Graduate and Alumni Surveys

Introduction

What happens to students once they leave Berklee? What careers do alumni pursue? How do alumni reflect back on their Berklee experience? These questions, among others, are asked of recent Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and Berklee Online graduates and alumni on three surveys:

1. 2019 Graduating Student Exit Survey—Survey of students walking at 2019 commencement ceremonies (1,439 responses)
2. 2019 First Destination Survey—Follow-up survey of undergraduates who graduated in 2017 (166 responses)
3. 2018–2019 Alumni Survey—Survey of all Berklee alumni (4,638 responses)

Key Findings

1. Berklee alumni who are primarily working in performing arts or entertainment report higher levels of career satisfaction than those working in positions not related to performing arts or entertainment. Additionally, alumni working in performing arts or entertainment report higher career satisfaction than those not working in performing arts or entertainment, regardless of their income range. In fact, alumni who report making between $40,001 and $60,000 working in performing arts or entertainment have higher rates of career satisfaction than alumni making over $100,000 outside of performing arts or entertainment. With this in mind, it is important for Berklee to continue to create opportunities for alumni to work in the performing arts or entertainment industry. In recent years, Berklee has seen a sharp increase in the percentage of graduating students who are moving on to their next stage working in a performing arts– or entertainment-related industry.
2. Graduates’ satisfaction with and likelihood to recommend Berklee have slightly increased from 2018 to 2019 after a several year decline. Alumni report higher satisfaction with their program of study and professors, and lower satisfaction with career and entrepreneurial preparation. Alumni suggest the creation of more business, marketing, personal finance, and brand-building courses to help students, particularly since many (55 percent) become self-employed/freelancers.
3. Like global and national trends, Berklee alumni experience gender and race/ethnicity wage gaps. On average, women report lower incomes than men, and non-white alumni report lower incomes than white alumni. Income disparities are larger among older alumni. It is important that Berklee continues its advocacy for creating equitable career opportunities in the performing arts and entertainment industries for all.

Additional Findings

Other highlighted findings of the surveys include plans of recent alumni, satisfaction with various aspects of their Berklee experience, and reasons why some students do not complete their program(s). To learn more about the experience of recent graduates and alumni with detailed results from the College, Conservatory, and Berklee Online, please see the full reports linked below.

Methodology

Data from this infographic is based on over 6,000 responses to the Undergraduate Exit Survey, Graduate Exit Survey, First Destination Survey, and Alumni Survey. These surveys are designed in partnership between the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, Alumni Affairs, the Registrar, Institutional Advancement, and the Career Center. Information collected includes recent graduate and alumni contact information, career plans, additional education, each student's experience at the College and Conservatory, and their level of engagement as part of the alumni community. These responses provide Berklee with valuable information that can be used to refine programs to better meet the needs of students and alumni, as well as up-to-date contact information. Full reports, including results by learning environment and trends over time, are available through the links on this page. For questions or more information, please contact the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment.