Peabody is the largest—and one of the few—conservatories in the U.S. to make the commitment to meeting full financial need
The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University has announced it will meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for all domestic undergraduate students and eliminate loans from financial aid packages beginning in the fall 2024 semester. Current domestic undergraduate students with unmet financial need have also received a grant in spring 2024.
“We are incredibly excited to announce this debt reduction initiative for the next generation of performing artists,” Peabody Institute Dean Fred Bronstein said. “Our investment in undergraduate financial aid will expand access to a world-class education in classical music, dance, jazz, the recording arts, and other innovative programs to exceptionally talented students from a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds, regardless of their financial circumstances. Countless aspiring young performing artists will realize a new opportunity to pursue their dreams, unencumbered by student loan debt, and make an impact as citizen artists and leaders in the world.”
The conservatory will continue its longstanding practice of need-blind admissions, meaning a family’s financial circumstances will not factor into an admissions decision. Additionally, Peabody will continue to provide a competitive merit scholarship program for which all students, including international and graduate students, are automatically considered during the admissions process.
The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University will:
- Meet 100% of demonstrated financial need without loans, effective fall semester 2024. Currently, 51% of Peabody students graduate with some form of loan debt. This will allow the conservatory to offer domestic undergraduate students (U.S. citizens, permanent residents of the U.S., and undocumented and DACA students) financial aid packages without loans, including scholarships that do not need to be paid back and part-time work-study opportunities, up to the full cost of attendance based on need.
- Provide additional financial aid for current students in spring 2024. Current domestic undergraduate students with unmet financial need have received a grant in spring 2024, and beginning in fall 2024 will have their full demonstrated need met and federal student loans eliminated as part of their financial aid packages for the duration of their study. More than 100 current Peabody undergraduates will benefit immediately.
“Removing barriers to education for the best young minds and brightest young talent continues to be a driving priority for Johns Hopkins University, and we have made exceptional progress,” said Ron Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University. “We remain deeply committed to the promise of equal opportunity, and we are thrilled to be creating new pathways for extraordinary student artists with this program tailored to the Peabody Conservatory’s unique needs. At Johns Hopkins and throughout our society, we all benefit from a more vibrant future for the performing arts.”
The ability to meet 100% of students’ financial need is unusual among conservatories. Traditionally, financial aid for conservatory education in the United States is primarily available through competitive merit scholarships, without the family income-based assistance more typical in university and college financial aid programs. This status quo puts conservatory education out of reach for many talented young performers, and the burden of student loans is a significant deterrent to establishing a career after graduation, particularly in a shifting arts landscape where freelancing and entrepreneurship are increasingly the norm.
According to the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, arts bachelor’s graduates with more than $10,000 in student loans are up to 20% less likely to enter and remain in arts careers than those with little to no debt. This trend reinforces socioeconomic disparities in advanced arts education and impedes the flourishing of a robust performing arts field that reflects and nurtures talent from every background.
With this announcement, Peabody is the largest conservatory in the U.S. to make the commitment to meeting full financial need. With a total of 815 students, fall 2023 marked the highest enrollment in Peabody’s history—a 43% increase since the 2015 implementation of Peabody’s Breakthrough Plan, which launched a reimagining of the conservatory experience within the classical tradition and beyond, alongside new academic programs, fellowships, and initiatives to expand access and impact across the performing arts. At the same time, Peabody has more than doubled the number of students from underrepresented communities since 2015. Its innovative Breakthrough Curriculum, introduced in 2017, empowers students to engage with a diverse range of styles, techniques, and artistic traditions across disciplines and genres, with a suite of core classes and career resources designed to prepare every student for 21st-century arts careers.
