Music Therapy (MMT)

Program Requirements:

The Master of Music Therapy (MMT) program academically and clinically prepares professional music therapists who wish to expand their clinical music therapy skills to an advanced level. In addition, the program will also serve the student without an undergraduate degree in music therapy by academically and clinically preparing them for board certification as a music therapist through the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) and entry into the healthcare field as a clinical music therapist with advanced level clinical skills.

To this end, specific objectives for the program include: the development of professional and advanced levels of competency, as defined by the American Music Therapy Association, Inc., in the assessment, treatment and evaluation of infants, children, adolescents, and adults in music therapy within a healthcare context; the development of advanced level clinical skills in either 1) Music Therapy and Integrative Medicine, or 2) Music Therapy for Infants, Children, and Adolescents; and, the acquisition of knowledge of current research literature in music therapy and related fields and of skill in clinically-based research.

The primary objective of this degree program is the development of depth and breadth beyond entry-level competency into the profession. This will be achieved through several pathways:

1. A deep dive into theory and research related to clinical practice;
2. Extensive use of the most current professional research and clinical literature in music therapy and related areas of practice;
3. The application of theory, research and literature to actual clinical practice in a variety of settings.

Admission Requirements

After meeting general requirements for admission to the PFW Graduate School, applicants for this program must meet the following requirements:

• Completion of an undergraduate degree in music, or a closely related field with a music minor of 18 credits or more
• Submission of an application essay to demonstrate written communication skill
• Successfully pass a functional music skills audition, including performance on a primary instrument or voice, and demonstration of functional guitar, keyboard, and vocal skills at professional entry-level competency as defined by AMTA
• Successfully complete an interview with music therapy graduate faculty to assess verbal communication skills, social interaction skills, and understanding of the program demands
• For applicants without an undergraduate degree in music therapy, a minimum of 15 credits of undergraduate course work in human and social sciences, including courses in elementary psychology, abnormal psychology, and human biology
• The required undergraduate GPA for an applicant with no previous graduate study is 2.8 (A=4) The required GPA for applicants with previous graduate study is 3.0 (A = 4)
• Two thirds of the required course work credit must be completed in residence, including a minimum of 3 credits in research, the Advanced Practice courses, and the thesis or clinical project.
• Up to 12 graduate transfer credit hours from other institutions is applicable to this degree program’s requirements after acceptance of the credits by the Graduate School and subsequent review by the student’s academic advisor to verify that curricular content is parallel to that of required PFW course work. Exceptions to acceptance of transfer credit are those courses noted above.
• The minimum number of semester credit hours required beyond the baccalaureate for this degree program is 32 semester hour credits for the MMT degree, or 40 semester hour credits for the MMT degree with equivalency.

Degree Requirements

Students will be required to attain a minimum grade of B- in all coursework, and a minimum grade point average of 3.0 for successful completion of degree requirements and conferral of the MMT degree. One must also complete background checks, meet medical vaccination and testing requirements, and may need to meet other community agency requirements for placement in order to complete clinical practice and internship courses for this degree program.

Requirements for those without an undergraduate music therapy degree

In addition to the MMT curriculum above, students without an undergraduate music therapy degree or professional music therapy credential must complete the following requirements. Completion of the additional equivalency requirements results in eligibility to sit for the national certification exam administered by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT).