Transferring to Berklee College of Music

Berklee warmly welcomes transfer students into our vibrant community, affording them the same careful admission considerations as our non-transfer students. Each year, we offer admission into our undergraduate programs to hundreds of transfer applicants from across the globe. Our community thrives on the rich diversity of individuals who choose to enroll at Berklee because our programs align perfectly with their career aspirations and life circumstances.

What to Expect

As a transfer applicant, you have the flexibility to apply for undergraduate admission into Berklee’s fall, spring, or summer semesters. Transfer applicants are evaluated for acceptance and merit-based scholarships on an equal footing with first-time applicants. Upon acceptance, you'll be welcomed into a talented and passionate community of musicians, encompassing students of diverse ages and backgrounds, all on unique paths to Berklee.

Review important application deadlines.

To connect with an admissions counselor about transferring to Berklee, we encourage you to participate in one of our Transfer Student Q&A events, scheduled on the first Thursday of every month. These virtual events provide an opportunity to ask questions about transfer credit, graduation timelines, and more. To sign up, review the list of upcoming Transfer Student Q&A events.

Timeline to Graduation

To streamline your time at Berklee, several factors need to be considered:

Transferable Liberal Arts Credits

The number of liberal arts credits you transfer to Berklee plays a role in the number of credits which can be utilized to complete Berklee specific required coursework. To see which liberal arts credits are transferable, review our Transfer Credit Services Guide.

Declared Major

Berklee College of Music offers 15 Bachelor of Music majors. It’s important to review the prerequisites and requirements associated with your desired major’s curriculum, as some have more stringent criteria than others. To best understand the progression of required courses, please review our Major Grids.

Placement Assessments

All entering Bachelor of Music students must take an online placement assessment called the Entering Student Placement Assessment (ESPA). This assessment is to place you appropriately into your first semester ear training, harmony, music technology, and arranging courses. This assessment also gives you the chance to be placed into advanced courses. Advanced placement through these exams can reduce the number of credits that you need to complete in order to earn your degree.

Summer Semester Enrollment

Enrolling full-time or part-time during the summer semester can help you advance in major-specific and required coursework.

Timing of Major Declaration

With the approval of the major department, some students can declare or apply into their major as early as their second semester (instead of the third-semester). This may allow you to begin your required major coursework a semester earlier.

Each of the factors above will play a role in determining the timeline to graduation.

Often, transfer students are able to complete their studies over seven total semesters within a three-year period. Students can enroll in three semesters per-year, full-time enrollment is required in the fall and spring semesters, except the final semester which can be part-time. Summer semester enrollment can be part-time or full-time. This allows students the flexibility to enroll in a focused selection of coursework to accelerate their time at the college.

Transfer Credit

At Berklee, we highly regard the college-level coursework you've completed at other institutions, and we strive to apply as many of these credits toward your Berklee degree as possible. We evaluate and consider transfer credit from Berklee Online, institutions with Berklee credit-transfer agreements, and other institutions at our discretion.

Berklee Online

For comprehensive details on transferring Berklee Online coursework to Berklee College of Music, please review our online course equivalencies.

Institutions with Credit-Transfer Agreements

Berklee has established credit-transfer agreements with a variety of Academic Partner Institutions across the globe, facilitating the start to your academic journey closer to your home. By enrolling in foundational music and other relevant courses at these partner schools, you can begin your journey to enrolling at Berklee. Each partner institution maintains its unique agreement with Berklee, which must be satisfactorily fulfilled before enrolling at Berklee to ensure the transfer of completed credits. We strongly encourage you to thoroughly understand these agreements before considering enrollment at any of our Academic Partner Institutions.

Other Credit-Bearing Institutions

The most frequently transferred credits come from liberal arts and sciences and general elective courses taken at institutions without a credit-transfer agreement with Berklee. Berklee has a nuanced policy regarding this process, so please reference the Transfer Credit Services Guide to completely review the policy.

Berklee typically does not grant transfer credits for music courses unless they are from an institution with a Berklee credit-transfer agreement. If you believe you have expertise in a music course, once enrolled you can consult with the relevant department chair to explore the possibility of credit by examination.

Submitting Transcripts

Ensure all official transcripts reach the Office of Admissions before the application deadline for the semester you are applying to. If you have ongoing coursework at the application deadline, submit updated official transcripts once grades are available.

Transcripts submitted by the application deadline will undergo an automatic review process for accepted students, who can expect to receive their transfer credit evaluations within two weeks of their acceptance. Conversely, for accepted students who submit transcripts after the application deadline, their transcripts will be evaluated in the order they are received. A transfer credit report will be provided once the transcripts have been thoroughly assessed.

If you have received Advanced Placement (A.P.) credits, please request an official A.P. score report from the College Board. Berklee's College Board code is 3107. Note: Berklee does not accept A.P. credit when reported on another college transcript. A complete list of the A.P. exams Berklee accepts can be found in the Transfer Credit Services Guide.

All applicants from outside the US and Canada are required to submit a Credential Evaluation from an accredited credential evaluation agency.

For detailed information on submitting transcripts please visit the Transcripts and Other Supporting Documents webpage.

Featured Transfer Students

David Davila Zari ‘25

Music business/management and electronic production and design double major
“My education at EMC (Escuela de Música Contemporánea), a Berklee Academic Partner, provided me with the essential knowledge required for a successful music career, allowing me to move through several music theory classes with ease. Additionally, my ability to compose and perform Latin music gave me an advantage in distinguishing myself within the Berklee community. Once I got here, I was fascinated with the extensive amount of talented professors and musicians. It was a source of inspiration because here I am confident that I will find future band members, managers, or business partners.”

Hunter Allison ‘24

Jazz composition major
"Going to community college helped me to gain experience and build a solid foundation in music theory and ear training. This turned out to be a huge advantage when I got to Berklee because it allowed me to place into higher levels of harmony, ear training, and arranging classes. In addition to testing into higher level core classes, I was able to transfer liberal arts credits to Berklee and this gave me room in my schedule to take a lot of electives that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise."