Berklee College of Music Will Offer Degrees Online

-- Affordable Degree Option Designed to Reach Music Students Around the World 

BOSTON, Oct. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Berklee College of Music, the world leader in contemporary music education, is the first non-profit music institution to offer accredited bachelor degrees online. 

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The college's award-winning online division, Berklee Online, will offer 120-credit bachelor of professional studies degrees in music business and music production. The music business degree offers courses on licensing, management, marketing, and touring, with a focus on mobile music, streaming, funding, and developing revenue sources. The music production degree provides an extensive background in Berklee's approach to music production, with courses on the world's top software programs, recording, engineering, mixing, and more. All courses are taught by Berklee faculty members or industry experts. 

Berklee Online begins accepting applications October 7, 2013, and will be issuing early acceptance notices to students beginning December 13, 2013. The inaugural class begins in the fall of 2014. 

The $16,500 per year tuition for the online degree is 60 percent less expensive than the physical college. While there are advantages to attending the college's Boston campus, where demand is at an all-time high — applications are up 300 percent over the last decade — these online degrees help achieve Berklee's goal to make quality music education more accessible and affordable to students around the world.

"Berklee has learned a lesson from our front row seat observing the music industry, namely, lead the change or be a victim of it. With an online degree, we can expand access to the powerful tools of contemporary music making to many more students. And coupled with MOOCs, which are free, and online education that is less expensive, we have created a multi-faceted global search for talent," said Berklee President Roger Brown. 

The online degree program will be highly selective, accepting no more than 300 students in its inaugural class. Like the physical college, the online degrees are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). 

For 12 years, Berklee Online has been teaching music online across various disciplines — from for-credit, instructor-led online courses to free non-credit offerings through Coursera and EdX. The University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) has awarded Berklee Online with its Best Online College Course Award for an unprecedented eight years in a row. Since 2002, Berklee Online has taught more than 30,000 students from 144 countries. 

With new courses on composing and producing electronic music, direct to fan marketing and sales, game audio, and music video editing, Berklee Online's curriculum has constantly evolved to prepare students for jobs in a modern music industry always in flux. 

Berklee Online students include members of Nine Inch Nails (Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini), Dave Matthews Band (Stefan Lessard), Karmin (Amy Heidemann), and Sugarland (Annie Clements), producers running major studios, industry executives at leading technology and business firms, and more. 

Berklee has always attempted to stay ahead of the curve. Founded in 1945, it was the first U.S. school to teach the contemporary music of the time, jazz. In the 1960s, it was the first school to recognize electric guitar and rock music. In 1979, it established the world's first undergraduate degree program in film scoring. In the 80s, it launched the first college-level majors in electronic music and songwriting. Music therapy, hip-hop, and video game scoring hit the curriculum in the 90s and 00s. Berklee alumni are building the future of the music industry and guiding the efforts of forward-thinking companies like PledgeMusic, Spotify, Pandora, Topspin, Live Nation Labs, CD Baby, the Echo Nest, Sonicbids, and others. 

Berklee Online is the online continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, delivering access to Berklee's acclaimed curriculum from anywhere in the world. Berklee Online's award-winning courses, multi-course certificate programs, and upcoming degree programs are accredited by NEASC and taught by the college's world-renowned faculty, providing lifelong learning opportunities to people interested in music and working in the music industry.