The UNC Charlotte Department of Music and the Queens University of Charlotte Art, Design and Music Department have approved a transfer agreement to assist music students at UNC Charlotte in completing a degree in music therapy at Queens. The bilateral articulation agreement will allow music majors at UNC Charlotte to enroll in courses at Queens in their junior and senior years. As both institutions are members of the Greater Charlotte Consortium, the tuition for the music therapy courses at Queens will be waived for full-time music majors at UNC Charlotte. After graduating from UNC Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, the student can earn a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy from Queens with two additional semesters of courses and a practicum.
The Department of Music is also in the process of formalizing articulation agreements with community colleges across North Carolina to guarantee the transfer of music courses into UNC Charlotte. Fourteen state community colleges currently confer Associate of Fine Arts degrees in music. Thus far, agreements have been approved with six community colleges: Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, Cape Fear Community College, Central Piedmont Community College, Mitchell Community College, Pitt Community College, and Sandhills Community College.
A transfer student with an A.F.A. in Music from one of the partner community colleges can earn a Bachelor of Music from UNC Charlotte in two to three years, depending on the concentration. A student with an A.F.A. in Music can complete a B.A. in Music in just two years, and would then have the option of transferring to Queens to complete a B.M. in Music Therapy.
"These agreements help to substantially reduce the cost of a music degree, allowing students to begin their education in community colleges, where tuition is less than half that of a state university and less than one tenth the cost of tuition at a private school like Queens," explains Dr. Fred Spano, interim chair of the Department of Music at UNC Charlotte. "We are delighted to be taking the lead in creating these educational partnerships, which increase access to educational opportunities for traditional and non-traditional students from across North Carolina."