
Why Music Educators Choose Berklee's Graduate Programs Explore Berklees flexible master's degrees and certificate in music education, and get advice from working teachers and online learners who've studied here.
By
John Mirisola
September 4, 2024
Music education students play in and conduct an ensemble.
Image by Kelly Davidson
Anybody whos ever benefited from a great music teacher knows the transformative role that music education can play in a persons life. Its one reason why so many musicians wind up becoming music teachers themselves-to share that love for music that somebody else nurtured in them.
But the decision to pursue a career in the classroom-to get a masters in music education, or to earn a graduate certificate-isn't always easy. Most working teachers can't leave the classroom to advance in their careers. And for others, maybe the program they're interested in is far from where they live.
If youre looking to get your masters degree in music education, or to earn a graduate certificate, Berklees graduate music education programs offer a flexible, contemporary approach to the music classroom that helps you to connect your teaching to todays culture and technology. With class formats built to accommodate working teachers, online and hybrid learners, and on-campus study, theres never a bad time or place to start your career as a music teacher, or to take the next step in your professional development.
In this article, well explore some of the key features of the graduate music education experience at Berklee:
Three world-class programs
Online, hybrid, and flexible classes
Contemporary and culturally responsive teaching
Customizing your graduate music education experience
Focused training for teaching students with disabilities
Well also hear from current students and alumni of Berklees graduate music education programs, and theyll share their advice on:
How to earn your music education masters degree or certificate while teaching
How to earn your music education masters degree remotely
Three World-Class ProgramsBerklee offers three graduate programs in music education:
The Master of Music in Music Education
The Master of Music in Music Education (Autism Concentration)
The Graduate Certificate in Music Education and Autism
Each program has been designed to fit the schedules and meet the needs of todays educators. Our Music Education Department is led by Cecil Adderley, the president-elect of the National Association for Music Educators, so students can be assured theyre receiving the most forward-looking and rigorous training available. And graduate students in these programs also have the chance to work with some of the worlds leading practitioners and scholars of accessible music education through the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education.
Read on to learn more about each program and the adaptive course structure that makes them work for teachers in every stage of their careers.
Online, Hybrid, and Flexible ClassesOne of the core values of graduate music education at Berklee is that each program should be able to serve working teachers. Thats why the programs are designed to ensure that teachers enrolled in these programs can keep their jobs while they advance their careers through graduate-level training. Courses are offered in the evenings during the fall and spring semesters, and students can enroll in two full-time sessions during the summer.
This program was flexible for me, a working teacher, which was a must, says Sarah Fard, who took one course at a time and completed her Graduate Certificate in Music Education and Autism in 2018. I had found myself working as a paraprofessional for students with autism early on in my career, before returning to the music classroom, and noticed that there was a lot that I had not learned in my pre-service education that directly impacted how well I was able to best teach various students. I wanted further training so that I could best support my students and also help other teachers do the same.
It is very important to enroll in programs that have you working with the materials that you use in the classroom, so that the work you are doing is purposeful.
- Sarah Fard, Graduate Certificate in Music Education and Autism
During the academic year, students can also participate in classes remotely using web conferencing and student-directed study formats-a model Berklees graduate music education programs have been refining for years before COVID-19 made online learning a necessity at other institutions.
Im teaching a class tonight where I have five students on the web and four students in the room, and we are all together having class, says Rhoda Bernard, managing director of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education and the founder of all three graduate programs. Weve been doing hybrid and remote learning in graduate music education since long before it was sexy.
Contemporary and Culturally Responsive TeachingPeople today experience, consume, make, and interact with music in a wide range of ways, explains Bernard, and we have now access to music from all over the world and from all throughout time in ways that weve never had before, and it has to change how we teach.
While many music education programs still follow outdated models, graduate music education at Berklee is designed to help todays teachers engage with the latest pedagogical, cultural, and technological shifts shaping contemporary learning environments.
The real future of music is being made at Berklee because the institution is choosing to embrace today's culture for music, people, and music learning that exists in the world outside of the school, says Adam Calus BM '17, MM '21.
Ready to take the next step in your teaching career?
Learn more about applying to Berklees graduate music educat
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/07/2026
Foundry today announced that Reel FX Animation Studios has adopted Flix to standardize their pipeline and streamline processes across departments. Flix is a vis...
08/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
08/07/2026
Australians in Film and Screen Australia launch FUTURE VISION Forward to elevate...
07/07/2026
Applications are now open for the Validation Booster, a six-month acceleration programme supporting journalists, media organisations, content creators, media in...
07/07/2026
The Universal Talent Identifier (HAND) has issued HAND IDs to 50 top prospects ahead of the 2026 MLB Draft, including consensus top-ranked players Roch Cholowsk...
07/07/2026
Cisco and the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team have announced an extension of their partnership, expanding the scope from networking and communications to incl...
07/07/2026
LucidLink has announced a workflow integration with Adobe Frame.io that gives production teams unified access to Frame.io projects alongside supporting producti...
07/07/2026
Chyron has announced the appointment of Ahmed Magd as Sales Director for the Middle East. Magd joins from previous senior commercial roles at Riedel Communicati...
07/07/2026
Leader Electronics of Europe has announced that its PHABRIX Qx rasterizer and Le...
07/07/2026
eCLUTCH has announced it has acquired broadcast rights to the Esports World Cup 2026 for EMEA and MENA, covering the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, Sweden, a...
07/07/2026
Riedel Communications and ARRI supported ORF's host broadcast of the Eurovis...
07/07/2026
ARRI has announced the ALEXA 35 Live Xtreme, a camera that adds high frame rate ...
07/07/2026
LiveU will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 7.C24), showcasing the LU900Q Intelligent Production Unit, expanded Sony collaboration, and additions to its open IP-video...
07/07/2026
Telemundo's coverage is packaged with Multiview, Catch Up with Key Plays, in...
07/07/2026
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) has announced a seven-year media r...
07/07/2026
Produced onsite at The Star in Frisco, TX, live coverage of the two-day event airs on ESPN platforms
The season for Football Media Days is here, and the Big 12...
07/07/2026
Rogers Communications Inc. has announced an agreement to acquire the remaining 25% ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) from Kilmer Spo...
07/07/2026
End-to-end broadcast solution includes fleet of mobile units, Cloud Control, and...
07/07/2026
Sports-production-tech experts sound off on the state of the industry...
07/07/2026
New mixer aimed squarely at instrument-level sources
Heritage Audio have clearly been busy recently, as alongside their all-new Tubestrip, they've also ...
07/07/2026
New channel strip combines popular hardware designs
The latest arrival to the Heritage Audio line-up brings together a selection of their praised hardware d...
07/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/07/2026
New Kessler 10 data now available in Nielsen CMI gives brands a deeper view of h...
07/07/2026
New Nielsen Ad Intel and CMV data reveals rising competition in Australia's ...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Riedel Communications and ARRI played a key role in one of the most technically ambitious Eurovision Song Contest productions to date. For the first time in the...
07/07/2026
Berklee Valencia Honors Eric Whitacre at the 2026 Commencement Ceremony The Grammy-winning composer was celebrated alongside this years cohort of masters degr...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
The appointment will drive growth and innovation across the Media Business Unit
Fincons Group, a leading IT business consultancy and systems integrator company...
07/07/2026
International broadcast and streaming expert Big Blue Marble has announced a multi-month Proof of Concept (PoC) for Media over QUIC (MoQ) during a major interna...
07/07/2026
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, is proud to announce that two of its leading products, the PHABRIX Qx rasterizer and LeaderPhabrix L...
07/07/2026
Clear-Com announced that Ross Production Services (RPS), a leading provider of mobile production solutions for live events and broadcasts, has standardized on ...
07/07/2026
LiveU redefined live newsgathering with the invention of cellular bonding. At IBC2026, Stand 7.C24, the company will show how that foundation is evolving into t...
07/07/2026
LucidLink, a leader in cloud-based file services for content creators, today announced an enhanced workflow integration between LucidLink and Adobe Frame.io tha...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...