All Berkleemusic courses are led by a Berklee faculty member or industry expert. You will have direct access to your instructor through private messages, discussions, and chats. Your instructor will give you detailed, weekly feedback as you complete the lessons, giving you insight from a professional in the music field. Check out our faculty profiles.

Each course section is capped at 15-20 students.

Berkleemusic has taught students from over 90 countries. You’ll be interacting with students from around the world for 12 weeks, discussing course lessons and sharing real-world experiences. Many students build professional and personal relationships with their classmates and choose to stay in touch outside of the course. Check out student profiles

Throughout each 12-week course, you’ll use innovative online tools—including video content, audio examples, weekly chats, interactive exercises, and discussion boards—to communicate, interact, and learn with and from your instructor and other students. You’ll complete your assignments on your own schedule within the week, begin and end as you need to, and work at a pace that’s right for you.

Berkleemusic’s certificate programs are designed to provide students with solid qualifications and marketable skills for success. These multi-course programs offer anywhere from one to three years of extensive training with the faculty of Berklee College of Music in a wide variety of disciplines. We offer three types of certificates—Specialist, Professional, and Master—based on the depth of study. Develop your skills, expand your expertise, and add great credentials to your resume with a Berkleemusic certificate.

Master: 8-12 courses, approx. 2 to 3 years to complete

Professional: 5-6 courses, approx. 1 year to complete

Specialist: 3 courses, approx. 9 months to 1 year to complete

Each week, you will receive either a letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) in a credit course or a “Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory” grade in a non-credit course, along with feedback based on your course work. At the end of the course, you’ll receive an overall final grade, based on your participation and performance throughout the term.

All Berkleemusic courses are 12 weeks in length. Multi-course certificate programs typically last one to three years.

On average, you can expect to spend five to ten hours per week on your course, depending on your experience in the subject area. A typical Berkleemusic student may spend three to five hours participating weekly in discussions, reading, interacting with lesson materials, and completing assignments.

Berkleemusic staff and instructors understand that you have both personal and professional commitments outside of your course. If you have any issues while in the course, contact your instructor and advisor to work out a plan action.

Although we have recommended times of completion for each program, you will have the opportunity to skip a term if you have a personal, medical, or professional issues arise. You will not be penalized for skipping one or two terms.

Yes. You can take as many courses as you’d like in one term. However, we strongly recommend students begin with one or two courses, as more than one course can take a substantial amount of time.

Master: 8-12 courses, approx. 2 to 3 years to complete

Professional: 5-6 courses, approx. 1 year to complete

Specialist: 3 courses, approx. 9 months to 1 year to complete

Yes. Many of our students go on vacation and still maintain their course load. Be sure to work out a plan with your instructor and stay on top of your lessons, and enjoy your vacation!

Students are given the choice to take courses as credit or non-credit. The main differences between these two options are:

For credit courses:

• You receive a letter grade
• The credits are transferable to other colleges
• You can waive the course into a certificate program later if you choose

For non-credit:

• You receive a “Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory” grade
• Not transferable to other colleges
• Cannot waive into a certificate program later

Yes. Berkleemusic is accredited the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), the nation’s oldest regional accrediting association whose mission is the establishment and maintenance of high standards for all levels of education, from pre-K to the doctoral level. Learn more about NEASC

Yes. A number of courses transfer directly to Berklee College of Music. Learn more Berklee’s transfer policies, and review a list of transferable Berkleemusic courses, here.

Yes. Credits earned in a Berkleemusic course can be transferred to another college or university. Be sure to check with your home institution first, as credits are accepted at their discretion.

Berkleemusic does not currently offer degrees, rather Bachelor-level courses and multi-course certificate programs. If you are looking to receive a degree from Berklee College of Music, you should contact the Berklee Admissions Department at www.berklee.edu.

Berkleemusic does not currently offer Master level courses or credits, rather our courses are Bachelor-level credits. The Master Certificates are 9-12 compiled bachelor level courses to create a complete skill set in the desired subject matter totaling 27-36 bachelor level credits.

There are no formal admissions requirements to begin taking a Berkleemusic course and you do not need to apply to enroll. However, you must meet all the technical requirements and prerequisites for each course.

While all course are college-level, each course is different—some are introductory, while more advanced courses require an existing foundational knowledge of the subject matter. Each course’s Requirements page lists all prerequisites, textbooks, and hardware and software needed before you begin. Some courses pages even have a self-assessment quiz to help you determine if you already have the knowledge required for that level of study. For example, the requirements for Guitar Chords 101 can be found here.

Yes. Each course’s syllabus is available for you to read and review before you enroll. Just follow the link on each course page. For example, the syllabus for Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools can be found here.

Step 1: From the course catalog, select the course in which you wish to enroll.

Step 2: Check the Academic Calendar for term dates and enrollment deadlines.

Step 3: Complete the online enrollment process and submit payment. Full payment needs to be received by the end of a given term's enrollment period.

Step 4: We will send an email at the start of the term that will provide information on getting started in the course.

Step 1: Choose your certificate program.

Step 2: Apply for Financial Aid (if applicable).

Step 3: Reserve your seat. A $175 registration and technology fee immediately reserves your seat in a program. Get in early.

Step 4: Schedule your program.

Step 5: Make your tuition payments. Construct a payment program that works for you.

Berkleemusic courses are offered four times a year during each of our terms (spring, summer, fall, winter). We offer Open Enrollment, so you are able to sign-up for a course or program at any time.

2008/2009 Academic Calendar

Fall 2008: September 29, 2008- December 21, 2008
Winter 2009: January 12, 2009- April 5, 2009
Spring 2009: April 6, 2009- June 28, 2009
Summer 2009: June 29, 2009 to September 20, 2009

We encourage you to enroll as early as possible. You’ll want to be sure to receive all your course materials on time and, more importantly, you’ll want to secure your spot in class—due to our high enrollment volume, many of our most popular courses are full well before the enrollment deadline. You can wait until the first day of the term to enroll, though it is not recommended.

The cost of tuition is based upon each student’s unique course of study, and varies based on a number of factors—whether you’re taking a credit or non-credit course, an individual course or certificate program, and on the materials required.

Individual courses range from $995 to $1195. There is also a $175 registration fee for certificate programs, and a $75 registration fee for individual courses (both credit and non-credit). If you choose to pay for a certificate program in full, you can save 10% off the cost of the entire program.

Before you begin each term, the course(s) you are taking must be paid for in full.

You must pay in full before you begin any given course(s) in a term.

If you are enrolled in a certificate program, you do not have to pay for all of your coursework in full when enrolling, but each course does need to be paid in full before you begin it. However, if you do pay for all of your courses in advance and in full, you save 10% of the cost of the certificate program—and that can result up to $1,394.00 in savings!

Berkleemusic accepts MasterCard, VISA, Discover, American Express, checks, money orders, student loans, and military and employer tuition assistance.

We offer several Financial Aid options, and many credit-based lenders that we recommend—including Sallie Mae, Chase, and Wells Fargo. We’ve had many students use these loans for both certificate programs and individual courses. Simply follow the process listed on our page and you’re on your way to becoming a better musician.

You can learn more about our financial aid program here.

Unfortunately, we currently do not offer Federal Aid (also known as FAFSA) for Berkleemusic courses or certificate programs. This includes federal loans and grants. But stay tuned—this may be coming in the future.

Many employers, as well as the U.S. Military, offer tuition reimbursement programs that may be used towards at Berkleemusic education.

You can learn more about Tuition Reimbursement options here.

You can learn more about Military Student options here.

Berkleemusic offers a Celebrity Online Scholarship Program to all students enrolled in a certificate program. Designed to reward and assist outstanding online students who demonstrate superior performance studying in certificate programs at Berkleemusic, these quarterly scholarships are awarded in the name of renowned music education champions. The student recipients of each Celebrity Online Scholarship will receive an award of $1,250 to be used towards paying their tuition and helping them achieve their goals.

To be considered for the Celebrity Online Scholarship Program, you must:

• Be enrolled in a certificate program and have completed your first course.
• Have a GPA of 3.7 or higher.
• Have an up-to-date promo page on Berkleemusic.
• Be recommended by one of your instructors.

Learn more: http://online.berklee.edu/scholarship/