Music Therapy (BMT)

Music Therapy is a powerful way to use music as a tool for healing, growth, and connection. Learn how to create and deliver music-based interventions that suit the needs and goals of your clients along with witnessing the effects of music on people’s physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being. 

Laurier is the only university in Ontario that offers an undergraduate degree in music therapy. This gives you a unique opportunity to study this fascinating and rewarding field with expert faculty and practitioners. 

Apply Your Learning

Laurier’s Bachelor of Music Therapy program will teach you how to use music as a therapeutic tool to help clients with various needs, such as developmental and physical disabilities, mental health issues, and geriatric care. You will have the opportunity to practice your skills in real-world settings, such as community-based organizations and our on-campus music therapy clinic, where experienced professionals will guide and support you. 

Here are just a few examples of the experiences you’ll get in the Music Therapy program:

  • Get supervised clinical training, a crucial component of our program, which is offered in community-based settings and at our on-campus music therapy clinic.
  • Complete a 1,000-hour internship (organized by Laurier) in fourth year, making you eligible to apply for certification as a music therapist through the Canadian Association of Music Therapists upon graduation.
  • Use your major instrument(s) in music therapy sessions, along with percussion, piano and guitar, which you will be taught at Laurier.
  • Join the Music Therapy Students Association (MTSA). MTSA hosts events throughout the year to support the academic, career and personal needs of our Music Therapy students. 

Check out the Music Experience and Career Guide.

 

2022 graduates who secured employment or went on to postgraduate studies

 

Laurier ranks in the top 6 percent of universities worldwide*

 

students who gained hands-on learning experiences at Laurier in 2022

*Center for World University Rankings (CWUR)

Admissions

Format: full time      Duration: two years     Start: September (fall term)

You can apply to the Bachelor of Music Therapy at the end of your second year in Laurier’s Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Music in Community Music. You must be registered in one of these two Laurier programs to qualify for admission to the Bachelor of Music Therapy program. If you already hold a degree, you may wish to consider our Master of Music Therapy.

Admission is based on successful completion of the following courses:

  • MU158: Introduction to Music Therapy
  • PS101/102: Introduction to Psychology
  • PS275: Introduction to Developmental Psychology, Infancy and Childhood
  • PS276: Introduction to Developmental Psychology: Adolescence and Young Adulthood or PS377: Developmental Psychology: Adults and Elders

In addition, you must have: 

  • A minimum Music GPA of 7.0
  • A minimum overall GPA of 6.0
  • A minimum Psychology GPA of 5.0
  • Successfully completed a Keyboard Facility Test

Admission requirements also include a 1-2 page written letter of intent, current resumé, and an interview and audition with the music therapy coordinator. The purpose of the audition and interview is to assess your musical, academic, interpersonal and self-reflective skills and your readiness for the Music Therapy program and clinical work. 

Program Details

About Music Therapy

Because music therapists communicate with clients through music, they must have excellent musicianship and musical sensitivity. Nearly half of the required courses are in music and include instrumental or vocal study, musical skills and ensemble work.

Our program also features courses in clinical improvisation, case studies, therapeutic theories, and two years of supervised group and one-on-one clinical placements on campus and in the community. You will also take courses in developmental, abnormal, clinical and social psychology. Alongside your major instrument, you will learn and use percussion, piano and guitar during your placements.

Become a Practising Music Therapist

In fourth year, you will complete the Canadian Association of Music Therapy (CAMT) 1,000-hour internship, making you eligible upon graduation to write the Certified Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) exam, allowing you to practice in both Canada and the USA. Laurier helps you find these internships.

Further Education

After graduating from the Music Therapy program, our students often continue their music therapy training by pursuing a master’s degree in music therapy. Other students have chosen to train in allied healthcare professions such as social work, psychotherapy, or occupational therapy, or to complete a Bachelor of Education to become a teacher. If you are interested in research, you may wish to choose a graduate degree with a research component.

Program Options and Courses

First-Year Courses

Students interested in the Music Therapy program will be required to take all of the mandatory courses for either the Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Community Music, in addition to taking the following three courses as their 1.5 electives.

  • MU158: Introduction to Music Therapy
  • PS101: Introduction to Psychology I
  • PS102: Introduction to Psychology II

Sample Upper-Year Courses

  • Clinical Improvisation I and II
  • Medical Music Therapy
  • Music, Culture, and Community
  • Music Therapy Internship I and II

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Frequently Asked Questions

Tuition and Scholarships

Getting a university education is an investment in your future.

At Laurier, we take financial health seriously by providing a wide variety of funding opportunities for you throughout your degree, such as scholarships and bursaries, and by equipping you with the skills to manage your finances effectively in the years to come.

Faculty of Music Scholarships

We award roughly $100,000 in Faculty of Music Audition Scholarships to incoming students. This is in addition to any academic entrance scholarships, entrance bursaries or competitive scholarships you may receive.

Audition Scholarships recognize well-rounded students who demonstrate strong technical ability, academic achievement, recreational/extracurricular involvement and/or financial need during their audition process.

"My favourite courses were my practicum placements and my internship. My internship gave me the practical skills to truly understand what it takes to be a music therapist, something that cannot be taught in a classroom."

Jackie Naccache, Music Therapy graduate

Your Career Awaits

Music therapist job settings include:

  • community programs
  • correctional centres
  • hospices
  • hospitals
  • long-term care centres
  • mental health and addiction facilities
  • private practice
  • rehabilitation facilities
  • schools

Explore more careers.

Support After Graduation

Alumni for life means that you have access to Career and Employment Support offered at Laurier for your entire career.

Waterloo Campus

The Waterloo campus is tucked into about one city block, so you’re steps away from your classes, food and your new favourite study spot.

There are many ways to tour our Waterloo campus, whether that's on a guided tour with one of our Laurier student ambassadors, on your own using virtual reality, or even on-demand through one of our pre-recorded tours. See our campus spaces and start to picture yourself at Laurier.

Interested in More Info?

Email choosemusic@wlu.ca, call 548.889.8888 or see all Music faculty and staff.