Rimon School of Music—Israel

This program enables students to begin their music education at Rimon School of Music (Rimon) in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, and complete an undergraduate degree at Berklee in Boston. Once accepted to Berklee, students may receive transfer credit for certain courses taken at Rimon. In addition, Rimon students can transfer credits for approved Liberal Arts courses (listed in the ‘Required Courses’’ section below) taken at the Open University in Israel. 

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

Entrance Requirements

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

  • Principal Instrument: Principal instrument courses (private lessons) taken at Rimon 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.

Required Courses

Level 1: Required Core Music Courses (35 Potential Transfer Credits) 

Block 1 (18 Credits)   
RIMON school of music COURSES Berklee College of Music Course Equivalents
Harmony in the Idiom of Jazz and Popular Music 1 PW-111 Music Application and Theory (4 credits)  
and HR-112 Harmony 2 (2 credits)
Arranging for the Rhythm Section AR-111 Arranging 1 (2 credits)
Ear Training 1 ET-111 Ear Training 1 (2 credits)  
and ET-112 Ear Training 2 (2 credits)
Traditional Harmony 1 CM-211 Tonal Harmony and Composition 1 (2 credits)
MIDI Recording in the Home Studio  
and Audio Recording in the Home Studio		 MTEC-111 Introduction to Music Technology (2 credits)  
and CW-191 Sequencing and Production Techniques (2 credits)
BLOCK 2 (17 Potential additional credits) 
RIMON SCHOOL OF MUSIC COURSES BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC COURSE EQUIVALENTS
Harmony in the Idiom of Jazz and Popular Music 2 HR-212 Harmony 4 (2 credits) and HR-211 Harmony 3 (2 credits)
Traditional Harmony 2 CM-212 Tonal Harmony and Composition 2 (2 credits)
Ear Training 2 ET-211 Ear Training 3 (2 credits) or ET-231 Solfege 1 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirements; and ET-212 Ear Training 4 (2 credits) or ET-232 Solfege 2 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirements
Counterpoint 1 CP-210 The Art of Counterpoint (3 credits)
Counterpoint 2 CP-215 Art of Counterpoint 2 (2 credits)
Conducting COND-211 Conducting 1 (1 credit) and COND-212 Conducting 2 (1 credit)*
* Berklee core music courses required by some Berklee degree programs

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

Rimon School of Music Courses Berklee Courses
Techniques of Tonal Writing CM-221 Techniques of Tonal Writing (2 credits)
Orchestration CM-231 Instrumentation and Score Prep (2 credits) and CM-341 Scoring for Strings (2 credits)
Contemporary Techniques in Composition I CM-311 Contemporary Techniques in Composition I (2 credits)
Advanced Symphonic Orchestration CM-441 Scoring for Full Orchestra (2 credits)
Vocal Writing CW-216 Vocal Writing (2 credits)
Rhythmic Ear Training 2 ET-341 Rhythmic Ear Training (2 credits)
Ear Training 3 ET-411 Advanced Ear Training 1 (2 credits)
Polyrhythm Workshop ILPD-235 Polyrhythms 1 (1 credit)
Secondary Keyboard (first year) ISKB-211 Basic Keyboard Techniques 1 (1 credit) and ISKB-211 Basic Keyboard Techniques 2 (1 credit)
History of Western Music MHIS-201 History of Music in the European Tradition (2 credits)
History of Jazz MHIS-319 History of Jazz (2 credits)
20th Century Composition Styles MLAN-312 Analysis of 20th and 21st Century Music (2 credits) and MLAN-2xx Music Analysis elective (2 credits)
Bass Lines PSBS-341 Jazz Masters of the Bass (2 credits)
Improvisation for Melodic and Harmonic Instruments PSIJ-321 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 2 (2 credits)
Improvisation in the Bebop Idiom PSIJ-322 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 3 (2 credits)
DAW for the Songwriter SW-161 DAW for the Songwriter (2 credits)
Arranging for Songwriters SW-231 Arranging for Songwriters (2 credits)
Song Demo Production Techniques SW-261 Advanced DAW for Songwriters: Pro Tools (2 credits)

Level 2: Other Liberal Arts and General Elective Courses—Open University of Israel (18 Potential Transfer Credits) 

OPEN university of Israel COURSES BERKLEE COURSES
10640 Understanding Movies: Introduction to the Art of Cinema LHUM-251 The Language of Film (3 credits)
10154 Experiencing Theater: Introduction to Drama and the Theater LENG-325 Theater Workshop (3 credits)
10489 Art History: An Introduction 
LVIS-231 The Ancient and Medieval Worlds (3 credits)
10124 Art in the Technological Era LVIS-223 Art History Topics (3 credits)
0659 Sociology of Culture LSOC-210 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 credits)
10496 Philosophical Aesthetics: An Introduction LPHL-383 Aesthetics (3 credits)

Potential Transfer Credit Summary
Level 1 courses: 35 credits
Level 2 courses (Rimon School of Music): 39 credits 
Level 2 courses (Open University of Israel): 18 credits
Ensemble courses: 6 credits
Total: 98 credits