Undergraduate Music Therapy Students’ Perspectives on Curricular Self-Experiences

Experiential learning is a key component of the education and training of music therapists in the United States. Currently, there is limited peer-reviewed, English-language literature that explores undergraduate student perspectives of curricular self-experiences. The purpose of this study is to help fill this gap and better understand undergraduate music therapy students’ experiences of participating in curricular self-experiences in order to inform best practices for implementation. Three recent graduates of a music therapy program engaged in semi-structured, individual interviews. Interview transcripts were analyzed using the process of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Group superordinate themes emerged from the research question and subquestions about benefits and drawbacks of curricular self-experiences and what facilitated or impeded students’ participation. Participants identified empathy and skill development as benefits and that peer relationships and clear expectations facilitated participation. They also identified vulnerability and boundaries as drawbacks, and that professor/student relationships and cohort interactions impeded participation. Findings from this study highlight shared experiences among students and provide concrete examples of what educators should consider when designing curricular self-experiences.