Psychology and Music Therapy: Any insight on a good grad school path?

[psych_33]

Hello everyone, I have lots of questions that I'm hoping you could answer.

 

I'm in my final few semesters of undergrad and I'm trying to figure out options for continuing my education, but it's somewhat complicated in my case because I have multiple aspirations. I will graduate with a BA in psychology and completed minors in both music and German, and I wish to tie all of those areas together in my future career. I ultimately wish to become a certified music therapist and simultaneously conduct research in psychomusicology and psycholinguistics once I finish all of my schooling. I also wouldn't mind teaching at the university level or practicing psychology on the side, but I want the emphasis of my career to be on music and psychology. The problem is, I'm not sure of the best way to get there in terms of graduate school. Does anyone have any experience working in psychomusicology or music therapy? If so, what degrees did you obtain to get there? Are there any good schools or degree paths you'd recommend? I'm also trying my hardest to find a program that waives graduate tuition. I'm aware that there are some out there that pay your living expenses and/or provide stipends for grad students. Are you familiar with any?

 

In case you need all of my "stats," I have a cumulative GPA of 3.4, which should be even higher once I graduate (had a few tough semesters) and I am a part of the psychology honors program at my university, so I will have to conduct my own research and complete an honors thesis over the next year and a half. I also recently obtained an internship in a neuroscience facility where I will have the opportunity to work alongside music therapists that assist aphasia patients. I feel like I am doing the right things to build up my resume for grad school, I just don't know where to go.

 

I have contacted Eastern Michigan University to request more information about their post-bac equivalency certificate in music therapy but I haven't heard back from them yet. Their website states that applicants should have a degree in music for the certificate, however, my institution did not offer a music major, so I settled for a minor in music. I do play two instruments (guitar and piano), I can sight-read, and I am pretty familiar with theory, so I have met most of the music requirements, I just need a few more classes to fulfill all of them. I noted that in my request and asked if it is still possible to enroll in the certificate program if I complete the additional requirements. If they are willing to accept me into this program, I plan on enrolling after graduation, however, I need to figure out backup plans in case they won't accept me. That's where I'm lost.

 

Do any of you know of any good graduate schools for both music therapy and psychology? Or even specifically, psychomusicology or music psychology? I'm wondering if I should pursue a dual degree in both fields, or if I should just get my MT certification before going on to pursue a PhD in psychology. I have no idea though. I have been staring at a computer screen for hours looking up schools and various degrees and I've given myself a headache. I'm hoping that someone on here has experience in these fields, or knows someone that does, and can help me out with my questions!

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and extra thanks in advance if you reply!

Edited January 3, 2014 by roserm

[kaister]

Hi there,

 

I have a bit of a past in music therapy, so I'll share what I know of it.

 

To be a music therapist you will need either a post bac (which will require you to do all the additional needed coursework in music therapy) to obtain a BMT or you would just complete a bachelors in MT. There's really no way around that part, you will need that coursework (which includes a lot of music heavy coursework, much of what you may already have with a music minor).  

 

I honestly think you should experience what music therapy is all about.  It sounds like you've been working with some music therapists, so that's great.  You should keep shadowing these people and decide if being a practitioner is really what you want.  I thought that I wanted to go into music therapy (was in a program for a year) because I loved both music and psychological science. I wanted to research music through a psychological perspective, so I went into music therapy.  That was the wrong choice for me, because I wanted to do research, rather than mainly focusing on clinical work. I did not know this going into it because there just wasn't very many chances for me to be exposed to music therapy where I lived prior to starting the program. From my experience and knowing other practicing music therapists, it is mainly working as a practitioner. If you continue on to get higher degrees (masters, phd) then you can get more involved in the research aspect. But again, this is still going through a mainly clinical avenue.

 

I think you need to decide what part of music you want to study.  What aspect are you most interested in? Therapy, musicology, music cognition, etc.  There are many areas in which you could study music. I found out I really enjoyed music cognition and I attempted that route through a cognitive/experimental psychology phd route ( I actually didn't end up there, but I was accepted to a program focused on that, so it is possible!!) Honestly it is a tricky thing to accomplish as the music psychology community is still pretty small and often scattered throughout neuroscience and music departments. The main thing is to decide which avenue you wish to take.  You could go through cognitive psychology, neuroscience, musicology, etc.  So I think you need to think about the job you want and the field you want to continue in.  From there, you can find ways to pursue music and psychology.

 

For me, it was important to realize the clinical vs. research difference and to decide which side I'd rather be on.  Yes, you don't have to choose one and leave the other forever, you can incorporate them, but you do sort of need to make a decision which side you'll strongly pursue.

 

Hope that helps! PM if you want any more specific advice, I am happy to share my experiences.

[tingski]

This might not help much, but are you familiar with Daniel Levitin's research? I find them really interesting. Try to look into that if you dont mind studying music cognition and see if you like it -- if you don't, it could still inform you that you might like the clinical path better!  

[Piagetsky]

Saw this earlier tonight and then saw your thread.

 

http://socialsciences.uottawa.ca/psy/professor-profile?id=897

[Cog-Neuro Guy]

Levitin is a good source on music cognition. Interesting.