combine music and another academic interest of your choice
JBU's integrated music studies program enables you to pursue your passion for music alongside another academic field without compromising in either direction.
What to expect as an Integrated Music Studies student at JBU
Music and …
This degree program allows you to pursue your diverse interests without sacrificing your musical education or your training and career potential in another field.
Double Major
Designed to be combined with most other majors/minors on campus and still be completed in 4-years, you will graduate with the necessary skills to succeed in music, your second major, or a combination of the two.
Musical Excellence
This is a real music degree. As such, you will be performing, taking lessons, and participating fully in the life of the music department.
Scholarships
The music department is able to offer performance scholarships that “stack” with other types of aid, thus potentially allowing you to pursue your music while simultaneously reducing your cost to attend university.
Interdisciplinary Synthesis
The best kind of education is one that educates the whole person, and synthesis across disparate disciplines is a necessary component of that ideal. While pursuing Integrated Music Studies at JBU, you can expect to synthesize—as opposed to silo—your learning across disciplines, be it computer science, pre-med, English, or any number of other degree options at JBU.
Community and Network
You will be involved in multiple departments on campus. As a result, your community of support and networking will be that much wider, aiding you both during your time at JBU and after graduation.
Alumni Profile
Mia Smith '20
"I have enjoyed the opportunity to pursue both music and science during my time at JBU. Both departments have been supportive of me in my goals and delving into two contrasting disciplines has made me a more well-rounded student. The Integrated Music Studies degree provides flexibility; it has allowed me to intensely study and develop my love of music as I also take all of the pre-med requisites. This is an ideal scenario for where my interests fall, and both disciplines have helped me to grow to be a better student and person. I am thankful to the music and science departments for working alongside me and providing interdisciplinary opportunities at JBU."
Mia is currently continuing in private piano lessons and making plans to apply to P.A. schools.
What could you do with an Integrated Music Studies degree?
Wide Open
Because you will graduate with a major in music and … the second major/minor of your choice, you will be setup for success in any number of fields. Your interdisciplinary training, critical thinking skills, and wide skillset will set you apart from other applicants as you move into the work force or graduate school—this degree is more than the sum of its parts.
Music
Your music degree will allow you to pursue a career in music; be it industry, performance, or the academy, you will be prepared to succeed in music. If you strategically pair your degree with your choice of second major, you will enter the job market with expertise to help you to succeed in any number of musical, creative, and career settings in music.
Something Other Than Music
We have JBU alumni working in music production, pharmaceuticals, and even towards being a medical doctor. Their musical training has helped them succeed in these fields because they have learned to think beyond their specific chosen career, and because they have degrees in these other areas, they are fully qualified to pursue those careers without additional schooling.
Synthesis
The degree is focused on deep engagement in multiple fields. As such, a synthesis in career is a natural trajectory. Some possible options include music business, data-analytics (think Spotify or Amazon Music), computer science (music software is a multibillion-dollar industry), music therapy, musical theater, even song writing.
Meet Our Integrated Music Studies Professors
