Koyo School of Music and Dance—Japan

This program enables students to begin their music education at Koyo School of Music and Dance of the Jikei Group of Colleges (Koyo) in Kobe, Japan, and complete an undergraduate degree at Berklee in Boston. Once accepted to Berklee, students may receive transfer credit for certain courses taken at Koyo.
Visit the Koyo website to learn more about the credit transfer pathway to Berklee.
Koyo 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 Koyo 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
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Ensembles: Koyo transfer students may receive up to six transfer credits for ensembles.
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Principal Instrument: Principal instrument courses (private lessons) taken at Koyo 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.
Level 1: Required Core Music Courses (29 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) | |
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Koyo school of music and dance Courses | Berklee college of music Course equivalents |
Harmony 1 | PW-111 Music Application and Theory (4 credits) |
Harmony 2 | HR-112 Harmony 2 (2 credits) |
Arranging 1 | AR-111 Arranging 1 (2 credits) |
Ear Training 1 | ET-111 Ear Training 1 (2 credits) |
Ear Training 2 | ET-112 Ear Training 2 (2 credits) |
Introduction to Computer Music | MTEC-111 Introduction to Music Technology (2 credits) |
BLOCK 2 (15 POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL CREDITS) | |
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KOYO SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DANCE COURSES | BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC COURSE EQUIVALENTS |
Harmony 3 | HR-211 Harmony 3 (2 credits) |
Harmony 4 | HR-212 Harmony 4 (2 credits) |
Ear Training 3 | ET-211 Ear Training 3 (2 credits) or ET-231 Solfege 1 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement |
Ear Training 4 | ET-212 Ear Training 4 (2 credits) or ET-232 Solfege 2 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement |
Traditional Harmony and Composition 1 | CM-211 Tonal Harmony and Composition 1 (2 credits) |
Traditional Harmony and Composition 2 | CM-212 Tonal Harmony and Composition 2 (2 credits) |
Counterpoint | CP-210 The Art of Counterpoint (3 credits) |
Level 2: Other Liberal Arts Courses and General Elective Courses (22 Potential Transfer Credits)
Note: Contact the academic advisor at this institution to ask about the courses below.
Koyo school of music and dance Courses | Berklee college of music Course equivalents |
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Classical Music Analysis | MLAN-311 Analysis of Classical and Romantic Music (2 credits) |
English as a Second Language 2 and 3 | LHUM-2xx Liberal Arts Elective (3 credits) |
Ethnic Music 1 | PSW-346 African Diaspora: South American Music (2 credits) |
Ethnic Music 2 | MLAN-346 Music and Culture of India, the Far East, and Eastern Europe (2 credits) |
History of Pop/Rock Music | MHIS-322 History of Rock Music (2 credits) |
History of Jazz | LHAN-221 History of Jazz (2 credits) |
Western Music History 1 and 2 | MHIS-201 History of Music in the European Tradition (2 credits) |
Introduction to Songwriting | SW-111 Essentials of Songwriting (1 credit) |
Jazz Improvisation | PSIJ-211 Jazz Improvisational Techniques (2 credits) |
Lydian Chromatic Concept | AR-340 Jazz Arranging for Small Ensembles (2 credits) |
Survey of Harmony in Rock Music | HR-231 Harmonic Analysis of Rock Music (2 credits) |
Potential Transfer Credit Summary
Level 1 courses: 29 credits
Level 2 courses: 22 credits
Ensemble courses: 6 credits
Total: 59 credits