Finding jobs post-graduation can be challenging, but if you are a music education major here at Keene State, it may be easy.
According to a statement on the music department’s website, “The BM in music education program has had a 100% placement rate over the last 8 years.”
“So our music education graduates are either placed in school jobs or in graduate school. So we count graduate school acceptances as a placement because that’s their next step,” said Head of Music Education Department Dr. Sandra Howard. “And so our program is small enough that we are able to stay in contact with our graduates to confirm placement.”
To become a music education major, applicants have to get into Keene State College, then complete an audition process on a primary instrument or voice to gain acceptance into the program, said Head of Department Sandra Howard.
The experiences gained through the coursework is beneficial when it comes to the job hunt post graduation.
“Undergraduates can step into leadership roles like a section leader or an assistant conductor, where normally those experiences in bigger institutions are kind of reserved for masters and doctoral students,” Howard said. “So here since we don’t have those upper levels, it means that our undergrads get a lot of accelerated leadership experience, which can then translate into their teaching.”
Class of 2021 graduate Madison Shimko said the coursework needed to graduate from the music education program was challenging.
“I took a variety of music related courses… I also participated in ensembles like concert band, orchestra, flute choir, and woodwind quintet,” said Shimko. “Additionally, I was required to participate in two student teaching placements, where I practiced teaching with real students in local schools.”
Alumni of the music education program said the claim that the department has a 100% placement rate was accurate because of what the program at Keene has to offer.
“I began my job search in March of 2021, roughly two months before my graduation, and found a job by the end of June/early July,” said Shimko.
Alumni were able to get jobs in a variety of schools using the skills and knowledge that they gained from their education at Keene State College.
“The classes like adaptive music, the choral and instrumental methods and the classes like that are specific to a certain type of class that we might be teaching but have been so helpful,” said 2022 alum Hattie Skvorak.” … I think just the range of courses that they provide for the Keene State Music Education Program really prepares me to jump into any scenario.”
Skvorak said that to teach music education you have to, “Keep an open mind and not just listen to but take the advice of veteran teachers that have been there and done that before.
The coursework is not the only thing that helped these past students get their jobs, the experiences they gained within the college community helped.
“So I was a collegiate member of New Hampshire ACDA, which is the American Choral Directors Association, and then also NHMEA, which is our New Hampshire Music Educators Association. Attending conferences with both those groups was super helpful, because it was exposing me to knowledge from other people in the field and not just the people I was consistently surrounded by,” said Emma Forest, class of 2018 Keene State Graduate.
Forest’s advice for students pursuing music education was to, “Get involved; You never know who you’re gonna step into an interview with. Conferences and music festivals are an important part of our job, and that professional development is imperative to us getting better because if we’re not getting better as musicians, and as educators, we’re not putting a good example out to our students.”
Amanda Rotigliano can be contacted at
