Berklee Announces Fully Remote Semester For Fall 2020

Press release from Berklee College of Music:

July 27, 2020

Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee announced on July 22 that all courses will be conducted remotely for the upcoming fall semester. The College and Conservatory will provide a world-class remote learning experience while also building a strong sense of community through newly designed opportunities for collaboration, performance, and connection. Berklee will leverage its online instructional expertise, a forward-thinking curricular model, and lessons from teaching remotely in the spring and summer to engage students and connect them meaningfully with their peers, faculty, and industry professionals.

In the community announcement, Berklee announced a one-time Back to Berklee Remote Learning Grant of $2,500 to all full-time degree students, not to exceed tuition, to help allow investments in equipment, instruments, software, technology, space rental, or to offset total tuition in this fully remote semester. Additionally, students enrolling full time in fall 2020 are eligible for two tuition-free credit-bearing (up to six credits) courses toward their degree program requirements in summer 2021. The College and Conservatory have also announced an increase in student scholarship support for both entering and continuing students from last year.

The College and Conservatory will temporarily allow part-time study for entering and continuing students this fall. Students will be able to register for six to 11 credits to qualify for part-time status. Tuition and scholarships will be prorated accordingly, offering additional flexibility to those who need it. Part-time students will receive a $500 Back to Berklee Remote Learning Grant.

“The arts and creative industries are moving rapidly toward global collaboration across time and space, often done in much the way our teaching and learning will be done,” said Berklee President Roger H. Brown. “We will use this challenging period to learn new skills, as individuals and as an institution, that better equip our students to thrive and be the leaders in the future of dance, theater, and music.”

A comprehensive FAQ regarding the remote fall semester is available online; the College and Conservatory will also host town hall meetings with community members in the coming week to address questions and provide more information.

This press release was produced by Berklee College of Music. The views expressed here are the author's own.