Music & Music Education

Welcome to the Music & Music Education program


The Program in Music and Music Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University embraces humanistic values as they relate to contemporary musical and educational life. while respecting the musical traditions of the past. The faculty in Music and Music Education recognize the importance and uniqueness of the arts in our society and strive to offer flexible and individualized programs for the preparation of musician-educators. Faculty members are seasoned educator-musicians and practitioners, who reflect a wide range of expertise in comprehensive musicianship, early childhood music, instrumental and jazz pedagogy, vocal and choral performance, assessment, improvisation, jazz, technology, and the full spectrum of public and private school music through graduate school and research practices. You'll study and learn alongside diverse musicians who come from all over the world to study in this esteemed school of education. You’ll benefit from our location in New York City, the most eclectic and vibrant music center in the world.

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The Hybrid Summer M.A in Music and Music education offers an intellectually rigorous and creatively engaging education that prepares you for the challenges and rewards of teaching music in the 21st century with a two summers of intensive coursework in New York City.

The traditional M.A. program is designed to allow flexibility in course selection, so that each student may prepare for his or her professional career in music education. The M.A. degree is geared toward musicians and music teachers who wish to further their teaching, performing, and leadership skills.

The Master of Education degree (Ed.M.) in Music and Music Education is an advanced professional degree for practitioners in music education that is designed to prepare graduates for careers in elementary schools, secondary schools, and colleges. It is well suited for individuals who are currently teaching and who wish to concentrate their studies further within the field and/or for individuals who are thinking about undertaking doctoral work but feel a need to first expand their grasp of current issues in the field.

The primary purpose of the doctoral programs in Music and Music Education at Teachers College is to advance knowledge relevant to the teaching and learning of music and to prepare expert teachers of music and music education for careers as artists, scholars, researchers, and teacher educators in the field of music education. The doctoral programs in Music and Music Education are open to a wide range of interests, backgrounds, and professional ambitions in its applicants. Applicants to the doctoral programs ordinarily possess a master’s degree in Music, Music Education, or a related field and have significant prior professional experience at the PK-12 school or college/university level.

The Ed.D. prepares students for positions in the teaching and supervision of music in elementary and secondary schools, the teaching and administration of music in early childhood settings, the teaching of music in schools and studios, the teaching and administration of music in colleges and universities, and careers in music and interdisciplinary areas, such as the arts and humanities, special and adult education.

The Ed.D. in College Teaching is designed primarily for students with a high level of performance skills whose goal or present position is focused on the pedagogy of performance in higher education.  Applicants have significant prior professional experience at the college/university level

The Doctoral Summer Cohort Program is a unique offering designed for students who are also music faculty members holding full-time academic appointments who are interested in completing a doctoral program. It allows students to complete primary coursework over four summers and gain competency in Musicianship, Performance, Pedagogy, and Research. The program combines focused curriculum geared towards teaching with noted faculty in New York City. Students receive individual attention due to the small cohort size of incoming classes.

Specifically, the Ed.D. Summer Cohort Program is a unique offering designed for music education professionals holding full-time professional appointments who are interested in completing a doctoral program. The Ed.D.C.T. Summer Cohort Program is designed primarily for music professionals with a high level of performance skill whose goal or present position is focused on the teaching of performance in higher education.

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For admissions, please contact admission@tc.columbia.edu

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