B.M./MBA, Music Industry
3+2 Program Description
The joint bachelor's degree in music industry/MBA program is designed to provide high-caliber students at Syracuse University with the opportunity to complete a bachelor’s degree from the Setnor School of Music and an MBA degree in the Whitman School in five years with minimal additional expense and time.
Bachelor's Degree in the Music Industry
The music industry program’s uniqueness lies in coursework designed specifically for musicians. You will pursue a rigorous music curriculum filled with plenty of opportunities to perform. Your business coursework is focused on the music industry, including an opportunity to study in London or Los Angeles.
On a broader scale, you will learn to analyze current trends in the music industry and understand their implications. You will become familiar with professional music organizations. Above all, you will develop the ability to conceptualize solutions to various industry problems and the knowledge to put them into practice. As a music industry student, you will spend part of your academic career researching, analyzing and discussing current trends. You are also expected to attend conferences and participate in a music internship.
Graduates of the program are knowledgeable about general business practices, as well as the creative and legal workings of the music industry. They are also thoroughly educated musicians with a broad understanding of the elements of music, its history and its literature. Alumni have had careers in managing arts organizations, live and recorded music production, publishing, instrument manufacturing, contracting musicians and music industry software development.
The music industry program requires an audition for admission. While studying in the program, students may choose a course of primary applied study on their instrument or voice in either the classical or jazz/commercial music tradition.
B.M./MBA Double Degree
You apply directly to and then start in the bachelor's degree in music industry program, but, with sufficient grades and scores on the GMAT or GRE, you can apply to the Whitman School in your sophomore year to enter the MBA track. This allows you to obtain your undergraduate and graduate degrees in just five years. As you progress through the program, the ratio of music to business classes changes. In the first two years, you take only the bachelor's degree in the music industry curriculum. In your third year, you add more of the MBA curriculum, and in your fourth year, even more. Your fifth year is entirely the MBA curriculum.
Students will complete 120 credits for the bachelor's degree in the music industry and an additional 54 credits for the MBA degree.
Accreditation
The Whitman School has been accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) since 1920.
Admission
Students in the Setnor School will apply for the MBA program during their sophomore year. The GMAT and GRE are both accepted and are optional components of the application process. Applicants will be considered for the program based on their previous academic experience, references, application essay, resume and, (if submitted) their GMAT/GRE scores.
Degree Requirements
Students admitted to the MBA program will be awarded their bachelor's degree in the music industry concurrently with their MBA, as they will complete both degree requirements during their fifth year.
3+2 Program Requirements:
Years 1 & 2: Enrollment in Required Undergraduate Coursework
Year 3: Enrollment in Undergraduate Courses and Summer MBA Coursework
Year 4: Enrollment in Some MBA Courses and a Summer MBA Internship
Year 5: Completion of Undergraduate Courses and MBA coursework