Senzoku Gakuen College of Music—Japan

This program enables students to begin their music education at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music (Senzoku) in Kanagawa, Japan, and complete an undergraduate degree at Berklee in Boston. Once accepted to Berklee, students may receive transfer credit for certain courses taken at Senzoku.

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

Entrance Requirements

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

  • Principal Instrument: Principal instrument courses (private lessons) taken at Senzoku 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 (32 Potential Transfer Credits)

Senzoku gakuen CoursesBerklee College of Music Course Equivalents
7581 Jazz Harmony I-1, (7581 Jazz Harmony 1)**PW-111 Music Application and Theory (4 credits)
7582 Jazz Harmony I-2, (7582 Jazz Harmony 2)**HR-112 Harmony 2 (2 credits)
7583 Jazz Harmony II-1, (7583 Jazz Harmony 3)**HR-211 Harmony 3 (2 credits)
7584 Jazz Harmony II-2, (7584 Jazz Harmony 4)**HR-212 Harmony 4 (2 credits)
5947 Instrumentation and Notation for Horns and Rhythms, (5947 Voicing and Orchestration 1)**AR-111 Arranging 1 (2 credits)
2065 Jazz Solfege I-1, (0711 Solfege I)**ET-111 Ear Training 1 (2 credits)
2066 Jazz Solfege I-2, (0712 Solfege II)**ET-112 Ear Training 2 (2 credits)
2067 Jazz Solfege II-1, (0713 Solfege III)**ET-211 Ear Training 3 (2 credits) or ET-231 Solfege 1 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement
2068 Jazz Solfege II-2, (0714 Solfege IV)**ET-212 Ear Training 4 (2 credits) or ET-232 Solfege 2 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement
7742 Theory of Art on Acoustic EngineeringMTEC-111 Introduction to Music Technology (2 credits)
0811 Traditional Harmony 1CM-211 Tonal Harmony and Composition 1 (2 credits)
0812 Traditional Harmony 2CM-212 Tonal Harmony and Composition 2 (2 credits)
0846 Traditional CounterpointCP-210 The Art of Counterpoint (3 credits)
0847 Study of Polyphony (0849 Counterpoint)**CP-215 Art of Counterpoint 2 (2 credits)*
0900 Conducting an Orchestra I COND-211 Conducting 1 (1 credit)*

*Berklee music courses required by some Berklee degree programs

**Courses in parentheses are new course titles/numbers starting in fall 2020.

Level 2: Other Liberal Arts and General Elective Courses (39 Potential Transfer Credits)   
Note: Contact the academic advisor at this institution to ask about the courses below.

SENZOKU GAKUEN COURSESBerklee Courses
0851 Music History of Ancient Times, Medieval Times, and Renaissance and 0852 Music History of BaroqueLHIS-201 History of Music in the European Tradition (2 credits)   
7738 Western Cultural HistoryLHIS-223 History Topics (3 credits)
7700 Art History I (7753 Art History I and 7754 Art History II)*LVIS-223 Art History Topics (3 credits)
9023 Introduction to BiologyLMSC-2xx Natural Science elective (3 credits)
7701 Acoustics I (7755 Acoustics I and 7756 Acoustics II)*LMSC-208 Music Acoustics (3 credits)
7706 Social Welfare TheoryLSOC-355 City Life: Local and Global Perspectives (3 credits)
9013 PsychologyLSOC-211 General Psychology (3 credits)
0344 Developmental Psychology (7761 Psychology I and 7762 Psychology II)*LSOC-411 Child and Adolescent Psychology (3 credits)
7710 English 1-ILENG-2xx English elective (3 credits)
7711 English 1-IILENG-2xx English elective (3 credits)
7712 English 2-1LENG-2xx English elective (3 credits)
7713 English 2-IILENG-2xx English elective (3 credits)
0853 Music History of Classic School and 0854 Music History of Romantic School, Modern, and ContemporaryMLAN-312 Analysis of 20th- and 21st-Century Music (2 credits)
0639 EthnomusicologyPSW-346 African Diaspora: South American Music (2 credits)
* Courses in parentheses are new course titles/numbers starting in fall 2020.

Potential Transfer Credit Summary
Level 1 courses: 32 credits
Level 2 courses: 39 credits
Ensemble courses: 6 credits
Total: 77 credits