Founded on jazz, the music of the African diaspora, and a dedication to contemporary music, Berklee is a singular institution for the study of the performing arts. The institution continues to integrate and find connections between its historical roots and the contemporary worlds of music, dance, and theater. Berklee is a place where artists come together to innovate and collaborate, and where artistic and cultural diversity is embraced and celebrated. This ethos permeates all aspects of Berklee—from teaching and learning to administration and governance—and is fundamental to the Berklee experience.

Berklee continually cultivates its own promise—stretching, expanding, and reinventing itself in a rapidly changing world. In recent years, Berklee has opened new campuses in New York City and Valencia, Spain, and grown Berklee Online into the world’s largest online music school. In 2016, the Boston Conservatory—the oldest and one of the most prestigious conservatories in the U.S. for dance, music, and theater—joined forces with Berklee College of Music, establishing a performing arts training institution unparalleled in its breadth and depth. As a combined institution, Berklee is an education powerhouse with global reach and vast cultural impact.

The preeminent institution of contemporary music, dance, and theater, Berklee offers degree-granting programs in Boston, New York City, and Valencia, Spain, and through Berklee Online. Dedicated to nurturing the creative and career potential of the world’s most inspired artists, Berklee’s commitment to arts education is reflected in the work of its students, faculty, and alumni—hundreds of whom have been recognized with Grammy, Latin Grammy, Emmy, Tony, and Academy awards.

At Berklee, students explore interdisciplinary approaches to music, dance, theater, film scoring, business, entrepreneurship, education, technology, and more. Youth programs reach underserved classrooms throughout the U.S. and beyond. With students and alumni from more than 100 nations and educational partners across the world, Berklee forges connections among art forms, musical traditions, and technologies to build a dynamic, sustainable, diverse, and collaborative global arts community. Diversity in all its forms is a source of strength for the institution.

Newsweek recently ranked Berklee College of Music as third among all U.S. colleges that “offer an exceptional artistic atmosphere.” The Hollywood Reporter ranked the college as third among “20 Music Schools for Composing for Film and TV in 2020.” Billboard listed Berklee among the “Elite Music Business Schools Shaping the Industry’s Future,” highlighting Berklee’s growth in Valencia and its music business degree programs. The Luxonomist ranked Berklee’s campuses in Boston and Valencia as the top two music colleges in the world.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee has earned dozens of accolades(Opens in a new window) in recent years, including “Best College Dance Programs in the U.S.” (Dance US, 2019), “Five of the Best Music Education Schools in the U.S.” (Careers in Music, 2019), and “Big Ten 2019: The 10 Most Represented Colleges on Broadway” (Playbill, 2019, 2018, and 2017).

An Unparalleled Institution

Each learning environment at Berklee brings distinctiveness to the whole and creates a portfolio of opportunities to deepen and broaden the Berklee experience of every student and all members of the faculty and staff.

• Berklee College of Music (Opens in a new window)is the world’s singular learning lab for the music of today—and tomorrow. It is a microcosm of the music world, reflecting the interplay between music and culture, and an environment where aspiring music professionals learn how to integrate new ideas, adapt to changing musical genres, and showcase their skills in an evolving community.
• Boston Conservatory at Berklee(Opens in a new window) is internationally recognized as an innovative leader among conservatory programs, focused on elevating and celebrating every aspect of the performing arts. The school continues to distinguish itself with a vision of music, dance, and theater that encompasses a multidisciplinary learning environment, creative programming, and deep community engagement.
• Berklee Online(Opens in a new window) is the world’s largest online music education system, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs that serve musicians from more than 150 countries. Because Berklee Online isn’t tethered to a physical campus, anyone in the world can get a Berklee education at their own pace for 60 percent less than the cost of on-campus tuition.
• Berklee Valencia(Opens in a new window), founded in 2012, is Berklee’s first international campus, offering four master’s degree programs, study abroad, and summer programs. Leveraging its presence in Europe and the Mediterranean, as well as its connection with Latin America, the campus helps students develop a global mindset while expanding their professional opportunities on a global scale.
• Berklee NYC(Opens in a new window), created in 2017, is Berklee’s campus in New York City, offering a one-year master’s degree program with three distinct specializations, along with world-class musical programming, and visual capture in 360-degree cinematic virtual reality. The campus is located at the historic Power Station recording studio on West 53rd Street, which was renamed Power Station at Berklee NYC.
• Berklee City Music(Opens in a new window) provides educational opportunities for talented youth in underserved communities, with partners in cities across America and abroad, reaching more than 53,000 students each year. A partnership with the New York City Department of Education brings music programs to more than 60,000 K–12 students in 600 New York City public schools.

Berklee’s different learning environments serve the wide range of interests and aptitudes of its artistic student body.

• LeadershipBerklee’s leadership—comprising executive officers, the Board of Trustees, and Presidential Advisory Council—is committed to creating an inclusive community and a dynamic learning environment.
• Mission and PhilosophyThe mission of Berklee is to educate, train, and develop students to excel in music as a career. Cultivating the musicianship of all our students is the foundation of our curriculum.
• Vision and StrategyAs the times change, Berklee perpetually reinvents itself. With input from across the Berklee community, the college has released a vision statement for 2025, to be followed by a series of three-year strategic plans.
• Facts and StatisticsBerklee is more than a collection of numbers, but sometimes numbers can be very illuminating. Find out about the ever-changing composition of Berklee.

Berklee College of Music is a nonprofit, coeducational institution of higher learning incorporated under the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Berklee (inclusive of Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Berklee Online, and Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain) is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.). and authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students and to train veterans under the G.I. Bill of Rights.