DSB and VPA join forces to offer new 4+1 program

With the Allen County Together economic development goal of making Fort Wayne a Top 10 music city by 2031, it makes sense for Purdue University Fort Wayne to provide some of the foundation needed to achieve that objective. 

The Doermer School of Business and the College of Visual and Performing Arts are combining to provide a 4+1 Bachelor of Science in Music and Master of Business Administration double degree starting this fall. Students can earn a music degree in four years and an MBA after their fifth while learning skills such as management, marketing, accounting, and finance, along with business law, communication, and representation.

“They really get this fantastic exposure to two different worlds,” said Director of MBA Program Chadi Braish. “We think this is just one of many new partnerships across campus that is just going to be phenomenal.”

The music degree and MBA combines easily with the existing music industry degree, and Braish hopes 5-to-10 students apply for the program this year. There are approximately 90 current PFW students working for an MBA across five programs — general, finance, business analytics, human resources management, and engineering management. 

“The cool thing is we’re not adding actual classes or programs, but we’re designing a new path with what we already have,” said Director of Professional Development and Outreach Meg Underwood. “It’s an intradisciplinary collaboration that is meeting a market trend.”

The idea came from the College of Visual and Performing Arts last fall. 

“There are incoming students and several current students in the music industry program that are already considering this new 4+1 MBA,” said Director of Popular Music, Music Industry and Music Technology Programs John Buteyn. “It will make them more hirable and makes them more desirable for upper-level positions and promotions.”

Buteyn credited former faculty member and music school director David Steffens and Jason Lundgren, clinical assistant professor of music, with helping the idea advance.

“If you want to run a recording label, represent an artist, or have an executive position in music sales or nonprofits, you’ll need to understand the music side,” said Underwood.  “But you also need to understand the business essentials of law, communications, and management to run the organization.”