Selkirk College—Canada

This program enables students to begin their music education at Selkirk College in Nelson, Canada, and complete an undergraduate degree at Berklee in Boston. Once accepted to Berklee, students may receive transfer credit for certain courses taken at Selkirk.

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

Entrance Requirements

Selkirk 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 Selkirk 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: Selkirk transfer students may receive up to six transfer credits for ensembles. 

  • Principal Instrument: Principal instrument courses (private lessons) taken at Selkirk 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 (26 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)  
SELKIRK college COURSES Berklee College of Music Course Equivalents
MUSC 174 Contemporary Harmony 1 PW-111 Music Application and Theory (4 credits)
MUSC 170 Arranging I AR-111 Arranging 1 (2 credits)
MUSC 175 Contemporary Harmony 2 HR-112 Harmony 2 (2 credits)
MUSC 180 Ear Training I ET-111 Ear Training 1 (2 credits)
MUSC 181 Ear Training II ET-112 Ear Training 2 (2 credits)
MUSC 160 Computer Applications to Music I MTEC-111 Introduction to Music Technology (2 credits)
BLOCK 2 (12 POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL CREDITS) 
SELKIRK COLLEGE COURSES BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC COURSE EQUIVALENTS
MUSC 274 Contemporary Harmony 3 HR-211 Harmony 3 (2 credits)
MUSC 275 Contemporary Harmony 4 HR-212 Harmony 4 (2 credits)
MUSC 280 Ear Training III ET-211 Ear Training 3 (2 credits) or ET-231 Solfege 1 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement
MUSC 281 Ear Training IV ET-212 Ear Training 4 (2 credits) or ET-232 Solfege 2 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement
MUSC 284 Composition I CM-211 Tonal Harmony and Composition 1 (2 credits)
MUSC 285 Composition II CM-212 Tonal Harmony and Composition 2 (2 credits)

Level 2: Other Liberal Arts and General Elective Courses (12 Potential Transfer Credits) 
Note: Contact the academic advisor at this institution to ask about the courses below.

SELKIRK COURSEs BERKLEE COURSEs
TWC 166 Communication Studies I LENG-111 Introduction to College Writing (3 credits)
MUSC 154 Basic Keyboard I ISKB-211 Basic Keyboard 1 (1 credit)
MUSC 155 Basic Keyboard II ISKB-212 Basic Keyboard 2 (1 credit)
MUSC 161 Computer Applications to Music II OMPRD-180 Pro Tools 101 (Berklee online, 3 credits)
MUSC 164 History of Rock
MLAN-335 Analysis of Progressive Rock Music (2 credits)
MUSC 165 History of Jazz
MLAN-319 History of Jazz (2 credits)

Potential Transfer Credit Summary
Level 1 courses: 26 credits
Level 2 courses: 12 credits
Ensemble courses: 6 credits
Total: 44 credits