MacEwan University—Canada

The agreement between Berklee and MacEwan ended on August 31, 2020. Questions about the agreement may be directed to globalprograms@berklee.edu or 617-747-2700.

This program enables students to begin their music education at MacEwan University (MacEwan) in Edmonton, Canada, and complete an undergraduate degree at Berklee in Boston. Once accepted to Berklee, students may receive transfer credit for certain courses taken at MacEwan.

Visit the MacEwan website to learn more about the credit transfer pathway to Berklee.

Entrance Requirements

MacEwan students who wish to transfer to Berklee are required to go through Berklee's official undergraduate admissions process. Students accepted to Berklee will receive transfer credit for courses taken at MacEwan in accordance with an agreement between the two schools.

Students transferring to Berklee must earn a grade of B or higher (3.00–4.00) in each level 1 (core music) course, and a grade of C or higher (2.00–4.00) in each level 2 (other liberal arts and general electives) course designated for transfer in this agreement (see "Required Courses" below) in order to receive transfer credit from Berklee.

To earn credit for any course in level 1 for which students receive a grade below B, students will be required upon entering Berklee to (1) take the entering student proficiency assessment (ESPA) for harmony and ear training courses; (2) earn credit by exam (CBX) for music technology, tonal harmony, and counterpoint courses; or (3) enroll in the course at Berklee. For any course in level 2 for which students receive a grade below C, credit will not be granted. 

Residency Requirements
Students attending Berklee’s on-campus programs under this agreement must fulfill Berklee’s residency requirement: All students, including candidates transferring from another school, are normally required to complete at least four semesters of attendance and a minimum of 60 credits for the Bachelor of Music degree (or 48 credits for the professional diploma) in order to graduate from the college. This requirement will be applied regardless of the number of credits transferred.

See more information about core music courses at Berklee. 

Liberal Arts and General Electives
Students transferring to the Bachelor of Music degree program at Berklee College of Music must earn a minimum of 39 credits in liberal arts and may use six additional liberal arts credits (two courses) as general elective credit. Students in the professional diploma program at Berklee may use up to 12 liberal arts credits (four courses) as general elective credit. Students attending Berklee’s on-campus programs under this agreement must fulfill Berklee’s residency requirement (see above). This requirement will be applied regardless of the number of credits transferred.

See more information about liberal arts courses at Berklee. 

Performance Courses

  • Ensembles: MacEwan transfer students may receive up to six transfer credits for ensembles. 

  • Principal Instrument: Principal instrument courses (private lessons) taken at MacEwan are nontransferable. Berklee’s policy states that all students, including transfer students, must participate in and pass a minimum of four semesters of principal instrument instruction at Berklee, regardless of their level of proficiency. All transfer students are required to take a Berklee instrumental/vocal proficiency placement examination upon arrival at Berklee to ensure appropriate placement in principal instrument courses.

We encourage you to review the Berklee Global Academic Partner Berklee Track Guidebook, which provides comprehensive information about the credit transfer process.

Curriculum and Courses

Level 1: Required Core Music Courses (22 Potential Transfer Credits)

Students must complete all of the required core music courses listed in block 1 below to be eligible for transfer credits. Contact the academic advisor at this institution to ask for details.

BLOCK 1 (14 CREDITS)  
MACEWAN UNIVERSITY COURSES BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC COURSE EQUIVALENTS
MUSC 103 Theory I

PW-111 Music Application and Theory (4 credits)

MUSC 211 Composition I HR-112 Harmony 2 (2 credits)
MUSC 203 Arranging I or MUSC 313 Arranging I

AR-111 Arranging 1 (2 credits)

MUSC 111 Ear Training I

ET-111 Ear Training 1 (2 credits)

MUSC 112 Ear Training II

ET-112 Ear Training 2 (2 credits)

MUSC 263 Introduction to Music Technology or MUSC 261 Music Technology I MTEC-111 Introduction to Music Technology (2 credits)
BLOCK 2 (8 Potential additional credits)
MACEWAN UNIVERSITY COURSES BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC COURSE EQUIVALENTS
MUSC 104 Theory II HR-211 Harmony 3 (2 credits)
MUSC 201 Jazz Harmony and Analysis* HR-212 Harmony 4 (2 credits)
MUSC 213 Ear Training III

ET-211 Ear Training (2 credits) or ET-231 Ear Training 3 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement 

MUSC 214 Ear Training IV

ET-212 Ear Training 4 (2 credits) or ET-232 Solfege 2 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement

MUSC 212 Composition II*

CM-212 Tonal Harmony and Composition 2 (2 credits)

* Course not required at MacEwan

Level 2: Other Liberal Arts and General Elective Courses (28 Potential Transfer Credits) 
Note: Contact the academic advisor at this institution to ask about the courses below.

MacEwan Courses Berklee Courses
ENGL 101 Critical Reading and Writing or ENGL 111 Communications LENG-111 Introduction to College Writing (3 credits)
Any comparative literature course or any English course that is literature based LENG-223 Literature (3 credits)
HIST 111 Early World History or any university transfer history course LHIS-223 History Topics (3 credits)
ARTE 101 Art History 1 or ARTE 102 Art History 2 LVIS-231 The Ancient and Medieval or LVIS-232 The Renaissance to the Present; (3 credits)
Any astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, or zoology course LMSC-2xx Fulfills natural science requirement (3 credits)
Any anthropology, geography, political science, psychology, or sociology course LSOC-2xx Fulfills social science requirement (3 credits)
Any other liberal arts courses Fulfills liberal arts electives (3 credits)
MUSC 123 Musicology I MLAN-2xx Music Analysis Elective (2 credits)
MUSC 124 Musicology II MLAN-2xx Music Analysis Elective (2 credits)

Potential Transfer Credit Summary
Level 1 courses: 22 credits
Level 2 courses: 25 credits
Ensemble courses: 6 credits
Total: 53 credits