Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirements

At Berklee College of Music, we foster students' creativity and artistry by educating the whole person. Berklee's liberal arts and sciences program focuses on the interdisciplinary learning that artists and musicians need to succeed in today's world, especially on writing and communication, and entrepreneurial, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. Liberal arts courses provide a cultural context for the music being studied; relate the world of music to other arts, politics, literature, and science; encourage in students an appreciation for diversity; and prepare students to make the complex ethical choices they will face throughout their lives. Berklee's Liberal Arts and Sciences Department is designed to empower students with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a strong sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement. The partnership of Liberal Arts and music in the Berklee curriculum means that graduates are accomplished musicians who also excel as collaborators, communicators, and problem solvers. Berklee College of Music belongs to the American Association of Colleges and Universities, an international organization in support of liberal education in institutions of higher education. Berklee is also a member of the Consortium for the Liberal Education of Artists.

What Are the Liberal Arts and Sciences?

At Berklee, liberal arts includes the study of humanities such as literature, creative writing, poetry, philosophy, languages, communication, art history, history, music history, visual culture, drama, women's studies, and Latino studies; natural sciences such as biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, and mathematics; social sciences such as psychology, economics, sociology, history, anthropology, and political science; and more. 

Africana Studies and the Liberal Arts

Africana studies programs have existed at liberal arts colleges and universities since a five-month strike resulted in the creation of the first Black studies program at San Francisco State University in 1968. Africana studies focuses on the history, culture, philosophies, and peoples of Africa and the African diaspora. In summer 2022, in recognition of the importance of the African diaspora to music studies and culture, Berklee created the Africana Studies Department separate from the other liberal arts. In honoring Africana studies’ place in liberal arts and its importance to the Berklee curriculum, students will be able to use Africana Studies Department courses to fulfill liberal arts and sciences requirements.