Dual Degree with Eastman (DDE)

You must complete separate applications to the College and to the Eastman School of Music. You must also indicate your interest in DDE through the Common Application or the Coalition for College Application to be considered a Dual Degree applicant. Both applications have a question about desired Combined Degree or Dual Degree program interest. Depending on your intended area of interest at Eastman, a pre-screening audition at Eastman may be required. Your application is due by our Regular Decision deadline of January 5.

Decision notification and timeline

• Your admission decisions for the River Campus and the Eastman School of Music will come from the College, Eastman, or a combination, depending on the decision. Keep an eye on your inbox for both senders.
• You can securely log in to your Eastman account and view your Dual Degree Eastman decision in the spring.
• Accepting the ED offer from the College cannot be contingent upon your admission to the Eastman School of Music.
• If you are not admitted into DDE, you will be notified in January and may have the option to have your application reviewed for general admission to the College. If this occurs, your application will follow the Regular Decision timeline and you’ll be notified by April 1.

Regarding early decision: The College offers a binding early decision (ED) option, but the Eastman School of Music does not. Therefore, DDE applicants are encouraged to apply ED only if they definitely plan to attend the College regardless of whether they are admitted to Eastman.

Questions about DDE?

Reach out to Brett Kam (she/her), Program Manager for the Dual Degree Eastman program on the River Campus: brett.kam@rochester.edu

The DDE program is not recommended if you’re primarily interested in gaining admission to the College to study arts, sciences, or engineering. This is because the College offers its own bachelor of arts in music, comprising tenured faculty from both the College and the Eastman School.

All students at the College have the opportunity to audition for lessons at Eastman free of charge regardless of their intended major and despite not being enrolled in a degree program at Eastman. These lessons are typically given by Teaching Assistants at Eastman who are accomplished musicians in their own right. Additionally, matriculated students at Eastman have the opportunity to take some courses through the College to support their degree at Eastman. Finally, because each school has its own Office of Admissions and its own review process, it is not uncommon for a DDE applicant to be a strong candidate for one school and not the other.

For these reasons, we encourage students who are considering the Dual Degree with Eastman to thoroughly research the myriad of options available at Rochester. Since these campuses are less than 10 minutes apart, we recommend scheduling connected visits with both campuses, and then interviewing and connecting with any of the departments that interest you.