Master Music Therapy

Master Music Therapy

The master’s course Music Therapy is designed for practicing music therapists who want to advance and innovate their musical, clinical and research skills in the creative and international environment that ArtEZ University of the Arts offers.

During the ArtEZ master’s in Music Therapy, you will gain advanced knowledge and skills in applying evidence-based music therapy and research to a clinical area of your interest. The courses are carefully designed to integrate musical, therapeutic, research, and professional competencies seamlessly through a unique blend of theoretical knowledge and (supervised) clinical practice.

Through shared learning experiences with peers and experts, and personalised coaching, you will develop, set up, and conduct an original research project throughout the programme. Music-based research is at the core of our course and can be conducted in several settings: at the place where you complete your clinical practice, in a community setting, or in an another external collaboration. As of 2023, our programme will offer a residence opportunity in music therapy research on clients suffering from Korsakoff’s syndrome.

Course structure

You can choose to take the course in the creative environment of the ArtEZ Academy of Music in the 1-year full-time ‘on-campus’ route. Alternatively, you can decide to study from your own country or city in the 2-year part-time hybrid route.

On campus modality: 1 year (full-time, 60 ECTS)

The on-campus route is taught on a weekly basis on Thursdays and Fridays, through a mixture of on-campus lectures and online classes. In addition to these two days of lectures, you will need to complete either a supervised internship (if you have taken the ArtEZ pre-master’s course) or work-experience hours (if you are already working as a music therapist). Outside of the programme classes, you can also participate in the many weekly activities that take place on campus*, as well as in the Music Therapy Group for Parkinson’s patients. The full-time course load is approximately 40 hours per week.

Blended modality: 2 years (part-time, 30/30 ECTS)

The hybrid route uses the same syllabus as the full-time route and is taught every Friday online. In addition, you will participate in three intensive weeks each year. During the first year you will have an additional week on campus to complete the NMT training and masterclasses. The part-time programme is designed for those who wish to combine work and family life with graduate education from their own city or country.You will carry out your clinical hours (work experience or 280 hours of supervised internship) in or near your place of residence. The part-time course load is approximately 20 hours per week

What will you learn at the Music Therapy Master’s program?

During the Music Therapy Master's, you will deepen and advance your clinical, musical and research expertise. Starting from a personal study plan, you will investigate the role and impact of music on clinical and non-clinical settings, contribute to building evidence and innovating the discipline. The ArtEZ Master's in Music Therapy rests on three main pillars: musical competences, advanced music therapy skills, and research.

Students and alumni of the Master Music Therapy offer relevant contributions to the healthcare and society. They are culturally sensitive and professionally competent in responding to the needs of individual clients, groups, communities or organizations. Once graduated, you are highly skilled in your musicality, advanced clinical experience and scientific knowledge.

The field of music therapy is broad and dynamic – and always in transition. Music therapy is expanding to new areas in (health)care and technology, which are explored and discovered at this very moment. ArtEZ graduates work in various fields, from developing countries to hospitals and research settings. Maybe you want to focus on elderly and mental care – or maybe you investigate broader implementation of music in care for newborns and IC-patients. Whichever path you choose, you are ready to explore new possibilities, to pioneer at the at the intersection of music and (health)care.