At the beginning of February, The University of North Dakota announced that their music department would be bringing back their Music Therapy program that they had previously paused in 2016. The original decision to put a halt to the program was due to budget cuts, but within recent years UND’s admission rates have improved, along with their budgets, making this the perfect time to reopen this unique opportunity for students. 

This program could do a lot for the university and its music department. This is because, by adding on a new degree option, they will be drawing in new students who are already planning to attend UND along with ones who maybe were not as interested in attending school at UND until they added this program. Along with this, there are many music students who already planned on using their degree to go into the field of music therapy, but now they will have the opportunity to be in a program that is specific to what they truly want to do with their musical knowledge. 

Music therapy is a growing health profession that focuses on the use of music in a therapeutic way to improve the overall physical, emotional, and behavioral health of individuals. This field’s growth is based on the interest of individuals who are looking for a profession in which they get to help others by communicating through the movement and intricacies of music. UND sees that this field has had an increase in interest, and they want to be sure that they are giving the best opportunities for their students to be set up for success in this type of career. 

If Music Therapy is a degree that you are interested in, you may consider reaching out to the music department about any questions you may have. You could also visit the UND website to get some more information about how the program will look. Applications to be admitted into this program will open up in August of this year, but the program itself will not be fully up and running until Fall of 2025. However, if you are interested in this degree, there are ways to get a head start on taking some of the classes that will eventually fulfill a few of your requirements. 

This new degree program and the others that UND has recently announced, like the re-establishment of their journalism program, prove that they are dedicated to ensuring that they provide as many options and opportunities for students to pursue their career goals as possible. Whether you are a current student looking to try a different program or an incoming student who is not sure what program they want to try, there is no doubt that UND currently offers many unique programs. Along with this, new programs will likely continue to be offered and improved to ensure that students are best equipped for the current world and the careers it offers. 

Sources: 

American Music Therapy Association. About Music Therapy and AMTA | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). (n.d.). https://www.musictherapy.org/about/  

Music therapy. University of North Dakota. (n.d.). https://arts-sciences.und.edu/academics/music/music-therapy.html  

Vonasek, J. (2024, February 8). UND to resume music therapy program. Press Releases. https://blogs.und.edu/press-releases/2024/02/und-to-resume-music-therapy-program/ 

Nora Lee is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].