Date
6-26-2025
Department
School of Music
Degree
Doctor of Music Education (DME)
Chair
Thomas Paul Goddard
Keywords
music recruitment, collegiate music programs, performing arts recruitment, music education, student recruitment strategies, athletic recruitment models, name image likeness (NIL), interdisciplinary education, arts and athletics, equity in education, institutional theory, music student retention, talent identification, arts leadership, music career pathways, higher education recruitment, national association of schools of music (NASM), music program marketing, student development, educational reform in the arts
Disciplines
Higher Education | Music
Recommended Citation
Giddens, Larry Jay Jr., "Collegiate Music Recruiting: Using Athletic Recruiting Best Practices to Transform the Industry" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7156.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7156
Abstract
The recruitment of new students is vital to every music program and can have a tremendous impact on its success. As technology evolves and the needs of the world change, so do the methods of student recruitment and retention in music departments, music schools, and colleges of music. This study covers the perspectives of collegiate music unit recruiters and compares current and potential strategies. Using a mixed methods approach, this research employs surveys to identify current music unit recruiting trends and challenges. Online recruiting, scholarship availability and facilities/staff emerge as themes within the small body of existing literature and personal experience in higher education. The author surveyed higher education music recruiters to explore existing practices and challenges in music unit recruiting. To compare collegiate music unit recruiting with its athletic counterpart, the author reviewed scholarly literature and developed a music recruitment strategy for colleges and universities based on the best practices and new ideas. This work is needed to clarify future recruiting practices for the almost 1,800 music degree-granting higher education institutions in the United States while stabilizing the music recruiting process. The performing arts community is a fusion of social and economic diversity, and the path to a career in the music industry is just as varied. This project serves as an example of the intersection of college recruiting methodologies and creative solutions. Further, this study encourages expanded research into performing arts business models and national regulations.
