6 Questions to Ask About Music Colleges in Minnesota
You’re ready to build your academic and professional resume in Minnesota’s vibrant music scene. How do you choose the music program that best supports your journey? There’s a lot to consider, including the type of school, location, opportunities, and affordability.
Future music professionals find a rich and supportive performing arts community at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Our bachelor of arts in music degree combines formal musical training and performance opportunities with a well-rounded liberal arts education. Audition for 25+ school-sponsored vocal or instrumental ensembles and gain performance experience in Minnesota, nationwide, and abroad. Find devoted professional mentors and an established industry network that pave the way for your career or graduate school next steps.
What should you look for in a music school? Keep reading for questions to ask as you decide where to get your music degree.
1. What type of music program is best for me?
Three types of schools host undergraduate music programs. Which one best fits your personality and professional development goals? Conservatories, universities, and liberal arts schools all offer music degrees with different potential benefits:
- Conservatories Offer an immersive musical education with rigorous performance training, including regular private lessons and close mentorship by expert musicians. A conservatory curriculum is the most music-centric, with the majority of classes focused on performance, composition, and other music-specific subjects.
- University music programs Deliver a broader education that often includes research opportunities. Some universities offer master’s and doctorate programs in the music field. Universities tend to have much larger student populations and campuses than conservatories and liberal arts colleges.
- Liberal arts colleges Often have much smaller class sizes than universities, providing closer faculty mentorship and a more intimate music community. They offer music majors an interdisciplinary education with an emphasis on critical thinking.
At Gustavus, we blend the best of all three settings. As a small liberal arts school, Gustavus fosters an intimate academic environment and a tight-knit, collaborative performing arts community. Music students enjoy conservatory-style musical training all four years of college, including weekly private lessons, extensive ensemble participation, and close mentorship by faculty with extensive industry experience. All Gustavus students are encouraged to do original research projects alongside faculty mentors in the fields that interest them. Music majors create a customized four-year plan that targets their professional or graduate school goals and builds their portfolio through rigorous training, performance, and industry experience.
2. What performance opportunities will I have?
Your musical career may be performance-focused, or performance proficiency might be an essential part of your resume in a teaching, administrative, directing, or composing career. Either way, examine the performance opportunities available through your prospective colleges. Some colleges offer more substantial in-house opportunities depending on your genre and instrument. Explore online and, if possible, visit different Minnesota colleges when you can attend live performances relevant to your music studies. This offers you the most direct insight into the quality of student work at the school as well as on-campus performance venues and atmosphere.
The Gustavus music department sponsors 240+ performances annually, including private recitals, ensemble events, and larger multi-ensemble concerts. Gustavus faculty direct over two dozen vocal and instrumental groups including quartets, quintets, bands, orchestras, and choirs. Students explore and perform a wide variety of genres including choral, jazz, chamber, classical, contemporary, folk, and gospel. The Gustavus choir, jazz orchestra, symphony orchestra, and wind ensemble perform locally and regionally throughout the year and internationally within every four-year cycle. Music students collaborate with theatre & dance students in both mainstage and student-led productions and are supported to form their performance ensembles.
3. Where is the music school located?
Your school’s setting affects your immediate environment as well as your access to a broader professional musical community. Look into the music scene near your college to see if it offers the exposure and networking opportunities you hope for. This might include performance venues, recording studios, or other businesses specific to your chosen musical field. Your school’s location is important for personal reasons, too, not just professional ones. Consider what environment best suits you, from small town to big city to something in between. Visit campuses and explore the surrounding area to get a feel for your next four years.
Sometimes, the right environment is a blend of different great things. The Gustavus campus is situated in the small town of Saint Peter, Minnesota, minutes from the mid-sized city of Mankato and an hour from the Minneapolis / St. Paul metropolitan area. Students enjoy the beauty of nature in the surrounding Minnesota River Valley and a cozy small-town atmosphere within walking distance. Music festivals and local events in neighboring towns offer opportunities for professional networking, musical exposure, and regular entertainment. Easy access to the Twin Cities opens the doors to renowned venues, world-class performers, and a wide variety of professional internship opportunities
4. Does it support my career or graduate school goals?
You may be pursuing a music performance career or preparing to work in a music-related field. Perhaps you haven’t decided on a career path or graduate school yet. As you explore options, consider what classes and programs will build relevant skill sets and complement your musical studies. Do you see yourself working in music production or sound engineering? Are you interested in teaching private lessons, or directing a school choir or band? Do you enjoy composition and arrangement? Depending on your path, you may want to pair music with a complementary major or minor in business management, English, communications, or film and media studies.
Gustavus music students choose from a music major or music teaching major, then customize their education with specialty electives and interdisciplinary studies to craft a four-year program that targets their chosen career field. Faculty and advisors help you select classes that focus your music degree on business, computer science, musical theatre, music therapy, or another specific area of interest. We offer minors in arts entrepreneurship, educating music students in statistics, accounting, marketing, and other essential business skills. Whatever your career or graduate school goals, we work step by step with you to ensure you have the education, exposure, and experience to move forward with confidence.
5. What faculty mentorship does a music major receive?
Close mentorship is key to any performing arts education. Your musical growth depends on one-on-one attention, detailed feedback, and connection to the right opportunities, on campus and beyond. Look for schools with small class sizes and dedicated faculty mentors. See who conducts the ensembles you’ll be in, teaches your primary instrument, and instructs your classes. What sorts of experience and connections do they have? Find out what the school’s music program graduates are saying about the faculty mentorship they received.
As a small residential school with a deep mentorship culture, Gustavus offers music students personal expert guidance through all their music studies. Students have many opportunities to form close relationships with their instructors, from weekly private lessons to small ensembles to intimate music classes. Our music department faculty are performers, composers, and conductors with far-reaching professional experience and a passion for musical education. They’re excited to help you connect with great opportunities, build your professional or grad school portfolio, and achieve your potential as a musician. At Gustavus, we keep our class sizes small across all departments, so your broader liberal arts education offers close faculty support.
6. What financial aid is available to Minnesota students?
Financial aid may be a significant factor in your final music school choice. Some schools offer competitive music scholarships or special in-state tuition rates for Minnesota residents. Research each school’s scholarship offerings and calculate your likely financial aid package. Most schools have a financial aid calculator that allows you to estimate your remaining tuition cost after federal grants and school scholarships have been applied.
Incoming Gustavus music students can receive music scholarships. These scholarships layer on top of larger merit-based scholarships and need-based scholarships. The First Year Free Tuition Program offers generous scholarships for Minnesota students with qualifying household incomes. Eligible students receive a full tuition scholarship their first year, and the same award amount toward tuition the next three years — all you pay is any marginal tuition increase each year. All Gustavus scholarships renew each year for students continuing to meet eligibility requirements.
Read our article on scholarships for music students and how to approach the audition process.
Earn your music degree in Minnesota at Gustavus.
Find a unique blend of formal music training and liberal arts education at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Four years of individual lessons, ensemble training, and regular performances hone your musical skills. Academic studies dive deep into music composition, arrangement, theory, history, and culture. We offer music and music education majors, along with targeted business minor in arts entrepreneurship. Customize your liberal arts track to support your music career goals with a double major, complementary minor, exciting electives, and Signature Experiences designed for you to explore, collaborate, travel, research, and chart your path to a successful music-related career. Wherever you’re headed in the professional music world, Gustavus is a great place to launch your career.
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