IMPORTANT: For complete information on all undegraduate degrees offered at the Bienen School of Music, please download the Undergraduate Music Student Handbook (PDF).

If you have exceptionally strong interests in music and another field, this option offers the opportunity to earn two separate degrees (music plus one in an outside field) in five years.  The Bienen School partners with Northwestern’s Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Robert R. McCormick Scholl of Engineering and Applied Science, and Medill School of Journalism so that you may pursue both your passions side-by-side.

Music and Liberal Arts (BA/BMus)

Qualified students may earn both a bachelor of arts degree from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a bachelor of music degree from the Bienen School of Music. Curricular programs are developed after students arrive on campus. Students wishing to join this joint program after matriculation must file a formal application before the end of their sophomore year and must meet the admissions standards of both schools. Fulfillment of both sets of requirements will require five years (15 quarters) of full-time study.

Music and Engineering (BS/BMus or BS/BAMus)

Students may earn in five years both a bachelor of music or bachelor of arts in music degree from the Bienen School of Music, plus a bachelor of science degree from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Every requirement demanded by each degree must be fulfilled. Students may apply directly from high school or before beginning their sophomore year at Northwestern and must be accepted by both schools.

Music and Journalism (BM/BSJ or BAMus/BSJ)

Northwestern offers extremely talented students the opportunity to earn in five years both a bachelor of music, or bachelor of arts in music, degree from the Bienen School of Music and a bachelor of science degree from the Medill School of Journalism. See the program check sheet in the appendix of the Undergraduate Student Handbook (PDF) for degree requirements. To be considered a candidate for the five-year combined degree program, a student must audition and gain acceptance into the Bienen School of Music. The student's file also music be reviewed and accepted by Medill. Students typically apply for admission to this program as incoming freshmen. To apply after arriving at Northwestern as a music-only student, students should contact the director of student life at Medill for application procedures.