The Lawrence University Conservatory of Music offers you a rare blend of professional education in music and liberal arts, a combination that has produced outstanding performers, composers, educators, and scholars. With around 350 students, half of whom are pursuing the double-degree program, the Lawrence Conservatory is exclusively an undergraduate institution. As a result, you will not be competing with graduate students for roles in the opera, chairs in the orchestra, or faculty attention.
Faculty
A superb faculty prides itself on giving you individual attention as you pursue your undergraduate degree(s) at Lawrence. The conservatory faculty is an active group of performers, educators, scholars, and composers, engaged in their art but committed to teaching undergraduates. While maintaining active performance careers, the faculty also serve as advisors and mentors to their students. The long-lasting friendships forged from these close relationships between students and teachers are one of the hallmarks of a Lawrence education.
Degree types
You want music to be part of your studies, but with so many options, you might have questions about the difference between a Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.) degree, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, and the combined B.A./B.Mus. double-degree program.
Bachelor of Music
If you want music as the primary focus of your studies, the B.Mus. degree offers the most rigorous musical training. You can major in performance, music education or theory/composition. About two thirds of your academic classes will include lessons, classes such as music theory and history, and ensembles. Academic classes outside of the Conservatory will comprise the remaining third of your studies, giving you a focused, but well-rounded education. Earning a B.Mus. degree (compared to a B.A. degree with a major in music) demonstrates to potential employeers or graduate schools that you have achieved the highest level of musical training at Lawrence.
Bachelor of Arts with a major in music
Pursuing a B.A. degree with a major in music gives you the opportunity to take a liberal arts approach to the study of music, with an emphasis on learning about music along with advanced musical training. Roughly one third of your academic experience will be devoted to lessons, classes such as music theory and history, and ensembles. Another third of your program will be devoted to general education classes. The final third allows you to pick up a second major or a minor, or take other coursework of specific interest to you. The B.A. degree with a major in music shows that you have completed your musical studies and training in the context of a liberal arts education, and you have aquired a broad based set of skills and experiences.
Double-Degree
Lawrence offers a combined B.A./B.Mus. degree program that offers an innovative course of study allowing you to pursue both your musical and academic interests. In this rigorous program, you will complete all of the requirements for each degree in five years. The B.Mus. course of study will combine lessons, classes such as music theory and history, and ensembles while the B.A. course of study will include general education classes and an academic degree of your choice. The combination of a nationally-ranked liberal arts college with a leading conservatory of music makes Lawrence's double-degree program a unique opportunity to study both music and academics at a high level.
Music for non-majors
Lawrence also offers many opportunities if you want to continue playing and performing but do not wish to major in music. All ensembles are open by audition (and no spaces are held for music majors), and there are even special music classes for non-music majors. In some cases you may even take individual lessons depending on your skill level and the availability of the professor.
