What's The Difference?

Music Conservatory

• Focus on Intensive Music Training: A music conservatory is typically dedicated entirely to music and related disciplines (e.g., performance, composition, music theory). It offers a highly focused and rigorous program to prepare students for professional music careers.

• Specialization: Conservatories have a narrower academic scope compared to colleges. Students’ schedules are full of one-on-one lessons, large and small ensembles, music theory, and performances.

• While conservatories often require some academic coursework, it is almost always limited to the humanities, like Juilliard’s required Liberal Arts courses.

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Music School at a College (or University)

• Broader Academic Environment: A music school within a college or university offers a more balanced academic environment, where music education is integrated into a larger institution. This means students can often take courses outside of music, including STEM classes that would not be available in a conservatory.

• Greater Academic Flexibility: Music schools at colleges often allow students to pursue a wider range of academic degrees, such as a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Music (BM), or even joint degrees. Students have the option to double major or pursue minors in other fields. 

• Less Specialized: While music schools within colleges still provide focused musical training, the programs may offer a broader range of music-related disciplines (e.g., music education, music business, music therapy, music technology, and music performance). For these majors, the approach is often more interdisciplinary and less focused solely on performance.