Symphony Orchestra

9 Responses to “What degree would I want to go for if I would want to teach/conduct at the college level?”

1. tonyhawkstinks
   February 2nd, 2010 at 12:50 am

   I would recommend asking this question to a Dean or someone else in a position of consequence at the school you are interested in working at.

2. alkaline262
   February 2nd, 2010 at 1:37 am

   College level you will need a phd no way around it

3. Pem
   February 2nd, 2010 at 2:27 am

   Wouldn’t you need to have a PhD in Music?

4. justme
   February 2nd, 2010 at 2:38 am

   i think both would work depending on exactly what college you wanted to teach at. Universities can be very particular. . . but like community colleges usually dont give a shit. There should be advisors at your school who would be able to give you a better answer at that

5. Tyndale
   February 2nd, 2010 at 3:05 am

   You don’t necessarily have to to have a PHD! It would be good to talk to a person that has the job you want and ask them what degree they have!

6. musicbethefruitoflove
   February 2nd, 2010 at 3:55 am

   You don’t necessarily need a phD, but it’s recommended. And if you don’t have it when you’re hired, you better bet they are going to push you to get it. Master’s is the bare minimum though. The other thing that you want to look at is no college in their right mind is going to hire a conductor with NO real life experience. So maybe you should think about working while doing your masters (as I have done) whether it be teaching or conducting orchestras, and then look for a college level job. The teaching experience will also help make you more employable as you would be able to not only teach and do conducting, but you could teach music ed. TO WRAP IT ALL UP: You need atleast a masters, but they will want you to get a PhD. BUT you will also need real world experience in order to be hired, so work that into your future plans as well.

7. leviolette24
   February 2nd, 2010 at 4:10 am

   I would get a PhD in conducting. Both of the college level choir directors I’ve had have had PhD’s in conducting.

8. meekee02
   February 2nd, 2010 at 4:12 am

   You can get a job with your B. A. BUT most of the time when the schools are looking for someone they PREFER someone with their PHD. You may get lucky though with your BA

9. Edik
   February 2nd, 2010 at 4:13 am

   In short, you’ll most likely need to get an MM in orchestral conducting, and a DMA in orchestral conducting. But it really depends on a number of things:

   1) the college/type of college you wish to teach at
   2) the exact area of music you wish to teach
   3) your reputation/experience in the field

   1) If you wish to teach at a community college, you can probably get away with just having a master’s degree. If you want to get a job at a four year university (and if you want to keep it for any length of time), you will probably need a doctorate.

   2) If your goal is to direct a collegiate orchestra, then you should be thinking about a master’s in orchestral conducting, and a DMA (not a PhD!!) in orchestral conducting. You might be able to get a master’s in music ed instead, but your terminal degree should probably be in conducting. [the PhD degree, in music, is reserved for theorists, musicologists, and music education (and sometimes composers). It is an academic, research degree. An advanced conducting degree, or other performance degree will be a DMA (doctor of musical arts). It's not necessarily an "easier degree" than a PhD. . . just focused towards performance more than research]

   3) Some colleges will hire and give tenure to faculty members without doctoral degrees if they are well known enough. For example, if you have all sorts of experience as an orchestral conductor, and are known throughout the world (or at least, the country) for your work, then you might be able to get a college teaching job without a doctorate. Say, for example, that Sir Simon Rattle decided he wanted to teach conducting and direct the orchestras at Eastman. (if the position were open) He would probably get the job, because he’s a world famous conductor. . . even though he may not have a doctoral degree. I mean no disrespect by this remark, but, if you’re asking this question on Yahoo, then this probably doesn’t apply to you.

   I hope this helps!