There are two large universities and three colleges in southeastern Michigan that offer degrees in percussion. The University of Michigan (music.umich.edu), located in Ann Arbor, is one of the top music programs in the country and it offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in percussion with course work that prepares students to become a versatile musician as either a soloist, chamber musician or orchestra member. Eastern Michigan University (emich.edu) in Ypsilanti offers bachelor's and master's degrees in percussion. Three smaller colleges each offer bachelor's degrees in percussion performance: Adrian College (adrian.edu) in Adrian, Concordia College (cord.edu) in Ann Arbor and Hillsdale College (hillsdale.edu) in Hillsdale. Each of these colleges also provide performance opportunities in orchestra, band and smaller ensembles.
The capital region offers one large university and two smaller colleges with degrees in percussion. Michigan State University (music.msu.edu), located in East Lansing, is a public university that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in percussion, and students have a chance to perform in the award-winning percussion ensemble as well as the four different student orchestras. The two smaller colleges include Albion College (albion.edu) in Albion, which offers bachelor's degrees with a performance emphasis on percussion, and Spring Arbor University (arbor.edu), with its bachelor's degrees in percussion performance.
Central Michigan provides one large university and one small college that both offer degrees in percussion. Central Michigan University (music.cmich.edu), located in the city of Mount Pleasant, includes a 120,000-square-foot School of Music that offers bachelor's and master's degrees in percussion with opportunities to perform in the university symphony orchestra, any of the six campus bands or the percussion ensemble, which performs annually at the Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festival. Alma College (alma.edu) is located south of Mount Pleasant in the city of Alma. It includes a Bachelor of Music program with an emphasis in percussion performance.
The Detroit region includes two large institutions that offer degrees in percussion: Wayne State University and Oakland University. Wayne State University (music.wayne.edu) is a public university located in the Midtown Cultural Center Historic District of Detroit. The Department of Music offers bachelor's and master's degrees in percussion led by active percussionist Keith Claeys, who also directs the percussion ensemble. A highlight of the program is the special relationship between the department and the world-renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which allows students to study with guest artists and resident members of the orchestra.
Oakland University (oakland.edu), located north of Detroit in the city of Rochester, provides both bachelor's and master's degrees in percussion with numerous performance opportunities each academic year.
Western Michigan includes seven different universities that provide degrees in percussion. Western Michigan University (wmich.edu) is a large state university located in Kalamazoo that offers both bachelor's and master's degrees in percussion performance. All percussion students can audition for the percussion ensemble, which has performed throughout the state of Michigan as well as international music conventions. These six other smaller colleges also provide bachelor's degrees in percussion with ensemble and orchestra/band performance opportunities: Kalamazoo College (kzoo.edu) in Kalamazoo; the Seventh-Day Adventist's Andrews University (andrews.edu) in Berrien Springs; Hope College (hope.edu) in Holland; and the Christian-based Calvin College (calvin.edu) and the Catholic-based Aquinas College (aquinas.edu), which are both in Grand Rapids.