Students come to Juilliard to develop as complete performing artists, and the academic experience at Juilliard contributes to that goal. Depending upon a student's motivation and schedule, it can be enhanced in a number of ways. We asked some current students to comment on what they gained from expanding their studies through the special academic programs that Juilliard offers -- and encourage students whose interest may be stirred by these descriptions to consult the registrar for more information.

Accelerated B.M./M.M. Program

Music students earning a bachelor's degree may apply in their third year to begin working toward a Master of Music degree in their final year of undergraduate study. This highly selective, intensive program condenses both degrees into five years of study. The extra work-load can be worth the challenge, according to Sidney Yin, currently a fourth-year pianist in the program. The main difference between undergraduate and graduate courses, says Yin, is that the graduate level is more forum- and discussion-based, rather than emphasizing facts and skills. While the stimulation is welcome for some, the trade-off is a heavier academic burden that leaves less time for pursuing performance opportunities and other activities. Yin says he manages to keep his options open despite the tight schedule by constantly improving his time-management skills.

Special Studies in Liberal Arts

Third- and fourth-year undergraduate students can engage in a one-semester, directed independent research project under the supervision of the liberal arts faculty. (Completion of the project leads to three liberal arts elective credits.) Jennifer Quan, a fourth-year double bass student, became intrigued by the stories she heard over dinner from her grandmother about life in China during the Japanese invasions. A year later, while at her desk focused on a writing exercise, she noted that her grandmother's powerful and disturbing tales had found their way into her piece. Under the guidance of liberal arts faculty member Ron Price, she wrote a collection of short stories that resonated with the impact of the long-repressed memories her grandmother had shared (and gave a public reading of her completed work outside Juilliard). "What I wrote about in those stories changed from what my grandma told me; they had become a part of me," Quan explains. "I was trying to understand why certain memories are chosen to be passed on, how they concern not only one person or one family but a larger community. There are things that no one talks about, maybe because it is so hard to find adequate words to explain our experience to another, such as my grandma's experience with terror and trauma. Yet it is in the depths of individual experience where individual responses can become universal." (You may read one of her stories, Mah Jong, in the November issue of The Juilliard Journal.)

Barnard/Columbia Cross-Registration

An exchange program established in 1989 with Barnard College and Columbia College enables eligible Juilliard students to take one class per semester at either institution. For undergraduate students, approved credits from these classes can be applied toward their liberal arts elective requirement. Fourth-year dance student Brock Labrenz, who has taken two astronomy classes and a class in early Roman history at Columbia, says he was excited by the distance, "not only the inherent distance of quasars and black holes at the other end of the universe, or the happenings on the Italian peninsula nearly three thousand years ago, but the distance between me -- an artist studying in a conservatory -- and the world of astrophysicists and historians. My enrollment at Columbia allowed me to become immersed in ideas that otherwise might have remained foreign to me forever."

Barnard-Columbia-Juilliard Exchange

Some may elect to enroll at Columbia or Barnard, earning a bachelor's degree in an entirely different subject area while taking music lessons at Juilliard. (Qualified students in this program may then audition to earn their master's degree at Juilliard.) Emily Bruskin, currently a master's student in violin at Juilliard, earned her B.A. from Columbia with a major in neuroscience and behavior. Her excitement about the variety of subjects she was able to study was fueled, she says, by the contagious enthusiasm of her teachers and fellow students. "I studied art history with a person who was absolutely thrilled by a ceiling I had never looked up at before. My philosophy professor was able to provoke an animated two-hour discussion about the truth value of statements in the future tense. My harmony professor really believed (and convinced me to believe) in the correlations between specific chords and specific emotional meanings. And in psychology class, who wouldn't get excited about the effects of cocaine on lab rats? I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities to discover and explore so many fascinating things. I know that, as a result, both my music making and my life will be richer and more interesting."

Scholastic Distinction Program

Exceptional undergraduate students can apply in their third year (or second year, in the case of drama students) to engage in a year-long independent research project. Those who successfully complete the program earn the citation "With Scholastic Distinction" on their transcript and diploma. Any subject pertaining to the arts and humanities that doesn't duplicate a degree requirement may be explored. The project and resulting in-depth written paper may fulfill the senior-year elective requirement in liberal arts or music history. Previous projects have focused on subjects ranging from dancers and nutrition to the interdependence of music and literature in the works of Robert Schumann.