Berklee developed the first college music curriculum built on jazz and popular music, and has a history of program innovation in film scoring, songwriting, electric guitar, music business, and music technology.

Launched in 1991, Berklee City Music is a model community outreach program, which presents a series of life-changing programs for economically disadvantaged Boston youths.

In 1992 the college founded the Berklee International Network, which today includes 15 member schools in 13 countries that share a common mission of contemporary music career preparation.

Berklee students push the college to create student-run outlets for their music-such as Heavy Rotation Records and Jazz Revelation Records-and have recently launched the Berklee Internet Radio Network (BIRN).

Music Therapy: Combining the skills of performers, improvisers, and those proficient with technology makes Berklee music therapy majors intuitive and effective when working with patients. Berklee is a natural environment for developing a deeper understanding into the impact of music therapy.

Music Business: New technologies, product innovation, and alternative forms of distribution are reshaping the music industry. Berklee alumni, such as the founders of SonicBids and CDBaby, are entrepreneurs who are at the leading edge of these new trends. The Berklee community can be a powerful force in setting the next course in music business development.

Music and Culture: The melding of cultures is often found in music, and with students from more than 70 countries and every U.S. state, Berklee can be a laboratory for cultural understanding.

Berklee students also use music to affect the culture around them through work in the community and special events like the Songs for Social Change Songwriting contest.

Music Technology: With a campus full of students proficient in music technology, Berklee is a logical place for alpha testing and new product development to occur. These are only some of the directions open to Berklee as we turn our attention to the cultural and social impact of the music we teach.

Distance learning: For an unprecedented fourth time in a row, the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) awarded Berkleemusic with its Best Online College Course Award. Concert Touring was chosen as the best online college course in 2008, joining past recipients Guitar Chords 101 (2007 winner), Berklee Keyboard Method (2006 winner) and Getting Inside Harmony 1 (2005 winner). These 12-week, online continuing education courses were judged on lesson content, assignments, student assessment, course layout, design, and the use of multimedia elements. The competition judges courses from colleges and universities nationwide representing all disciplines.