Dublin City University—Ireland
The Centre for Jazz Performance Studies at Dublin City University (DCU) is an academic center committed to the research, performance practice, study and teaching of jazz performance.
The Centre seeks to promote engagement by researchers, performers, and the public with all aspects of jazz performance, its history, the latest developments in research and teaching, and innovation in the performance of the music. The centre is dedicated to enriching Irish musical life by promoting the study and learning of jazz improvisation.
Benefits for Students
This program enables students to begin their music education at Dublin City University (DCU) in Dublin, Ireland, and complete an undergraduate degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Once accepted to Berklee, students may receive transfer credit for certain courses taken at DCU.
Visit the DCU website to learn more about the credit transfer pathway to Berklee.
Contact Information
Dublin City University - Centre for Jazz Performance Studies
Cormac O'Brian, Director
DCU All Hallows Campus
S115, Senior House
Gracepark Road
Drumcondra, Dublin D09 N920
Ireland
+353 (1) 700 5781
cormac.obrien@dcu.ie
About the Program
Students Who Entered DCU on or after May 1, 2023
Entrance Requirements
Students transferring from DCU to Berklee must earn a grade of “B” (3.00/4.00 GPA) or better in each course specified in the Berklee Global Partner (BGP) credit transfer agreement (see "Courses and Credits" below) to receives credit. If a student receives a grade of “B-“ or lower in any of the required core music courses, no credit will be awarded to the student for any of the core music courses listed in the credit transfer agreement.
In this case, the student will enter Berklee as a transfer student. In the first semester of study, they will be required to take the Entering Student Placement Assessment (ESPA) for course placement in core music courses. They may transfer in any applicable liberal arts and sciences courses admissible under the transfer credit policy in place at the time of the student's matriculation to Berklee.
Admissions: DCU 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 DCU in accordance with an agreement between the two schools. Transferring students must send Berklee an official transcript showing all courses specified as completed with a satisfactory grade of "B" or better before credit transfer at Berklee can take place.
DCU students planning to transfer to Berklee under this agreement must do so within four years after completing their program of study at DCU.
Liberal Arts and General Electives
Students seeking to transfer credit to Berklee must first take the steps outlined in the Pre-Approval Process to determine whether the desired course(s) qualify for transfer.
- Students may transfer up to 24 credits of liberal arts courses toward their liberal arts requirements at Berklee.
- Only 15 of those 24 credits can be completed and transferred in after a student has started their studies at Berklee.
- Those 15 credits can be applied to a student’s academic requirements as follows: nine credits can be applied to liberal arts requirements, and six credits can be applied to general elective requirements.
- Students in the Bachelor of Music or Arts degree programs 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 must earn a minimum of 6 credits in liberal arts and may use up to 12 liberal arts credits (four courses) as general elective credits.
Performance Courses
- Ensembles:
- DCU transfer students will receive up to 6 transfer credits in ensembles after completing one or two credits per course taken at DCU based on credit equivalency with an average grade of “B” or better.
- All students are required to enroll in an ensemble in their first semester at Berklee.
- Principal Instrument:
- Principal instrument courses (private lessons) taken at a BGP school 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.
Requirements to Graduate
- Residency: All students, including candidates transferring from another school, are normally required to complete a minimum of four semesters of full-time attendance and earn a minimum of 60 credits (48 credits for diploma students) at Berklee College of Music in order to graduate. Credit by exam (CBX), advanced placement credit, CLEP credit, and transfer credit do not count as residency requirement credits, even if earned while at Berklee College of Music. This requirement will be applied regardless of the number of credits transferred.
- Attain at least a 2.70 cumulative GPA in all major courses and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00.
- Complete the principal instrument proficiency level, as specified by the major.
- Complete a required final project in the chosen area of concentration, as described and approved by the department chair (as applicable).
- For music education majors, complete all observation and student teaching requirements.
- For music therapy majors, complete all coursework and a six-month, full-time, post-coursework internship.
- Fulfill all financial obligations to the college.
Learn more about the requirements to graduate.
We encourage you to review the Berklee Global Academic Partner Berklee Track Guidebook, which provides comprehensive information about the credit transfer process.
Courses and Credits
Required Transfer Credits: 22
| DCU Courses | Berklee College of Music Course Equivalents |
|---|---|
| MC115 Jazz and Contemporary Harmony 1 and 2 | PW-111 Music Application and Theory (4 cr.) and HR-112 Harmony 2 (2 cr.) |
| MC114 Jazz Aural Training 1 and 2 | ET-111 Ear Training 1 (2 cr.) and ET-112 Ear Training 2 (2 cr.) |
| MC214 Arranging 1 and 2 | AR-111 Arranging 1 (2 cr.) |
| MC217 Jazz and Contemporary Harmony 3 and 4 | HR-211 Harmony 3 (2 cr.) and HR-212 Harmony 4 (2 cr.) |
| MC216 Jazz Aural Training 3 and 4 | ET-211 Ear Training 3 (2 cr.) or ET-231 Solfege 1 (2 cr.), depending on Berklee major requirement and ET-212 Ear Training 4 (2 cr.) or ET-232 Solfege 2 (2 cr.), depending on Berklee major requirement |
| MC124 Music Technology 1 and MC223 Music Technology 2 | MTEC-111 Introduction to Music Technology (2 cr.) |
Additional Potential Transfer Credits: 16
Note: Contact the academic advisor at this institution to ask about the courses below.
| DCU Courses | Berklee College of Music Course Equivalents |
|---|---|
| MC101 Composition, Theory and Applied Techniques 1 | CM-211 Tonal Harmony and Composition 1 (2 cr.) |
| MC102 Composition, Theory and Applied Techniques 2 | CM-212 Tonal Harmony and Composition 2 (2 cr.) |
| MC329 History of Western Music | MHIS-201 History of Music in the European Tradition (2 cr.) |
| MC119 Keyboard Skills 1 | ISKB-211 Basic Keyboard 1 (1 cr.) |
| MC119 Keyboard Skills 2 | ISKB-212 Basic Keyboard 2 (1 cr.) |
| MC116 Improv Ensemble 1 | PSIJ-221 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 1 (2 cr.) and PSIJ-321 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 2 (2 cr.) |
| MC218 Improv Ensemble 2 | PSIJ-322 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 3 (2 cr.) and PSIJ-421 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 4 (2 cr.) |
Potential Transfer Credit Summary
Required Transfer Credits: 22 credits
Additional Potential Transfer Credits: 16 credits
Potential Ensemble Credits: 6 credits
Potential Transfer Credit Total: 44 credits
Students Who Entered DCU Prior to May 1, 2023
Entrance Requirements
DCU 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 DCU 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 seeking to transfer credit to Berklee must first take the steps outlined in the Pre-Approval Process to determine whether the desired course(s) qualify for transfer.
- Students may transfer up to 24 credits of liberal arts courses toward their liberal arts requirements at Berklee.
- Only 15 of those 24 credits can be completed and transferred in after a student has started their studies at Berklee.
- Those 15 credits can be applied to a student’s academic requirements as follows: 9 credits can be applied to liberal arts requirements, and six credits can be applied to general elective requirements.
- Students in the Bachelor of Music or Arts degree programs 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 must earn a minimum of six credits in liberal arts and may use up to 12 liberal arts credits (four courses) as general elective credits.
See detailed information about transfers of liberal arts courses and general elective courses.
See more information about liberal arts courses at Berklee.
Performance Courses
Ensembles: DCU transfer students may receive up to six transfer credits for ensembles.
Principal Instrument: Principal instrument courses (private lessons) taken at DCU 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.
Requirements to Graduate
- Residency: All students, including candidates transferring from another school, are normally required to complete a minimum of four semesters of full-time attendance and earn a minimum of 60 credits (48 credits for diploma students) at Berklee College of Music in order to graduate. Credit by exam (CBX), advanced placement credit, CLEP credit, and transfer credit do not count as residency requirement credits, even if earned while at Berklee College of Music. This requirement will be applied regardless of the number of credits transferred.
- Attain at least a 2.70 cumulative GPA in all major courses and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00.
- Complete the principal instrument proficiency level, as specified by the major.
- Complete a required final project in the chosen area of concentration, as described and approved by the department chair (as applicable).
- For music education majors, complete all observation and student teaching requirements.
- For music therapy majors, complete all coursework and a six-month, full-time, post-coursework internship.
- Fulfill all financial obligations to the college.
Learn more about the requirements to graduate.
Courses and Credits
Level 1: Required Core Music Courses (24 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 (12 credits) | |
|---|---|
| DCU Courses | Berklee College of Music Course Equivalents |
| Harmony 1 (MC115) | PW-111 Music Application and Theory (4 credits) |
| Harmony 2 (MC115) | HR-112 Harmony 2 (2 credits) |
| Ear Training 1 (MC114) | ET-111 Ear Training 1 (2 credits) |
| Ear Training 2 (MC114) | ET-112 Ear Training 2 (2 credits) |
| Arranging 1 (MC214) | AR-111 Arranging 1 (2 credits) |
| BLOCK 2 (12 potential additional CREDITS) | |
|---|---|
| DCU Courses | Berklee College of Music Course Equivalents |
| Harmony 3 (MC217) | HR-211 Harmony 3 (2 credits) |
| Harmony 4 (MC217) | HR-212 Harmony 4 (2 credits) |
| Ear Training 3 (MC216) | ET-211 Ear Training 3 (2 credits) or ET-231 Solfege 1 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement |
| Ear Training 4 (MC216) | ET-212 Ear Training 4 (2 credits) or ET-232 Solfege 2 (2 credits), depending on Berklee major requirement |
| Tonal Harmony 1 (MC119) | CM-211 Tonal Harmony and Composition 1 (2 credits) |
| Tonal Harmony 2 (MC119) | CM-212 Tonal Harmony and Composition 2 (2 credits) |
Level 2: Other Liberal Arts and General Elective Courses (10 Potential Transfer Credits)
Note: Contact the academic advisor at this institution to ask about the courses below.
| DCU Courses | Berklee College of Music Course Equivalents |
|---|---|
| History of Western Music | MHIS-201 History of Music in the European Tradition (2 credits) |
| Improv Ensemble 1 (MC116) | PSIJ-221 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 1 (2 credits) and PSIJ-321 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 2 (2 credits) |
| Improv Ensemble 2 (MC218) | PSIJ-322 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 3 (2 credits) and PSIJ-421 Jazz Improvisation Techniques 4 (2 credits) |
Potential Transfer Credit Summary
Level 1 courses: 24 credits
Level 2 courses: 10 credits
Ensemble courses: 6 credits
Total: 40 credits