The 60-credit “master's equivalency” program at Nazareth University will prepare you to apply for board certification in Music Therapy (MT-BC) and licensure as a Creative Arts Therapist (LCAT) with the state of New York.

The national exam administered by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) is open to those who have completed an educational program approved by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) which includes 1,200 hours of clinical training alongside academic coursework. Once you have passed this exam, the results can be submitted to NY State as part of your application for licensure as an LCAT. Visit the New York State Education Department for more information on licensure.

The M.S. in Creative Arts Therapy at Nazareth University is designed to meet the criteria for "licensure qualifying" degrees set in the New York State Mental Health Practitioners regulations. In New York, a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist (LCAT) is a mental health professional in a category that includes Marriage & Family Therapists, Mental Health Counselors, and Psychoanalysts. Therefore, LCATs (which includes both Art and Music Therapists) must receive education and training in psychotherapy/counseling, as well as in their primary disciplines. The master's degree comprises 48 credits to include both these areas.

The 60-credit, "master's equivalency" students are not Board-Certified Music Therapists (MT-BCs) before entering the program, so they must take at least 12 credits of coursework and clinical training before beginning the master's-level education.

In order to become a Board-Certified Music Therapist, you must have a set of "professional competencies" that includes knowledge of music theory, music history, orchestration & arranging, and proficiency in a primary instrument, including lessons and ensemble work.

If you have a degree in Psychology, but have minored in or otherwise concentrated on music, you may have the necessary coursework on your transcript. If not, you can take undergraduate music classes here at Nazareth.

If you are not sure if you have the necessary undergraduate education, the Music Therapy faculty can evaluate your transcript, but first you should go to the American Music Therapy Association, and learn about the professional competency requirements.

Full-time graduate students take 9-12 credit hours per semester (at 3 credits per class). Part-time students take 3-6 credits. The time it takes you to complete the program will depend on whether or not you are working while attending school, what type of internship experience you want, and your ability to manage the higher level of assignments and workload in graduate school.

To become a Board-Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC), you must complete at least 180 hours in "pre-internship" clinical training and then an internship of approximately 1,020 hours.

Pre-internship hours occur in single sessions that you lead with the assistance of an MT-BC, either in our on-campus clinic or at sites around the Rochester area. You start off observing only, then assisting, then leading single interventions – until you are ready to conduct entire sessions. Most of the clinical placements for your pre-internship hours will occur during the day, so if you are working full-time while you go to school (classes are in the late afternoons and evenings), it may take you a while to complete these hours. NOTE: Your pre-internship hours are a pre-requisite for your internship and also for the advanced music therapy classes.

The internship is usually a full-time position (in certain cases part-time is possible) that lasts about 6 months (1,020 hours). It takes place at a school, hospital, or other facility that has an MT-BC. There are local internships that are supervised jointly by Nazareth and the MT-BC at the facility, and there are AMTA internships across the country that are run by MT-BC internship directors. If you do a local internship, you may be able to continue taking classes; if you do an internship out of town, you can complete all your classes first, or go to the internship and return to campus to finish your coursework.

This final research project can be completed in various ways, but will always require the rigor of a full research study. Your work may be quantitative or qualitative, be in the form of a classic experiment or more of a professional project – or you may be able to work with one of the faculty on one of their long-term research projects, fulfilling your requirements by participating in a part of the process.