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At A Glance

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music - the only music conservatory in the western United States - educates about 400 commuter students at its campus in the heart of San Francisco. The school trains future opera singers, symphony players, composers, conductors, and teachers, and programs here are highly performance based.

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Influence
Fine and Performing Arts

Contact

Directions Link
Phone
(415) 864-73266224
Website
www.sfcm.edu

San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Full Profile

Also Consider

Also Consider

Overview

Overview

Noodle Says

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music - the only music conservatory in the western United States - educates about 400 commuter students at its campus in the heart of San Francisco. The school trains future opera singers, symphony players, composers, conductors, and teachers, and programs here are highly performance based.

San Francisco Conservatory of Music says

Welcome to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music!

We have been educating many of the world's most gifted music students since the Conservatory's founding in 1917. Alumni have pursued successful lives in music--and served society as dedicated musical citizens--since the Conservatory's beginnings.

Today's Conservatory is the creation of generations of gifted faculty and students who have dedicated their lives to the achievement of artistic excellence. It is also the creation of our surroundings. The distinctive vitality, creativity and beauty of the San Francisco Bay Area are manifested in the Conservatory's personality--an intimate and supportive environment that enables each student to find a distinctive musical voice.

I offer you a warm invitation to visit and explore the exceptional opportunities that await you here at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

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Student Life

Student Life

Student Body

Total Undergraduates 174
Gender 51% Male / 49% Female
Enrollment Breakdown 99% Full Time / 1% Part Time
Geography 33% In State / 67% Out of State / 21% International
Socio-Economic Diversity 30% of students received Pell Grants, which are provided by the U.S. government to students from middle and lower income families. It gives you an idea of a school’s socio-economic diversity.
Ethnic Diversity
Percentage
White 44%
Multi-racial 12%
International 22%
Hispanic/Latino 5%
Ethnicity Unknown 6%
Black or African American 5%
Asian 7%
American Indian or Alaska Native 1%

Housing

37% of students live on-campus.

77% of freshman live on-campus.

Activities

  • Government or Political Activity
  • Yearbook
  • Choral Groups
  • Musical Theater
  • Music Ensembles
  • Opera
  • Symphony Orchestra

Student Services

  • Academic Support Services: remedial instruction study skills assistance tutoring
  • Computer Services: computer center, libraries dorms wired for high speed internet connections wireless network available student web hosting available
  • Counseling Services: financial aid counseling health services personal counseling employment services for undergraduates
  • Facilities: three concert performance halls, recording studios, listening lab, music library, soundproof practice rooms, percussion suite, reed-making room, baroque studio, electronic music studio
  • Special Needs Services: wheelchair accessibility partial services for students with learning disabilities
  • Specialty Programs (ROTC, Accelerated Programs, Professional Development, etc.): independent study internships
  • Transfer In Services
  • Transfer Out Services

Academics

Academics

Popular Majors

Stringed Instruments (35%), Voice and Opera (26%), Keyboard Instruments (15%), Music Theory and Composition (11%), Brass Instruments (6%), Woodwind Instruments (2%)

Majors Offered

Bachelor's

A program that prepares individuals to master a brass instrument and performing art as solo, ensemble, and/or accompanist performers. Includes instruction in playing and personal style development.

Job Opportunities:

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for on-air broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

A program that prepares individuals to master the piano, organ, or related keyboard instruments and performing art as solo, ensemble, and/or accompanist performers. Includes instruction in piano and keyboard pedagogy, ensemble playing, accompanying, service playing, repertoire, keyboard and pedal skills, recital, and personal style development.

Job Opportunities:

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for on-air broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

A program that generally prepares individuals to master musical instruments and performing art as solo and/or ensemble performers. Includes instruction on one or more specific instruments from various instrumental groupings.

Job Opportunities:

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Music Directors and Composers
Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs. Includes arrangers, composers, choral directors, and orchestrators.
Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for on-air broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

A program that focuses on the study of the principles of sound manipulation as applied to the creation of music, and the techniques of creating and arranging music. Includes instruction in aural theory, melody, counterpoint, complex harmony, modulation, chromatics, improvisation, progressions, musical writing, instrumentation, orchestration, electronic and computer applications, studies of specific musical styles, and development of original creative ability.

Job Opportunities:

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Music Directors and Composers
Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs. Includes arrangers, composers, choral directors, and orchestrators.

A program that prepares individuals to master percussion instruments and performing art for a variety of musical settings, including orchestral, solo, chamber, commercial, or nontraditional. Includes instruction in playing and personal style development.

Job Opportunities:

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for on-air broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

A program that prepares individual to master a stringed instrument and performing arts as solo, ensemble and/or accompanist performers. Includes instruction in playing and personal style development.

Job Opportunities:

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for on-air broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

A program that prepares individuals to master the human voice and performing art as solo and/or ensemble performers in concert, choir, opera, or other forms of singing. Includes instruction in voice pedagogy, diction, vocal physiology and exercise, expressive movement, repertoire, recital, and personal style development.

Job Opportunities:

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Music Directors and Composers
Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs. Includes arrangers, composers, choral directors, and orchestrators.
Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for on-air broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

A program that prepares individuals to master a woodwind instrument and performing art as solo, ensemble, and/or accompanist performers. Includes instruction in playing and personal style development.

Job Opportunities:

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Musicians and Singers
Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for on-air broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

Administration & Faculty

President Colin Murdoch
President David Stull
Accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities
Full-time Faculty 29
Student : Faculty Ratio 6 : 1
Faculty Gender (% Male : Female) 68 : 31
Percentage of Faculty Members
Non-Tenure Track Faculty 100

Admissions

Admissions

Selectivity

Acceptance Rate: 39.9% accepted of 296 applications

Admission Considerations

Very Important: Recommendations, Talent Ability, Level Of Applicants Interest, Application Essay

Important: Character Personal Qualities, Academic GPA, Class Rank, Extracurricular Activities, Rigor Of Secondary School Record

Also Considered: Standardized Test Scores

High School Curriculum (years of study):
Required Recommended
English 0 3
Foreign Language 0 3

Finance

Finance

The average student pays $32,910 for tuition, fees, and other expenses, after grants and scholarships.

Household Income Real Cost
$0-$30K $21,831
$30K-$48K $23,980
$48K-$75K $26,020
$75K-$110K $28,593
$110K+ $33,177

Sticker Price

Total stated tuition is $38,900, in-state and on-campus, before financial aid.

On-Campus Off-Campus
Stated Tuition $38,900 Same as On-Campus
Fees $680 Same as On-Campus
Housing N/A $12,000
Books $650 $650
Total (before financial aid) $40,230 $52,230

Students Receiving Aid

100% of students receive some form of financial aid.

Undergrads Receiving Aid Average Aid Amount
Federal Loans 46% $6,441
Federal Scholarships/Grants 30% $5,486
Institutional Grants 100% $17,679
Other Federal Grants 30% $832
Pell Grants 30% $4,655
State and Local Scholarships/Grants 3% $1,473
Student Loans 46% $6,441

Alumni and Outcomes

Alumni and Outcomes

Graduation Rates

48% of students graduated on time.

68% of students graduated in six years.

86% of full time students continued studying at this school after freshman year.

Rankings

WalletHub

#107 The Best and Worst College Cities and Towns in America
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