Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, near Nashville is home to the Department of Recording Industry. This section of the university is among the largest programs of its kind anywhere in the nation, according to the university website. The facilities in the Mass Communications building on the MTSU campus are world-class and state-of-the-art, and the college offers some of the best internships available in the music business because of its proximity and relationship with the professional recording studios in Nashville. About 1,200 to 1,700 students are enrolled in the programs here at any given time, as of 2011. They work in the classrooms and studios within the department in pursuit of one of two bachelor's degrees. Students can choose between the music business program and the commercial songwriting program.
The Berklee College of Music in Boston is a leader in contemporary music education. This nonprofit college offers more than a dozen majors available to students in performance and non-performance areas. The university website states that Berklee is the world's premier music learning lab for the music of today and tomorrow. Among the majors available to students at Berklee include composition, contemporary writing and production, film scoring, music education, jazz composition, music production and engineering, performance and songwriting. These programs are available as diploma or four to five-year degree courses of study.
The Juilliard School is among the most prestigious performing arts institutions in America. Located at the Lincoln Center in New York City, Juilliard's Music Division is the largest department in the school. The school accepts students that have already mastered their instruments or voice to a significant degree and aims to transform competence into artistry, according to the school website. Students can choose from a four-year bachelor of music degree program or a three-year diploma program devoted almost exclusively to performance. Master's and doctor of music degrees are offered. Programs of study include composition, guitar, harpsichord, jazz studies, orchestral instruments, organ, piano and voice.
Full Sail University is a specialty college focused on the world of arts, entertainment and media. Graduates of the Bachelor's degree program at Full Sail pursue careers in music concert performance, recording, animation, filmmaking, video game design and web development. The Music Business Bachelor's Program is a combination business education with specific courses designed to help you develop an expertise in areas such as recording, artist management, publishing, product management, intellectual property and distribution. Hands-on teaching methods will result in a final project that will be a workable business plan that students can use to develop their own entrepreneurial approach to the music business.