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Canada Music Schools & Colleges

Trying to find the best music schools in Canada? Take a look at some great schools worth your consideration.

Acadia University School of Music
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
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The School of Music is located in Harvey Denton Hall on the campus of Acadia University in the beautiful town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Our facilities include digitally enhanced classrooms equipped with laptop network drops, a digital recording studio, a midi lab, and an electronic keyboard lab. We offer many opportunities to perform in large and small ensembles including a touring Wind Ensemble, annual opera and music theatre productions, as well as a new music festival.

Alberta College Conservatory of Music | Grant MacEwan University
Edmonton, AB
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Grant MacEwan University offers diplomas, certificates, applied degrees, and four-year bachelor’s degrees in arts, science, nursing, child and youth care, and commerce. Since 2011, a bachelor of music in jazz and contemporary popular music is offered at the conservatory.

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Banff, AB
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Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential.

Bishop’s University
Sherbrooke, QC
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Bishop’s University is a small liberal arts university in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Students can choose from either traditional classical studies or a new popular music program that investigates the literature, theory and creative aspects of jazz, pop, and theatre music.

Brock University
St. Catharines, ON
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Brock University, generally referred to simply as Brock, is a comprehensive university located in St. Catharines, Ontario. Brock offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs and has a large music department with a range of musical studies.

Cape Breton University
Sydney, NS
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Cape Breton University’s Bachelor of Arts Community Studies (BACS) Music Major focuses on traditional and tradition-based popular music, with particular emphasis on local music traditions like Celtic, Acadian and First Nations. The program is designed for students who have a passion for a broad range of music and want to work with music.

Cape Breton is one of the most celebrated cultural regions in the country and it is especially known for its musical traditions. We offer courses that introduce students to a variety of musics, from local traditions to music from around the world, and from popular music to classical music. Students learn to analyze the music that they love in order to see how it works. Together, we delve into current issues that affect not just local musics but our broader community, including protest music, cultural tourism, and music revivals. Students have the opportunity to take performance courses taught by some of Cape Breton’s best known traditional musicians. Optional overseas exchanges increase the opportunities to learn about and make music from around the world. And work placements and co-op options ensure that students can explore music-related careers and build their resumés before they even graduate.

Capilano University
North Vancouver, BC
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Recognized nationwide as one of Canada’s top jazz training institutions, Capilano University’s Jazz Studies Program seeks to foster students’ comprehensive abilities in jazz performance and composition within the context of an enriched liberal arts education. Our goal is to develop musicians who understand and value the rich history and traditions of jazz, who will be prepared to contribute to the evolution and growth of the art form in the future, and who will be equipped to engage creatively with current trends in music.

Carleton University
Ottawa, ON
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Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in Canada’s capital of Ottawa, Ontario. The music programs at Carleton provide a solid grounding in the practice, analysis and history of European classical music from the middle ages to the present. In addition, they focus on more recently developed areas such as Canadian music, American music, computer music, composition, ethnomusicology, jazz, popular music, the sociology of music, and gender studies.

Concordia University
Montreal, QC
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Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec. It is one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction. Concordia’s music department offers graduate and undergraduate programs in a range of musical studies.

Dalhousie University
Halifax, NS
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Dalhousie University is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dalhousie offers a bachelor’s in music with a variety of supplemental music courses to take along with your major.

Douglas College
New Westminster, BC
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Study music in the way that’s best for you. From the fundamentals of music to professional training, Douglas College gives you the opportunity to explore your passion for music.

The most employable people in the music business are those who have a wide range of skills and experience. Douglas College offers you comprehensive general training that leads to jobs in the music industry. Whether you are interested in a full-time music program, learning basic musicianship, part-time studies through our Community Music School, or becoming a skilled audio engineer in our Music Technology program, Douglas College can provide the music training you need to achieve your goals.

Durham College
Oshawa, ON
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The Music Business Administration/Music Business Management program at Durham is unique, offering business-focused courses designed specifically for students interested in a career in music, as frontline musicians and/or songwriters, or as essential, behind-the-scenes executives getting music to the masses.

Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA)
Toronto, ON
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Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA) is a specialized, public arts-academic high school located in Toronto, Canada. Founded on September 8, 1981, Etobicoke School of the Arts has the distinction of being the oldest, free standing arts-focused high school in Canada.

Students major in dance, drama, film, music (band or strings), music theatre or visual arts. Students work with our committed staff in an exciting and dynamic curriculum tailored to each art. Students must balance a rigorous academic workload with numerous extracurricular performances. The learning environment is vibrant, engaging, welcoming and extremely busy.

Harris Institute
Toronto, ON
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Harris Institute is an internationally recognized leader in music industry education. The college is the only school outside the US in Billboard Magazine’s ‘Top 11 Schools’ and it ranked “Best in Canada” with A+ in the 2014 and 2013 ‘Media Arts Education Report Card’. The one-year ‘Audio Production Program’ and ‘Arts Management Program’ are taught by award-winning active industry leaders.

Holland College
Charlottetown, PEI
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Holland College is a proud Berklee Global Partner.

Students come from all over the world to take the Music Performance program. You’ll learn how to interpret, improvise, and perform many contemporary music styles such as country, Celtic, rock, R&B, jazz, world music, and pop. In addition to theory and arranging, you’ll learn the ins and outs of the music business and the lucrative field of music licensing. The Music Performance program uses official curriculum materials from Berklee College of Music in Boston for all core music courses.

Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Toronto, ON
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Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a polytechnic college in Toronto, Ontario. Humber offers more than 150 programs–including bachelor degree, diploma, certificate, post-graduate certificate and apprenticeship programs–across 40 fields of study.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Surrey, BC
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A curriculum that supports an entrepreneurial spirit in the cultural marketplace is an important focus of the KPU music degree. The program opens multiple pathways to career options including performance, studio pedagogy, music education, music health, recording, interdisciplinary arts, and arts management.

Graduates of the Bachelor of Music (in Musical Arts) degree will be able to access post-baccalaureate studies in music education or in graduate music programs emphasizing performance, studio pedagogy, music composition, arranging, theory, the record industry, or musicology at universities across North America.

Laval University
Quebec City, QC
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Laval University (in French: Université Laval) is the oldest center of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French. Laval University offers music degrees as high as the doctorate level.

Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts
Halifax, NS
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The Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts (MCPA) is a Canadian performing arts school in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It offers courses in higher education in music, dance, and theatre. In its initial years, the school awarded degrees through Dalhousie University but became its own independent institution in 1962.

McGill University
Montreal, QC
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McGill University is a research university located in Montreal, Quebec. With twenty-one faculties and professional schools, McGill offers degrees and diplomas in over three-hundred fields of study, including medicine, law, and music.

Metalworks Institute
Toronto, ON
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The Metalworks Institute campus is the educational creation and natural extension of renowned Metalworks Studios, home to some of the world’s most successful artists and producers. Their diploma programs are designed for those who wish to understand the complexities of the entertainment industry and build a successful career on a solid base of knowledge. They provide an opportunity for students to explore their art through the understanding of its science.

Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s, NL
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Memorial University of Newfoundland (colloquially known as Memorial University or “MUN”), is a comprehensive university located primarily in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With historical strengths in engineering, business, geology, and medicine, it is one of the top comprehensive universities in Canada. The university also offers degrees in drama and music.

Mohawk College
Hamilton, ON
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Recognized internationally as one of Canada’s top performance programs, Mohawk College is located in Hamilton, Ontario, and offers a unique 3-year Advanced Diploma in Applied Music. Students actively develop their skills with numerous performance opportunities in Hamilton’s thriving music scene, and supplement their learning with classical, jazz and contemporary theory, business and marketing knowledge, composition and film-scoring, song writing and music production.

The college is one of only two in the country that is part of Berklee College’s International Network, giving Mohawk students advanced standing at the world-renowned Berklee College in Boston.

Mount Allison University
Sackville, NB
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Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MTA) is a primarily undergraduate Canadian liberal arts and science university in Sackville, New Brunswick. Mount Allison offers bachelor’s degrees in arts, fine arts, and music.

Nimbus School of Recording & Media
Vancouver, BC
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Located in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada, Nimbus School of Recording & Media is the elite music and media technical school offering courses taught by current professionals, award nominees and winners in the music and media industry. Nimbus offers unique hands-on, mentorship-based programs with small class sizes to get you working on real projects in relevant industry settings. Students receive exclusive access to world-class, 24/7 accessible studios. Nimbus programs include Artist Development, Content Creation for Music & Media, Electronic Music Production, Audio Engineering, Live Sound Mixing & Recording, Music Production, Music Business, Post Film & Game Audio, and Videography.

Nimbus School of Recording & Media exists to change lives through music. We are passionate about music, mentorship, and community. We value excellence and character and are committed to creating a sense of belonging regardless of race, religion, gender or orientation for our students, alumni, staff and larger community.

OIART – Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology
London, ON
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OIART offers a revolutionary and truly unique program with over 38 years of development and experience. A highly efficient single program which simultaneously prepares graduates to work in any audio discipline – from music production to live sound and event production to audio for visual media. No confusing options, no career limiting decisions about which program to take, and no irrelevant “filler” courses to pad it out. A program which is highly responsive to changes within the audio industry, teaching the skills in demand for the careers of tomorrow, not the old out-dated music industry model. OIART is the only school with a single program with one start date, accepting a maximum of 64 students per year. OIART offers true small class sizes with unprecedented access to faculty and facilities, more individual attention, more hands-on time, more career support and less competition for jobs. That’s why our program completion and job placement rates are higher than all the other schools.

Queen’s School of Music | Queen’s University
Ontario, CA
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Queen’s University, generally referred to simply as Queen’s, is a coeducational, non-sectarian, research intensive public university located in Kingston, Ontario. Students at the School of Music can enroll in the bachelor of music (B. Mus) program, bachelor of arts (music) program, or the concurrent education (music) program.

The Royal Conservatory
Toronto, ON
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The Royal Conservatory
Toronto, ON
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The Royal Conservatory of Music, also known as The Royal Conservatory or RCM, provides music and arts education, evaluative standards, and publishing and performance to people of all ages and stages across Canada and around the world.

School of Music | University of Victoria
Victoria, BC
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The University of Victoria (UVic) is the second oldest degree-granting university in British Columbia. The faculty includes performers of international reputation, along with composers, musicologists, theorists and educators who are actively engaged in the scholarly and creative aspects of learning.

Selkirk College
South-Central British Columbia
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Selkirk College is a regional community college that inspires, engages and enables learners to be valuable contributors to their communities and to society as a whole. Recognizing the value of mutually beneficial relationships, they provide collaborative leadership in the communities they serve.

Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC
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Simon Fraser University, commonly referred to as SFU, is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. SFU’s music department offers degrees in music in a variety of areas of study.

St. Francis Xavier University
Antigonish, NS
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St. Francis Xavier University is a primarily undergraduate university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. St. Francis Xavier offers a bachelor’s degree in music, as well as three additional bachelor of arts degrees–honors, major, and advanced major–for students with a strong interest in music.

University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB
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The University of Alberta (U of A) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta. Students enrolled at the Augustana Campus may pursue four-year bachelor’s degrees in arts, sciences, or music.

University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
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The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Canadian public research university with campuses in the Greater Vancouver area and in Kelowna, British Columbia. UBC offers music diplomas, degrees, and a PhD in music. The music programs are vast and meet a wide spectrum of courses that match students’ musical interest levels.

University of Calgary
Calgary, AB
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The University of Calgary (sometimes abbreviated “The U of C”) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta. Their music department offers bachelor’s degrees as well as MMus in composition, MMus in performance, an MA in musicology, and doctorates in both musicology and composition.

University of Guelph
Guelph, ON
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The University of Guelph (U of G) is a medium-sized university located in Guelph, Ontario. Guelph University currently offers three degrees in music studies for its enrolled students.

University of Lethbridge
Lethbridge, AB
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The University of Lethbridge (also known as the U of L) is a public university in the liberal arts tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. Lethbridge has multiple degree options for music focused students with a brand new bachelor of music in digital audio arts.

University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB
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The University of Manitoba in Winnipeg is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. Its school of music offers mainly education and training in classical music but has programs for jazz studies and composition as well.

University of Moncton
Moncton, NB
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The Université de Moncton (U de M, or in English, University of Moncton) is a French language university located in Moncton, New Brunswick serving the Acadian community of Atlantic Canada. Moncton offers multiple music degree programs to choose from including a five-year music education program.

University of Montreal
Montreal, QC
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Université de Montréal (U de M) is a public French-speaking research university in Montreal, Quebec. It offers more than 650 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 71 doctoral programs.

University of Montreal at Quebec
Montreal, QC
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The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec. UQAM offers a bachelor of music degree for its enrolled students (these students must be fluent in French and also able to read English).

University of New Brunswick
St. John, NB
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The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English-language university in Canada and the first public university in North America. The UNB Centre for Musical Arts offers a variety of credit and non-credit offerings to the students at UNB. Music courses include the traditional topics such as music theory and music history, as well as more specialized ones such as computers in music, music and film (get your film and television contacts list) and jazz theory.

University of Ottawa
Ottawa,ON
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The University of Ottawa (in French, Université d’Ottawa) is a bilingual, research-intensive, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. The school of music at the University of Ottawa is one of the country’s leading music schools and offers a large variety of degree programs for students.

University of Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown, PE
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The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public liberal arts university in Charlottetown, and the sole university in the Province of Prince Edward Island. UPEI offers three undergraduate music degree programs: bachelor of music, bachelor of music education, and bachelor of arts.

University of Regina
Regina, SK
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The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan. The music department offers degrees in music history, music theory, music performance, music comprehension, music composition, and music education.

University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, SK
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The University of Saskatchewan is the largest education institution in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan. The University of Saskatchewan offers a master of music as well as a bachelors of music and music education.

University of Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, QC
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The Université de Sherbrooke is a large university with campuses located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately 130 kilometers west of Sherbrooke. It is one of two universities, and the only French language university, in the Estrie region of Quebec. Sherbrooke University offers music degree programs.

University of Toronto
Toronto, ON
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The Faculty of Music offers music degree programs in history, opera, jazz, performance, theory, education, and composition. It is located in Mississauga, just south of Toronto.

University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON
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The University of Waterloo is one of Canada’s leading comprehensive universities, with strong teaching and research programs in six faculties: applied health sciences, arts, engineering, environment, mathematics, and science.

University of Western Ontario
London, ON
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The University of Western Ontario (known as Western or UWO) is a public research university located in London, Ontario. UWO offers undergraduate and graduate programs for music students to take advantage of.

Vancouver Community College
Vancouver, BC
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VCC Music offers a two-year diploma and a subsequent two-year Bachelor of Applied Music Degree. Both credentials emphasize the development of skills and experience toward becoming a successful professional in music. VCC is highly regarded for its academic and skills curricula, as well as its emphasis on music and media, career opportunities and performance techniques courses.

In addition to classical and jazz studies, VCC welcomes instrumentalists and vocalists in rock and popular music, as well as music traditions from other cultures. This diversity is exemplified by our range of ensembles: Willan Choir, VCC Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, Jazz Orchestra, Latin Jazz Ensemble, Pre-Bop Jazz Ensemble, Classic Jazz Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Electric Jazz (Fusion and Funk) Ensemble, Gamelan Ensemble, New Music Ensemble and others.

Vancouver Island University
Nanaimo, BC
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Vancouver Island University offers a variety of certificate, diploma, and degree programs. Their programs provide training in academic, vocational, and technical fields and range from basic literacy to university degrees. Each degree, diploma, or certificate has set criteria that must be completed to an acceptable standard.

Victoria Conservatory of Music
Victoria, BC
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This conservatory is a resource for people of all ages, children to adult. Programs include jazz studies, classical instrumentals, keyboard, voice, and collegian programs. The conservatory also has a children’s music department.

Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo, ON
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Wilfrid Laurier University is a located in Waterloo, Ontario. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs for music students. Some degrees offered include music comprehensive, music theory, music education, performance, composition, and undergraduate and graduate programs for music therapy.

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