Music Therapy
Music Therapy
What You’ll Study
Do you have a passion for music and for helping others? Are you curious about how the brain processes information and responds to music? Pursuing a music therapy degree will allow you to immerse yourself in these questions. You will start clinical training during your first semester and receive 1-to-1 instruction in a hands-on learning environment.
Music therapy uses music to address the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and cultural needs of individuals and groups in therapy. From on-campus music therapy clinics to off-campus placements, we draw on Charlotte’s vibrant healthcare community, schools, residential care communities, and other community agencies to ensure your experiences as a music therapy student are vast and far-reaching.
This program is for you if you are seeking to become a musician and clinician. You will be required to advance your skills on a primary instrument while becoming proficient in piano, voice, guitar, and percussion. The program allows you to complete all coursework in four years followed by a 6-month professional internship to complete the degree. After finishing your degree, you are eligible to take the national board certification exam.
How Can You Use This Degree?
Completion of a degree in music therapy from Queens positions you for competitive jobs across the United States and around the world. Music therapists work in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, cancer centers, psychiatric facilities, and in private practice.
Many of our alumni remain in the Charlotte area working at places like:
- Mercy Hospital
- Hopeway: Residential Mental Health Facility
- Piedmont Music Therapy
- Charlotte Music Therapy
- Creative Connections Music Therapy
Though your Queens degree can take you anywhere. Other popular destinations for Music Therapy graduates include:
- Dayton Children’s Hospital in Dayton, Ohio
- Harmonic Changes Music Therapy in Chicago, Illinois
- VITAS Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia
- The TrebleMakers in Gastonia, North Carolina
- Voices Together in Greensboro and Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Highlighted Courses
- Psychology of Music (MTH 320)
- Research Methods in Clinical Practice (MTH 420)
- Abnormal Psychology (PSY 271)
- Anatomy and Physiology of Perception (QLC 340)
Student Highlights
“The music therapy program at Queens set me up for success! Having 8 semesters of hands-on practicum experience allowed me to apply the theories I was learning in class with a wide variety of clients in different settings. I developed important clinical skills, and those skills helped me land both my top-choice internship and my dream job in a pediatric hospital after graduation. Queens’ focus on critical thinking, research, and ethics also built a strong foundation for pursuing a master’s degree in music therapy.” Shannon O’Hara ’20
“I am so grateful to have been able to pursue a career in music therapy in a way that was accessible to me as a second-degree student. Queens music and music therapy professors provided guidance, compassion, and support to me as I navigated new courses, clinical experiences and found an internship. The variety of clinical experiences offered at Queens helped to shape my approach and prepare me for the work I do daily.” Gianna Nuckols ’23
Program Contact
Meg Stanley Johnson, M.M., MT-BC
Music Therapy Program Director
Senior Instructor, Art, Design and Music
johnsonm@queens.edu
704-337-2520