Berklee College of Music Summer Semester Courses: An Immersive Musical Experience

Berklee College of Music offers a variety of summer semester courses designed for musicians of all levels and interests. These programs provide a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in a world of music, learn from renowned faculty, and collaborate with fellow musicians from around the globe. Whether you're looking to jumpstart your undergraduate coursework, refine your performance skills, or explore new musical genres, Berklee's summer programs offer something for everyone.

Jumpstart Your Music Education

For those looking to get ahead, Berklee offers summer courses that allow you to earn college credit in musical topics you're passionate about. You can learn music theory and gain the foundation you need to elevate your skills through reading, writing, and critically listening to music. This is a great way to get a head start on your undergraduate coursework.

Payment and Financial Aid

Berklee Online offers flexible payment options, including payment via PayPal. Additionally, many states and financial services institutions offer 529 savings programs to help families save for college education. To ensure that funds are correctly applied to your account, include your full name and Student ID number when making 529 plan payments. Berklee Online has also partnered with Flywire to simplify the tuition payment process. Always note your Student ID or Order Number before initiating a transfer.

Course Structure and Expectations

Prompt and regular online participation is crucial for successful completion of Berklee Online courses. The weekly lessons build upon each other, so it's imperative to stay current with coursework and assignments. It's recommended that students begin their courses promptly at the start of the semester. If this isn't possible, students should create a plan with their instructors to catch up. Each instructor has their own policy regarding late work, so students should review this information carefully. Contact your instructors as soon as possible to discuss any potential arrangements for specific situations. Failure to submit required work may result in a failing grade.

Enrollment Changes and Transfers

Students may request to transfer their enrollment to an alternate course (provided there is space) through Friday of the second week of the semester. After this deadline, changes to alternate courses within the current semester are not permitted. Students can request to change their enrollment from non-credit to for-credit status (or vice versa) through week 10 of the semester. All requests must be received by 12:00 PM ET on the Friday of week 10 of the semester.

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Credit Transfers and GPA

Students planning to transfer Berklee Online credits to other institutions should verify transfer policies with their home institutions. Many Berklee Online courses can fulfill degree or diploma requirements at Berklee College of Music, provided the student has applied and been accepted. All courses taken through Berklee Online will affect your GPA. Students may repeat a course for a grade, with only the highest grade being computed into the cumulative GPA. The repetition of a course will not eliminate the previous grade from the student’s record, nor will any additional credit be earned.

Grade Appeals and Incomplete Grades

If a student believes their grade is incorrect and cannot resolve the issue with the instructor, they may submit a written appeal to the Berklee Online Registrar’s Office. The appeal should include the course name, instructor's name, and a detailed explanation of why the grade is believed to be incorrect. Appeals must be received before the end of the following semester to be considered. In limited circumstances, a student may request a grade of Incomplete (“I”) from the instructor during the final two weeks of the semester. The decision to grant this request rests solely with the instructor. A grade of "I" is not a passing grade.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities who require accommodations should complete the Disability Accommodation Request Form before or during the first week of their course. Reasonable accommodations are reviewed on an ongoing basis, ideally before the semester begins or upon approval from Berklee Online Accommodations. Course accommodations cannot be applied retroactively and begin only after documentation is received and a reasonable time for accommodation has been allowed. Students must provide relevant documentation of their disability and list the courses for which they are requesting accommodations. Berklee Online Accommodations ensures that all student information remains confidential.

Course Withdrawal and Refunds

Requests to withdraw from a course must be submitted in writing. Notifying an instructor does not constitute an official withdrawal. All withdrawals must be received before 5 PM ET on the Friday of week eight (8) of the semester. No withdrawals will be accepted after this date. Students requesting an exception to the withdrawal policy for medical reasons should refer to the Medical Withdrawal/Transfer section for specific instructions. Students are expected to have reviewed the computer requirements for each course and purchased required materials before the course begins. Technical issues are not grounds for exceptions to the withdrawal/refund policies. Students enrolled in courses for credit or non-credit may request to transfer their course to a future semester. Online summer program students may also transfer their enrollment and funds to another on-campus summer program. Additional tuition fees may apply for transfers to other summer programs. Students who need to delay their online course for medical reasons may be eligible to transfer their course(s) to a future semester. A medical withdrawal or transfer will only be considered with written verification from a medical doctor on letterhead confirming the student's inability to complete the semester due to illness or disability. The doctor's note must be in English and submitted to the Berklee Online Registrar’s Office before the end of week eight (8) of the semester. Refunds are based on the date the written withdrawal request is received. No additional refunds will be given after the second week of the semester. Withdrawal and refund dates can be found on the Academic Calendar. The registration fee is non-refundable. All refunds will be issued in United States dollars (USD). Berklee Online is not responsible for currency rate fluctuations between the purchase and refund dates. If payment was made by credit card, refunds will be processed back to the original card within 30 days.

Instructor Information and Course Access

Each week, instructors will post new lessons, and students can access the material at any time throughout the week. Berklee faculty and recognized experts in their fields serve as instructors. While every effort is made to run all courses, cancellations may occur. In such cases, students can transfer to another course in the current semester or to the same course in a future semester. Many Berklee Online courses can be applied toward a degree at Berklee College of Music.

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To access courses, log in to Berklee Online and go to your “My Home” page. You will have access to courses for one year after they end. You have an additional 30 days after the course officially ends to post inside the course. Instructors will not review posts or respond to messages during this 30-day period unless an extension has been arranged. After the 30-day period, you will have "view only" access to the course for an additional 11 months, during which you cannot interact with the instructor or post messages. After the one-year period, further access to the course is not possible. Upon completing an individual course, you will receive a letter of completion, available on your home page 6-8 weeks after the semester ends. Required materials for online courses are not included in tuition and fees.

Summer Program Highlights

Berklee College of Music Summer Program

This 12-week summer course allows you to complete the same curriculum as the first semester of Berklee College of Music. It's ideal for individuals with at least two years of music experience and basic reading ability, and it offers a pathway to transfer into a regular course. This intensive program is offered by Berklee College of Music in Boston. The curriculum mirrors the compulsory first-semester coursework for regular university students, condensed into 12 weeks. This allows you to experience regular classes and lessons without needing to take an entrance exam. Participants can also earn formal credits at Berklee College of Music.

Eligibility and Curriculum

To participate, you must be 16 years or older and have basic reading skills, along with at least two years of experience with your instrument or singing. The program focuses on guitar and songwriting. The guitar curriculum includes private lessons, ensemble work, and guitar style classes. The songwriting curriculum includes songwriting classes, songwriter workshops, and songwriting business classes. The instructors are Berklee College of Music faculty members with worldwide reputations. The program attracts students with diverse musical experiences and backgrounds from around the world.

Credits and Transfer Options

If you pass the final exam, you will earn formal credits from Berklee College of Music, which can then be transferred if you choose to enroll as a regular student. Scholarships for regular study abroad are also considered during the program. Accommodation is available in the university dormitory or through a homestay. Dormitory rooms are limited, so placement is not always guaranteed. Boston summers offer a relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere with various concerts and cultural events, many of which are free. The Atlantic coast and the mountains and lakes of New England are also easily accessible for weekend excursions.

Workshop Details

The workshop period typically begins with orientation in May, followed by classes from May to August. Please note that currently there are no plans to hold the event in 2023. Please use the 5-week summer course. Courses are held in guitar and songwriting across all genres. Guitar lessons include private lessons, ensemble work, and guitar style. Songwriting includes songwriting, lyrics and composition, singer-songwriter workshop, and songwriting business.

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Audition and Venue Information

There is no specific audition required. However, there is a music level and music theory level check test in the first week of the course to assist with classification. The workshops are held at Berklee College of Music. The course schedule is distributed by the school in the first week. A general schedule example for homestay students includes arrival and orientation, followed by lessons and exams, and then departure.

Accommodation and Support

Accommodation options include student dormitories (shared rooms) with meals (weekdays: breakfast/lunch/dinner, weekends: brunch/dinner). Students aged 15 and over can enter the dormitory. Depending on age and application time, a plan without meals may be assigned. Homestay options are also available (single room) with breakfast. Local support is provided by And Vision local staff with telephone support. Japanese interpreters are not available during lessons. Round-trip airport transfer from Boston Airport is included.

Fees and Important Notes

Participation requires over 2 years of music experience and a basic understanding of music theory. Fees cover airfare, Japanese translation fee, Berkeley health insurance, visa application fee, health insurance, overseas travel accident insurance fee, city travel fee, telephone fee, all personal expenses during free time, etc. Depending on the local situation of the new corona infection, online lessons may be offered, with fees charged excluding accommodation fees. A student visa is required. Applying for a student visa may take more than 6 weeks for the school to issue the necessary documents for visa application, so please apply as soon as possible. Even after the application deadline, you may be able to apply if there is a vacancy in the course.

Additional Summer Programs

Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive

The world's most comprehensive summer music performance program, Aspire, attracts students to Boston from over 70 countries. This intensive replicates a true Berklee College of Music undergraduate experience. Students select a principal instrument (including voice and electronic digital instrument) to study during the program. Instructors are members of Berklee's world-class faculty and provide a mix of private instruction, instrumental labs, ensembles, theory, performance, and musicianship training tailored to individual musical interests and experience levels. The program culminates in a final week of concerts for faculty, fellow students, family, and friends.

Core Curriculum Components

Private Instruction: Weekly half-hour lesson on your principal instrument.
Instrumental Labs: Three hours per week in instrument-specific small group courses to develop instrumental style, reading, and technique.
Instrumental Survey: A survey class examining various performance styles and techniques from a historical perspective.
Ensembles: Two hours each week in instrumental or vocal groups, with a wide range of contemporary styles to choose from, including jazz, pop/rock, pop/R&B, funk/fusion, bluegrass, salsa, and world music. Selected ensembles record in Berklee’s recording studios.
Musicianship: Four hours per week developing your musical ear, performance skills, and reading ability. Placement is determined by your entering musicianship assessment.
Theory in Performance: Three hours per week studying the rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic elements of music as they relate to playing your instrument. Placement is determined by your entering theory assessment.
Performance Perspectives: Performances and discussions held two hours per week to expose you to valuable career insight from music professionals in every sector of the industry.
Visiting Artist Clinics: Lectures and demonstrations featuring performers, songwriters, film composers, and music business experts.

Concerts take place in various college performance venues, including recital halls, Red Room at Cafe 939, and the Berklee Performance Center.

Electives

Electives provide opportunities to learn more about areas of interest. Students receive one required elective and may choose one additional, optional elective. Elective preferences are ranked during the online placement assessment.

Required Electives

Lead Sheets and Basic Arrangement: Introduction to arranging in contemporary styles with a focus on creating clear and professional lead sheets.
Producing Music with Ableton Live: Learn to create new musical ideas and produce electronic arrangements using Ableton Live.
Jazz Composition and Arranging: Introduction to composing and arranging techniques used by important jazz artists.
Music Business: Introduction to the music business, including copyright law, publishing, artist-record label relationships, and small business management.
Music Therapy Basics: Overview of the profession of music therapy, including the neurological basis for music as therapy, a brief history of the profession, and current advances in professional practice.
Scoring for Visual Media: Introduction to scoring for today’s visual media, including film, video games, television, and commercials.
Songwriting Techniques: Examination of song form, strategies for creating melodies, and effective use of harmony.
Survey of Production Styles: Exploration of how a modern song is taken from inception to full mix.

Optional Electives

Creative Entrepreneur: Develop innovative and effective ways to market and communicate your artistic vision.
Musical Theater Workshop: Focus on large and small ensemble musical theater literature.
Open Drum Circle: Develop skills using various percussion instruments from around the world.
Singer/Songwriter Workshop: Write and perform original songs and learn the tools of the trade.
Yoga for Musicians: Learn meditation approaches and breathing techniques, play using healthy posture and technique, and improve focus.

Sample Schedule

A typical schedule includes mandatory electives, survey of instrumental/vocal styles, faculty artist clinics, visiting artist master classes, music theory, musicianship, reading labs, ensembles, private lessons, and instrument or vocal labs.

Performance Opportunities

Performance opportunities are available almost every day, including open mics and jam sessions. The final week of the program hosts over 200 ensemble performances.

Ensemble Options

Ensemble options include Balkan/Middle Eastern Fusion Ensemble, Malifoli Ensemble, Music of Great Women Composers and Songwriters, Salsa Ensemble, Musical Theater Showcase: Music from Side Show, and Bluegrass Ensemble.

Other Summer Programs

Berklee offers a range of other summer programs, including:

Victor Wooten Bass/Nature Camp: Become a more versatile player in this program hosted by the Berklee Bass Department and Victor Wooten.
Berklee Valencia Summer Performance Program: Designed for students ages 11-14, this program develops musicianship, theory, and performance skills.
Summer Ukulele Workshop: Experience music through drumming, singing, and music technology workshops.
Rhythm Road: Explore the possibilities in a world of rhythm.
Film Scoring Intensive: Discover easy-to-learn but powerful compositional tools to write cinematic music.
Gospel Performance Program: Open to instrumentalists or vocalists, this program allows you to become fully immersed in the tradition of gospel music.
Guitar Sessions: Learn to play guitar like a professional in this comprehensive course designed to provide you with practical performance experience.
Musical Theater Acting Intensive: Delve deep into the complex art of character development with intensive studies in acting, singing, and movement.
Musical Theater Writing Workshop: Explore the writing process as a tool for thinking and a mode of exploration.
Summer Dance Program: Dancers, transform your technique and ignite your artistry while expanding into modern dance and improvisation.
The Singers-Songwriters Workshop:
Summer String Thing:
String Repair Workshop: This one- or two-week program helps students develop foundational skills to become collaborative performers.

Africana Studies Courses

Berklee also offers a selection of Africana Studies courses during the summer semester, exploring the rich musical and cultural heritage of the African diaspora.

Acting: Black Theater Workshop: Explore the essential elements of acting, creative expression, and collaboration in the theater through a variety of exercises, improvisational games, ensemble work, and acting approaches.
Africana Studies Topics: Enables students to choose from a variety of course themes that change each semester. Courses may explore various topics within the Africana Studies discipline not currently covered in Africana Studies courses.
Africana Studies: Message, Messenger, & Approach: Explores how across the African diaspora, Black creative expression has served as an exemplar for timely, relevant, and even futuristic articulations of joy, concern, aspiration, and expectation.
Black Music: Global Impact: An in-depth examination of the history and influence of music of the African diaspora-and African cultural heritage generally-upon the music of cultures worldwide.
Hip-Hop Culture and Social Change: Provides a deep understanding of hip-hop culture’s origins and development in the United States and Boston.
Entrepreneurship in Black Creative Expression: Equips students with the skills and knowledge essential for success at the intersection of entrepreneurship and creative Black expression, specifically emphasizing music, dance, and theater.
Spirituals and Black Folk Traditions: Provides students with the foundational knowledge of the African American musical experience, which has served as the roots of American popular music.
Africana Studies Capstone Seminar I: Allows students to synthesize the knowledge and skills acquired through their Africana studies coursework in an applied and artistic final project that relates to a real issue or challenge in the industry (music, theater, dance or film) or in society.
Africana Studies Capstone Seminar II: Allows students to synthesize the knowledge and skills acquired through their Africana studies coursework in an applied and artistic final project that relates to a real issue or challenge in the industry (music, theater, dance or film) or in society.
Black Music: Gospel Music 1: Artistry, Industry, and Culture: This course will examine the early development of gospel in the United States and abroad from 1920s through the 1960s with focus on artistry (ie., creatives and recordings), industry (ie., record labels, major performances, publishing and media) and culture (ie., regional styles, conference and national/ global impact).
Black Music: Gospel Music 2: Artistry, Industry, and Culture: This course will examine the early development of gospel in the United States and abroad from the 1970’s through the present with focus on artistry (i.e. creatives and recordings), industry (i.e. record labels, major performances, publishing and media) and culture (i.e. regional styles, conference and national/global impact).
Advanced Gospel Music Seminar: Artistry, Industry, and Culture: This course offers advanced study of the history, evolution, influence and future of the gospel industry through in-depth analysis of artistry, industry leadership, and cultural innovations that have significantly impacted and shaped it.

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