12-19-2017, 05:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-19-2017, 05:15 PM by cookderosa.)
That's a board certified career in most (all?) states, so I'm 99% sure she has to attend a school that qualifies her to sit the exam - but if she has an undergraduate degree in something (liberal arts, music, psychology, etc) she can get her qualifications via master's degree. I found a link that might help her:
https://www.musictherapy.org/careers/employment/
It looks like there are 70 schools that qualify. She will also need clinical hours- a lot of them.
If she only wants a bachelor's, she needs to go straight into an approved program.
If that's the case, what you CAN do for/with her is to go through the list of 70 schools and see how and where you can take shortcuts. If I were in your shoes, I'd encourage her to try alternative credit earning through AP and CLEP for her gen eds. I'm sure some of the schools are a lot more credit friendly than others. In addition, see if she can earn lower level credits via community college too.
If she plans to attend grad school, she can earn her non-music therapy degree like you are, and then enter a graduate program (masters/doctorate) as long as she meets THAT school's admission requirements and has a strong GPA she should qualify.
EDIT to add (also from the above link)
"Professional Requirements for Music Therapists
A professional music therapist holds a bachelor's degree or higher in music therapy from one of over 70 American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) approved college and university programs. The curriculum for the bachelor's degree is designed to impart entry level competencies in three main areas: musical foundations, clinical foundations, and music therapy foundations and principles as specified in the AMTA Professional Competencies. In addition to the academic coursework, the bachelor's degree requires 1200 hours of clinical training, including a supervised internship. Graduate degrees in Music Therapy focus on advanced clinical practice and research.
Upon completion of the bachelor's degree, music therapists are eligible to sit for the national board certification exam to obtain the credential MT-BC (Music Therapist - Board Certified) which is necessary for professional practice. The credential MT-BC is granted by a separate, accredited organization, the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT), to identify music therapists who have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to practice at the current level of the profession. The purpose of board certification in music therapy is to provide an objective national standard that can be used as a measure of professionalism by interested agencies, groups, and individuals.
In addition, music therapists who currently hold the professional designations of ACMT, CMT or RMT are listed on the National Music Therapy Registry (NMTR) and are qualified to practice music therapy. For information on current holders of the ACMT, CMT or RMT designations, please contact the NMTR at (301) 562-9330."
https://www.musictherapy.org/careers/employment/
It looks like there are 70 schools that qualify. She will also need clinical hours- a lot of them.
If she only wants a bachelor's, she needs to go straight into an approved program.
If that's the case, what you CAN do for/with her is to go through the list of 70 schools and see how and where you can take shortcuts. If I were in your shoes, I'd encourage her to try alternative credit earning through AP and CLEP for her gen eds. I'm sure some of the schools are a lot more credit friendly than others. In addition, see if she can earn lower level credits via community college too.
If she plans to attend grad school, she can earn her non-music therapy degree like you are, and then enter a graduate program (masters/doctorate) as long as she meets THAT school's admission requirements and has a strong GPA she should qualify.
EDIT to add (also from the above link)
"Professional Requirements for Music Therapists
A professional music therapist holds a bachelor's degree or higher in music therapy from one of over 70 American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) approved college and university programs. The curriculum for the bachelor's degree is designed to impart entry level competencies in three main areas: musical foundations, clinical foundations, and music therapy foundations and principles as specified in the AMTA Professional Competencies. In addition to the academic coursework, the bachelor's degree requires 1200 hours of clinical training, including a supervised internship. Graduate degrees in Music Therapy focus on advanced clinical practice and research.
Upon completion of the bachelor's degree, music therapists are eligible to sit for the national board certification exam to obtain the credential MT-BC (Music Therapist - Board Certified) which is necessary for professional practice. The credential MT-BC is granted by a separate, accredited organization, the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT), to identify music therapists who have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to practice at the current level of the profession. The purpose of board certification in music therapy is to provide an objective national standard that can be used as a measure of professionalism by interested agencies, groups, and individuals.
In addition, music therapists who currently hold the professional designations of ACMT, CMT or RMT are listed on the National Music Therapy Registry (NMTR) and are qualified to practice music therapy. For information on current holders of the ACMT, CMT or RMT designations, please contact the NMTR at (301) 562-9330."
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