Harvard and NEC Dual-Degree

Students accepted by both Harvard College and NEC may enter a joint five-year program leading to the AB at Harvard and the MM at NEC. Students will pursue the AB curriculum at Harvard and take studio instruction each semester at NEC. In the fourth year of study, students will complete all requirements for the AB degree at Harvard while beginning to fulfill NEC’s MM degree requirements. Students will receive the MM degree from NEC after successful completion of the fifth year of study. Further information about this program is available from the Head Tutor of the Department of Music at Harvard University and the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs for Advising at NEC.

The program is open to high school students who apply to both institutions through their normal admissions processes. Applicants to the joint program will be expected to audition at NEC and for the NEC faculty member(s) with whom they wish to study. Students may be admitted to the joint program as first-year students in composition and any performance area supported by NEC. Harvard undergraduates in their first year of study may apply to transfer into the dual-degree program by completing NEC’s application and audition process. Due to curriculum constraints, students beyond their first year at Harvard may not apply to transfer, and current NEC undergraduates are not eligible to transfer into the dual-degree at Harvard.

Under normal circumstances, students accepted to the dual-degree program in composition or a performance area must matriculate at both campuses simultaneously and maintain concurrent enrollment at both campuses for a total of eight semesters. Any exceptions must be approved by the appropriate offices at Harvard and NEC. Application to the program as a Theory major will take place in the course of the sophomore year at Harvard. Admissions will be made at the end of the academic year, to commence the following term. Students accepted into the program will be required to take a promotional at the end of each academic year. Students who are unable to pass the promotional may be asked to withdraw from the NEC portion of the program.