Music Therapy (BMT)

Music Therapy uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, or social challenges. You’ll see first-hand the impact music can have on developing clients’ potential and enhancing their health, wellness, and quality of life.

In Laurier's Bachelor of Music Therapy program, you'll participate in supervised group and individual placements with diverse clients, including those with developmental and physical disabilities, mental health issues, and geriatric care.

Laurier has the only undergraduate degree in music therapy in Ontario.

Apply Your Learning

Make the most out of your university career by taking advantage of all that Laurier has to offer you. Volunteer work, campus clubs, leadership programs, studying abroad, work experience – there are so many ways you can extend your classroom experience into the real world.

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 Guide.

 

2020 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 2019/20

*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 program or Bachelor of Music in Community Music program. You must be registered in one of these two programs to qualify for admission to the Bachelor of Music Therapy program.

To qualify for this program, you must complete 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

You will need to have a high standing in your Music and Psychology courses and strong interpersonal skills.

Admission requirements also include an interview with the music therapy coordinator and an audition.

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 Music or Community Music program, 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

Similar Programs

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

"The professors are caring and supportive as well by taking important things like mental health and stress into consideration in their courses. This support and community is what has helped me become the musician I am today."

Hanisha Kulothparan, Music 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 519.884.0710 x2492 or see all Music faculty and staff.