Learning Abroad Center

Learning Abroad in Music

“Study abroad allows a student to be immersed in another culture, to hear its language, eat its food, see its art and architecture, and to imagine its music as an integral part of a culture other than our own. For a musician, to see the world is to hear with new ears.” Michael Cherlin, Professor, School of Music

Academic Planning Recommendations

  • Learn about other traditions and perspectives in music. See how scholars in another country view their discipline.
  • Look for opportunities to study educational systems differing from what you have previously experienced, especially if your professional goal is teaching.

Liberal Education Requirements

Search the U Credit Abroad Search You may also submit any liberal education course not yet evaluated for approval online.

Major and Minor Requirements

  • Look for junior- and senior-level courses.
  • Many programs offer music history courses, private lessons, and ensembles. Strongly consider courses in literature, culture, and language of the host country.

Who will advise me and help me with course approvals?

Learning Abroad Center advisers can help you find program and course information to help you prepare for your study abroad academic planning discussion with your academic adviser. Once you have narrowed down your program options meet with your academic adviser to use the Academic Planning for Study Abroad (APSA) form to structure your academic planning.

College/Department Scholarships for UofM Students

Programs

Asia and Oceania

Australia

Griffith University (available through IFSA Australia)

  • Program Type: Host-University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Summer Term, and Academic Year
  • Griffith University offers the option of taking a diverse range of courses through the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, one of the nation’s leading music schools.
  • The campus educates nearly 700 students a year, with students from both Australia and over 20 other countries.
  • Sample courses include Practical Musicianship; Music in Society; Music in Contemporary Contexts; and Improvisation and Movement, among many others.

University of Melbourne, available through ;IFSA Australia)

  • Program Type: Host-University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Academic or Calendar Year
  • Melbourne University prides itself on excellence in academics, distinguished teachers and researchers, and a high quality-learning environment. Among its many fields, it offers classes in music performance and education, as well as a music therapy concentration.
  • You can audition to play in ensembles or take classes including but not limited to Baroque and Classical Music, Group Music Skills, Conducting, Instrumental Teaching, and many others.

New Zealand

University Study in New Zealand: University of Auckland

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Summer Term, and Academic Year
  • The largest Polynesian city in the world, Auckland has a multicultural population of over one million people. In the center of that is the historic University of Auckland, founded in 1883.
  • The University of Auckland’s School of Music is widely recognized as New Zealand’s premiere music training institute, offering courses in performance training, history, theory and education.
  • Students may also audition to enroll in various ensembles, ranging from chamber choirs and orchestras to different jazz groups.

University Study in New Zealand: University of Otago

  • Program Type: Host-University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Academic or Calendar Year
  • The University of Otago is New Zealand’s oldest university and one of the most prestigious in regards to teaching and research.
  • Music students at Otago can study music of many cultures; classes are offered in performance, composition, or musical scholarship. You could explore song-writing or ethnomusicology.

Victoria University of Wellington (available through IFSA New Zealand)

  • Program Type: Host-University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Academic or Calendar Year
  • Wellington is the political and cultural capital of New Zealand and offers a multitude of cafés, galleries, museums, theatres, cinemas, sporting events, and festivals.
  • Victoria University of Wellington offers music programs through the New Zealand School of Music. The NZSM takes a holistic approach to music, placing equal value on composition, musicology, and performance. Its strengths in jazz and classical performance contribute to its creative environment.

Europe

Austria

IES Austria—Music

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Summer Term, and Academic Year
  • The IES Center in Vienna is located in Palais Corbelli, an 18th-Century palace in the heart of the city.
  • IES Vienna offers a Music program specially designed for Music Performance majors and other talented instrumentalists and vocalists. The program consists of a selection of offerings in Music History, Music Theory, and Performance Studies, as well access to the IES Area Studies and Language courses in English and German (for those qualified).
  • The Music History and Music Theory courses are open to all students (usually Music majors) with the appropriate prerequisites.
  • The Music Performance Workshop is designed to offer instrumentalists and vocalists the opportunity to expand their repertoire and enhance their performance skills. Students admitted to the Music Performance Workshop are also eligible to receive private instruction if your home school authorizes it and your major requires it.
  • You are also encouraged to audition for orchestral and choral groups in Vienna.
  • The IES Center offers five practice rooms at the Palais Corbelli plus its own off-campus practice facilities, which consist of six practice rooms – each equipped with a piano, bench, chair, mirror, and stand as well as a separate lounge.

Denmark

Study Abroad in Denmark—Danish Institute for Study Abroad

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center
  • DIS offers innovative programs, taught entirely in English, in which students may study music composition, voice, and performance.
  • Courses are offered in cooperation with the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

France

IES France—Paris

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Academic Year
  • Music students who wish to benefit from high quality, demanding instruction may audition for the prestigious Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris/Alfred Cortot. This music school, founded in 1919 by the renowned pianist Alfred Cortot, is the private-school equivalent to the National Conservatory.
  • The Ecole is located in a stately mansion (designated a historical monument) in the heart of Paris and has its own private concert hall. During the spring semester, IES sponsors a concert at the Ecole in the Salle Cortot featuring IES students.
  • Fall semester and academic year students may enroll in the Ecole’s full curriculum, taking four courses at the Ecole and one language course at IES per semester, or they may take just one course at the Ecole and all remaining courses at IES per semester.
  • You must submit an audition tape or CD after being accepted to the IES Paris French Studies program in order to be considered for admittance to the Ecole de Musique.
  • Once on-site in Paris, you will audition in order to be placed at the appropriate level. Instrumentalists select from courses in teaching and performance while vocalists focus on performance.

Germany

IES Germany—Freiburg

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Summer Term, and Academic Year
  • Students participate in IES Abroad German-taught area studies courses, and have the option of taking integrated courses at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität as well as Music and education courses at other local institutions.
  • For those interested in taking music courses, the Jazz at Rock Schule at the Allgemeine Schule, founded in 1984, is a strong option. Nearly 650 local residents have taken advantage of the school’s offerings; the school is made up of three different institutes: the International Music College of Freiburg, the Center for Music Education Freiburg, and the General School. An on-site audition may apply.
  • You may also register and audition in Freiburg to participate in various vocal and instrumental ensembles.
  • Students must have 4 semesters of college level German Language to participate.

Ireland

University Study in Ireland - University College Dublin

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center & University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester and Academic Year
  • At University College Dublin (UCD), you can take a variety of classes with Irish students. Located in the Republic’s capital, UCD is the largest of the colleges which forms the National University of Ireland. 
  • The college offers a wide breadth of music courses—from music performance to ethnomusicology, music history to opera. Students also have the opportunity to join various ensembles.

University College Cork (available through IFSA Ireland)

  • Program Type: Host-University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester and Academic Year
  • University College Cork, established in 1845 in Cork, the Republic of Ireland’s second largest city, has a thriving arts scene. It provided a wide array of excellent academic opportunities and exposure to Irish culture.
  • Unique courses in traditional, folk, and popular Irish music are available to students as well as courses in jazz, performance, history and theory.

University Study in Ireland: University of Limerick

  • Program Type: Host-University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring semester, and academic year
  • The University of Limerick is an independent, internationally focused university with over 11,600 students and 1,300 staff. It is a young, energetic and enterprising university with a proud record of innovation in education and excellence in research and scholarship. The University of Limerick is just five kilometers from Limerick city and is located on an extensive, green, modern campus that spans both sides of the River Shannon. UL offers outstanding student facilities including five student residential villages, the Glucksman Library, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. Courses are offered in performance, voice and other related areas.

Italy

IES Italy—Milan

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester and Academic Year
  • The IES Milan music program provides a full range of music opportunities for instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, and music performance majors. In addition to offering a music history course and music performance workshop each semester, IES works closely with the Accademia Internazionale della Musica (the largest private music school in Italy), which includes schools in jazz, choral, classical, contemporary, and early music, to facilitate music enrollment options and ensemble work.
  • Using a highly customized approach, the IES Milan Director, an accomplished musicologist and active composer, works closely with students to tailor a program that meets their musical needs and interests.
  • You may choose to take instruction and performance at the Accademia (instruments, voice, theory, composition, orchestra, ensembles), which provides a more integrated experience since you study alongside Italian and international students, or you may request private instruction.
  • Students with no prior Italian may enroll in technique and performance classes whereas an advanced level of Italian is required for theory and history classes at the Accademia. Private non-performance music classes may be arranged in Italian or English.
  • Music students typically take from one to three music courses each term, combining private lessons with theory courses at the Accademia and IES. Limited practice space is available at the IES Center, and housing is arranged so that piano and voice students can practice at home, as is common for Italian music students.

Netherlands

IES Netherlands—Amsterdam

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester and Academic Year
  • Part of the Amsterdam School of the Arts, the Amsterdam School of Music was originally established as the Sweelinck Conservatory in 1884. It is located in the beautiful museum district with direct access to the world-famous concert building of the Concertgebouw, and is minutes away from Vondelpark.
  • Most instruction is held at the former Sweelinck Conservatory, a vibrant institution with nearly 1,000 students. Because more than 50% of the students studying at the Amsterdam School of Music (ASM) are international, the vast majority of the courses are taught in English. 
  • It is the school’s mission to educate the students to become versatile musicians, teaching, performing, and creating music at the highest levels. In close consultation with advisers, you establish a highly individualized course of study within the concentration of Jazz or Classical music. Each combines practical and theoretical aspects of music study.
  • Each program (Classical and Jazz) offers electives, including additional performance and theory options, the 2 credit course Dutch language, and the opportunity to take courses from the ASM’s partner art schools or a 5 credit course in music history or musicology at the Universiteit van Amsterdam.

Sweden

Study Abroad in Sweden

  • Program Type: Study Abroad Center
  • Songwriting workshop course is offered.
  • Study Abroad in Sweden offers innovative programs, taught entirely in English.

United Kingdom

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (available through IFSA United Kingdom)

  • Program Type: Host-University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring Semester, Summer Term, and Academic Year
  • Founded in 1916, the School of Oriental and African Studies is a part of the University of London and compromised of about 3,000 students from more than 100 countries.
  • SOAS is the leading institution in the world dedicated to the study of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
  • The school’s department of music has a wide array for fascinating and unique courses, including classes in ethnomusicology and world music theory.
  • Sample courses include: Music of the Middle East and North Africa; Music, Shamanism and Healing; Introduction to Music Analysis; and many others.

University Study in the UK: University of Glasgow

  • Program Type: Host-University Study
  • Program Term: Fall or Spring semester, and academic year
  • Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the United Kingdom, and consistently ranks as one of the UK's most highly-rated schools. The university is host to more than 20,000 students from over 100 countries and offers an exceptional breadth of academic choice across the physical and life sciences, social sciences and the humanities. The University of Glasgow offers numerous courses in the music of Scotland, performance, and music education.

Additional Options to Consider

LAC Global Seminars

  • 3-week, 3-credit programs at the 3000-level led by University of Minnesota faculty and staff over winter break or May session.
  • Explore an exciting location and topic, Fulfill Liberal Education requirements, or earn major/minor credit.

LAC Freshman Seminars

  • Combine on-campus instruction during the spring semester with a study abroad component during spring break, on a 3 credits, 1xxx level Seminar.
  • Freshman Seminars Abroad are designed specifically for first-year students as an introduction to study abroad, an opportunity to explore an exciting location and topic, and likely fulfill a liberal education requirement.

Additional LAC Seminars

  • Check out additional LAC Instructor-led Seminars that might run over winter break, spring break, May, and summer sessions. They vary in length, dates, and content so students can find one that best fits their academic and professional goals.

Intensive Language Programs

  • Begin your language study or work toward completing requirements for a language minor.
  • Complete a semester of language on a short-term program or explore options to complete two or more semesters of language on semester-long program.