2025-2026 Academic Catalog 
    
    Aug 03, 2025  
2025-2026 Academic Catalog

Music Therapy, B.S.


Degree Planning Sheet

To print the degree requirements for this program, use the paper icon above (Print Degree Planner), the printer icon (Printer Friendly Page), or the following hyperlink:

Degree Planning Sheet with Full-Time Sample Course Plan  

This sample plan represents a full-time pace. Part-time options are available; please connect with the recruitment team to learn more.

 

The Maryville Music Therapy program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and is approved by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). The four-and-one-half year program culminates in a six-month internship under the supervision of a board-certified music therapist in a wide choice of facilities. The degree is awarded at the completion of the internship.

A total of 1,200 clinical training hours are required for graduation. The first portion of those hours is accomplished within the academic courses in the practica in which students gain exposure to a minimum of  three populations. The remainder of the hours is given to the internship experience. Upon successful completion of the degree, the student is eligible to sit for the Certification Board for Music Therapists national exam, and successful candidates will receive the professional credential, MT-BC.

All Music Therapy majors are expected to declare a major applied instrument upon acceptance into the program. They are required to take private lessons and engage in ensembles each semester until graduation. Given the clinical competencies for music therapy dictate proficiency in guitar, voice, and piano/keyboard, students may opt to take private lessons in one of these three areas in their junior and/or senior year. Students are required to perform in a recital at least twice each academic year. They must pass the piano, voice, and guitar proficiency examinations prior to starting their internship. Non-piano majors take piano each semester until proficiency level is met.

Students entering into the bachelor’s degree program in Music Therapy must complete an audition to demonstrate their musical performance abilities in addition to standard admission requirements. Details about the audition process are given under Special Admission Requirements for Undergraduate Academic Programs.

Upon admission to the program, Music Therapy majors are required to maintain a 2.5 average at Maryville to remain in the program. No grade less than a “C” will be accepted in MUS and MUTH courses.

Students with a previous degree that is not in music, music education, or music technology will be required to complete all music and music therapy courses for a degree in music therapy.

See Financial Matters  for reference to fees that apply: Private/Applied Music Instruction and Professional Insurance (Practica semesters and Internship). There also is a fee for clinical background check.

Students can achieve early access to the Music Therapy, M.M.T.  in their final year of preparation. Qualifying undergraduate and equivalency students are encouraged to take graduate level coursework as a bridge to the graduate degree.

 

Disclaimer: The program requirements outlined in this catalog are applicable only to students who enroll in this degree program at the university during the academic year specified in this catalog.  Please be aware that program requirements and offerings are subject to change in future academic years. Dual-enrolled students are not admitted to a degree program, but upon admission to a degree program, they will follow the degree requirements that align with their start term.

Music Therapy Equivalency Program


Students with a previously earned bachelor’s degree in music may want to explore the Music Therapy Equivalency Program . If the undergraduate degree is in music, the student would accomplish the course of study in four or five semesters of study. Equivalency students receive a B.S.M.T. degree from Maryville University upon completion of their internship. Students with a previous degree not in music will be required to complete all the music and music therapy courses required for a degree in music therapy.

MCORE


(36 credits)

Social Discovery


Courses in this area will focus on the study of human behavior, its ethical and moral dimension, human societies, the requirements of civility, and social science theory and practice which undergirds such study.

(6 credits)

Civic Discovery


Courses in this area will focus on the study and purpose of human institutions and systems, the historical and contemporary forms of power, authority, governance and citizenship, and the distribution and use of resources.

(6 credits)

Cultural Discovery


Courses in this area will focus on significant systems of thought, contributions made by significant historical and cultural figures, philosophical and historical movements, and ideas which have shaped history, culture and human institutions.

(6 credits)

Creative Discovery


Courses in this area will focus on the nature of the creative imagination, the philosophical underpinnings of human creativity in music, the visual arts, the narrative arts, and philosophical invention, and innovation in a variety of human endeavors.

(9 credits)

Scientific Discovery


Courses in this area will focus on the nature of scientific reasoning, the history and variety of the scientific endeavor in culture, and the nature of scientific process and exploration.

(9 credits)

Music Ensembles


(4 credits)

  • 2 courses at the 100 level
  • 2 courses at the 200 level
  • 2 courses at the 300 level
  • 2 courses at the 400 level

Music Performance


(16 credits)

Note: Each instrument has specific number and letter codes.

  • 2 courses at the 100 level
  • 2 courses at the 200 level
  • 2 courses at the 300 level
  • 2 courses at the 400 level
  • Piano to meet proficiency (for non-Piano majors, 0-8 credits)

Graduation Requirements - MCORE


  • 120 credit hours minimum
  • Last 30 hours of the degree taken in residency
  • A minimum of half the major credit hours in residency
  • A minimum of half the minor credit hours in residency
  • ​60 credit hours must be completed at a 4-year institution