Music Therapy

Occupational Possibilities

Music Therapy is the prescribed use of music, and the relationship that develops through shared musical experiences, to assist or motivate a person towards specific, non-musical goals. Music therapists use their training as musicians, clinicians, and researchers to effect changes in cognitive, physical, communication, social, and emotional skills. Music therapists work in a variety of settings, including medicine, rehabilitation, psychiatric care, special education, correctional facilities, state schools, gerontology facilities, community-based health care, and private practice.

Music Therapists have undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in music therapy from university programs approved by the American Music Therapy Association. The six-month clinical training internship required for certification is part of the degree program at KU. Music therapists must be board-certified by the Certification Board for Music Therapists; they become "MT-BCs" by taking a national exam and maintain their status through continuing education or re-testing.

While the curriculum for music therapy at KU is designed to qualify degree holders to be MT-BCs, other job titles for music therapists might include those below. A few marked with an asterisk (*) might require additional education beyond a bachelor’s degree or additional specific training.

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Skills and Abilities

In addition to extensive coursework in music performance, music therapy majors also do significant study in the behavioral sciences. Many of the skills gained by music therapy majors are transferable to a variety of types of occupations. Following are some of these skills:

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Career Planning and Resources

• http://www.musictherapy.org/handbook/career.html - Information about careers and majors in music therapy from American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)
• http://musicians.about.com/library/musicjobs/therapist/bltherapist1.htm - Interview with a music therapist on careers in music therapy
• http://www.berklee.edu/careers/therapy.html - Careers in Music Therapy from the Berklee College of Music
• http://www.menc.org/industry/job/careers/careers.html#mtherapy – Information on careers in music therapy from MENC: The National Association for Music Education. Includes some salary information
• http://www.special-ed-careers.com/career_choices/profiles/professions/mus_ther.html - Information on music therapy careers from National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education
• http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/majors/51.2305.html - Information on majors in music therapy from the College Board
• http://www.healthpronet.org/ahp_month/09_05.html - information on music therapy from Health Professions Network
• http://home.att.net/~preludetherapy/index.html - Good information for the prospective music therapist and music therapy consumers from Prelude Music Therapy. Betsey King, one of the Prelude partners, is a doctoral candidate at KU.
• http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/majors/51.2305.html  - Information on majoring in music therapy from the College Board.

Internships

Students in the music therapy major must complete a six-month internship in an approved clinical institution as part of the degree program. For more information about required music therapy internships, contact the Division of Music Education and Music Therapy at the address and phone number below.

• http://www.musictherapy.org/handbook/internship.html - American Music Therapy Association National Roster of Internship Programs
• http://iweb.tntech.edu/mclark/ctid/internsearch.html - Music Therapy Internship Database from Tennessee Tech
• http://ku-csm.symplicity.com/students/ - KU Career Connections – available through the School of Fine Arts Career Services Center at the email and phone below. Free registration is required. See SFA Career Services webpage http://www.arts.ku.edu/~sfa/careerservices/index.html.

Job Search

• http://www.musictherapy.org/handbook/profopps.html - Job listings from American Music Therapy Association (AMTA): requires membership in AMTA, student membership available
• http://www.glr-amta.org/jobinfo.html - Free job listings from Great Lakes Region of AMTA
• http://ku-csm.symplicity.com/students/ - KU Career Connections – available through the School of Fine Arts Career Services Center at the email and phone below. Free registration is required. See SFA Career Services webpage http://www.arts.ku.edu/~sfa/careerservices/index.html.
• https://www.myinterfase.com/nec/student/home.aspx - Bridge Worldwide Music Connection: The Career Resource Database of the New England Conservatory. Includes opportunities in music: performance, teaching (Higher Ed & K-12), arts administration and music industry jobs as well as competition, festival, scholarship and grant listings. See the SFA Career Services Center webpage for more information: http://www.arts.ku.edu/~sfa/careerservices/index.html.
• http://da.state.ks.us/ps/pub/ - State of Kansas vacancies

Professional Associations

• http://www.musictherapy.org/ - American Music Therapy Association
• http://www.cbmt.org/ - The Certification Board for Music Therapists – not an association per se, but practicing music therapists should go through the certification process to become Music Therapists – Board Certified (MT-BC)

For More Information

About careers, graduate and professional schools, internships, professional associations, or job descriptions, contact:

Career Services Coordinator, School of Fine Arts
450 Murphy Hall
785-864-4466
http://www.arts.ku.edu/~sfa/careerservices/index.html

University Career Center
110 Burge Union
(785) 864-3624

For more information about the Music Therapy major at KU and required internships, contact:

http://www.ku.edu/~memt/ - Division of Music Education and Music Therapy
448 Murphy Hall
785-864-4784

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