From getting to know another culture, building communication skills, seeing how the music industry operates in other parts of the world, to expanding cultural horizons and networking to compete in the future global market, the chance to study abroad is a remarkable opportunity for any college student.

Semester Exchanges:

Students may study abroad for a semester at the schools listed below. There is no change to tuition cost, and credits are applied no differently than at McNally Smith. The only extra expense for the semester is travel costs.

The following schools are great opportunities for Music Performance and Composition students:

Musikhochschule Lübeck
Lübeck, Germany

This music conservatory is located in the beautiful, medieval city of Lübeck, in northern Germany. A short train ride from metropolitan Hamburg, the school is world-renowned, and has a warm and enthusiastic climate for learning, with small class sizes and excellent staff. The Musikhochschule offers degrees in music performance and music education. Students can take courses that include applied music, music theory, ensembles, theater courses, language, and some liberal arts offerings.

Institute for Music and Media – Robert Schumann School of Music and Media
Düsseldorf, Germany

The Institute for Music and Media is a branch of the Robert Schumann School of Music and Media, located in Düsseldorf. On the western edge of Germany, Düsseldorf is a very modern city, know for its contemporary music, fine arts and fashion.

This school is recommended for Technology and Production students. Students may work on projects for popular and classical music, recording, and multi-media projects. Students arrange, perform, and record pieces for their projects. Applied music and ensemble courses are offered as well as some music business courses.

The courses at Musikhochschule Lübeck and the Institute for Music and Media are taught in German. It is very helpful to know some German when beginning studies there. However, other students have studied at these schools with little or no prior skills in German and done well, learning German while they are studying. Students can also take quick-study courses in German in either of these cities before the semester begins.

ArtEZ Institute of the Arts – Arnhem Conservatory of Music
Arnhem, Netherlands

The Arnhem Conservatory of Music is an excellent school located in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near Germany. This school has an excellent staff, teaching all levels of popular music, including contemporary jazz, pop and music theater.

This is an outstanding opportunity for our performance and composition majors. Courses in applied music, music theory, ensembles, music theater, classical music, liberal arts, and Dutch language courses are available. Just one hour from Amsterdam and thirty minutes from Cologne, Arnhem is a very comfortable city and centrally located in Europe, making travel easy all throughout Europe.

Paros International Creative Music Program
Paros, Greece

The Paros International Creative Music Program is designed to provide music study in Greece for composition students and students interested in creative, contemporary music. Courses in improvisation, creative music making, private lessons and musicology are offered here at this very beautiful island. Accommodations are provided. Students are able to stay for a semester and take up to 12 credits. This institute offers a semester of intense work on building improvisational and creative skills for composition and performance of contemporary music.

The following school is a great opportunity for Music Business students:

Tampere University of Applied Sciences
Tampere, Finland

Tampere University of Applied Sciences is located in Tampere, Finland, one of the country’s largest cities, northeast of the capital of Helsinki. Courses are also offered in smaller outlying cities near Tampere depending on the area of study.

This university offers programs for production, recording, and music business students. Some performances courses are also available, with an emphasis on classical music and theater. Finland is known for its advanced computer skill, and students work on high-level audio-visual projects.

These institutes offer study abroad experiences for any major, and in many countries:

McNally Smith students studying and performing abroad in Ireland

K.E.I. (Knowledge Exchange Institute)

This institute, based in New York, offers studies abroad to individual students. KEI has programs in many countries, from Ireland to Kenya, specializing in many areas. Visit the website for the full listing of countries and studies.

Augsburg College – Cooperative International Studies

McNally Smith has a cooperation agreement with Augsburg College, a school with a large Studies Abroad department. McNally Smith students are able to enroll in courses offered through their Center for Global Education. Courses are seminars of one or two weeks, with classes prior to the travel to prepare for the trip. Destinations include Mexico, Central America, or southern Africa. These trips often occur during winter break or in the summer.