The Los Angeles Recording School serves county residents from Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Due to the location, students are encouraged to enrich their academic experience with internships and on-the-job training at local recording studios and major record labels in the city. The Los Angeles Recording School offers accelerated associate degree programs that prepare students for DigiDesign 210 Music and 210 Post certification. Nine hundred and fifty credit hours are devoted to setting up equipment, pre-production processes, recording, mixing and mastering a finished product. The school admits both high school and college graduates but it does not offer reduced in-state tuition. All United States residents must pay $24,620 for program completion, as of January 2011.
East Los Angeles College's (ELAC) music department offers students an associate's degree in music with a specializing commercial music program. ELAC's commercial music students learn to identify recording studio equipment, different recording styles and procedures, commercial harmonization, demo production, computer music sequencing and the general responsibilities of a studio engineer. The school admits both high school graduates and those who did not complete a high school education. In-state tuition is $26 per credit, while out-of-state tuition is $188 per credit as of 2011.
California College of Music (CCM) operates out of Los Angeles County's Pasadena and offers a certificate program in engineering and music production. CCM prides itself on preparing students for the 21st recording industry. Instructors are Grammy-award winning artists who train on industry standard Pro Tools and Logic Pro equipment. Core classes also cater to beat makers and hip-hop dee jays. Curricula includes digital audio and recording technology, turntable technology basics, MIDI programming, mixing and automation and sampling. Applicants must have at least a high school diploma or general education degree to be considered for admission. Like the Los Angeles Recording School, all U.S. residents pay the same tuition, $9,700 for apprentice-level certification and $19,300 for professional level certification.
Los Angeles City College is an instrument performance oriented school that offers a commercial music certificate in music technology. Certificates are granted after students achieve four specific skill levels for a 50.5 total credit completion. Students learn sound editing, MIDI production, song writing and lead sheet preparation. Los Angeles City College accepts all applicants including high school students. As part of the Los Angeles Community College District, the City College charges California residents $26 per credit, while out-of-state tuition is $190 per credit as of January 2011.