Recognizing that a robust teaching artist practice is an essential part of a 21st-century musician’s career, this concentration prepares NEC students for the field of teaching artistry and music education as an essential complement to their performance studies. Deeply rooted in real world learning opportunities and community partnership, this integrated understanding of music education will prepare NEC students to become the kind of adaptable teaching artists needed by contemporary society; artists who possess the necessary tools to impact music learning within their communities as they contribute to the public good.
The Teaching Artistry and Music Education Concentration, available to NEC undergraduate and graduate students, comprises four elements of study, including five credits of study and also non-credit bearing experiential learning requirements. These elements are listed below:
- Coursework (4 credits, including a 2 credit foundational course)
- Experiential Learning (2 opportunities, non-credit bearing)
- Professional Development Workshops (2 opportunities, non-credit bearing)
- Self-Directed Capstone Project (1 credit)
The concentration takes a menu approach, allowing the student to choose specific offerings to satisfy the credits within each element. Upon declaring the concentration, students will meet with a member of CEPS staff to assist in designing their proposed course of study, including selection of courses, fellowship planning, and initial ideas for a capstone project. Continued advising with CEPS staff on progress through the concentration will be available on an as needed basis. Students will also work with CEPS staff to select a faculty or staff advisor to work with on their capstone project. They will meet for a minimum total of 7 hours with their advisor during their self-directed project semester (the penultimate or last semester of their degree program at NEC), as well as participate in a series of meetings with the cohort of other students working on capstone projects.
Students must declare for the concentration within the following windows depending on their degree:
Undergraduate Students: the earliest a student can declare is during spring semester of their first year; the latest they can declare is registration for spring semester of their third year.
Graduate Students: the earliest a student can declare is the start of their degree; the latest they can declare is registration for the first semester of their second year (either MM or DMA).
Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 (UG) and 3.0 (G) (satisfactory academic progress) and a GPA of 3.33 in the concentration at the undergraduate level.