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At Acadia University's School of Music, we view our undergraduate program not as a traditional conservatory but as an innovative musical laboratory. Our approach develops adaptable, skilled musicians ready for today's dynamic artistic landscape. The core curriculum emphasizes musical creation across diverse settings, integrating studies in:
theoretical foundations
historical and cultural contexts
aural development
piano proficiency
creative improvisation
original composition
performance ensembles
Our innovative teaching methods prepare students for modern musical careers, graduating versatile artists capable of succeeding in various professional environments. We emphasize community engagement, teaching students to shape cultural spaces they'll inhabit. Performance opportunities abound across Acadia's exceptional venues, including our cutting-edge Electroacoustic Music Studio.
Every music degree includes personalized instruction to build technical mastery and artistic vision. Through coursework, ensemble participation, and capstone projects, students become genre-fluid artists. Unique to our program, students can pursue study on multiple instruments simultaneously - ideal for multi-instrumentalists (like singer-songwriters) seeking comprehensive artistic growth.
Admission from High School
When planning their secondary school programs, students should note that a number of courses taken in the first university year have secondary school prerequisites. Generally, students continuing university work in subjects available in secondary school are advised to have senior year secondary school standing in those subjects.
All students must present a penultimate (NS Grade 11 or equivalent) high school year course in mathematics
Required courses:
Admission from the International Baccalaureate Program
Students will be considered for admission using the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma with a minimum score of 24. Students admitted to Acadia University with a score of 30 or higher on the IB Diploma will receive 30 credit hours (30h) of university credit.
Students who have completed IB courses but do not possess the diploma will be considered based on their coursework. Acadia gives individual credit for IB courses completed at the higher level with grades of 5, 6, or 7.
Additional Grade 12 courses necessary for specific programs
English Language Proficiency
TOEFL score is 80 (PBT 550) with a minimum score of 90 (PBT 580) with no subtest score below 20. Overall IELTS score of 6.5 (with no subtest score below 6.0), a CAEL score of 70 (with no subtest score below 60), a PTE Academic score of 61 (no subtest score below 60), Cambridge English: Advanced with a total of 176 (no subtest score below 169), and MELAB with an overall score of 80.