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Why Study Music at JMI?

5 Reasons why you should study at JMI

We are the top-rated music institution in Australia for Quality of Overall Educational Experience!

1. STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Unlike big universities, JMI provides a close-knit community atmosphere with small class sizes. The average class size is 1 teacher to 5 students. Everyone knows each other and supports each other’s personal development. We provide the ultimate student experience through a more personalised approach than any other music course. This is a small reason why JMI has one of the highest satisfaction ratings for Quality of Entire Educational Experience in Australia. You can view JMI’s QILT survey results here

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Overall experience

National Average = 74.4%*

2. Course design

JMI’s Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance is a unique course – the only one of its kind in Australia. The degree program is designed in an integrated manner, where all core subjects are intuitively related to each other. This is the only course that has been endorsed publicly by Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center

“The curriculum that has been developed by the Jazz Music Institute is absolutely one of the most comprehensive and in depth programs that we have ever seen. It sets a new standard for addressing the fundamentals of all jazz styles.”

– Todd Stoll, Vice President of Education at Jazz at Lincoln Center

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Skills Development

National Average = 79.8%*

3. Faculty

JMI’s faculty is amongst the finest in the country, featuring National Jazz Award winners and finalists, Freedman Fellowship winners and nationally acclaimed jazz performers and educators. The quality of teaching at JMI is second to none in Australia, reflected in the QILT survey results with a 98.1% satisfaction rate for Teaching Quality (the national average is 79.8%)

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Teaching Quality

National Average = 79.8%*

4. PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES

JMI provides its students with more live performance opportunities than any other provider in Australia. In 2023 alone, JMI produced over 150 paid public performances that featured current JMI students in venues around South-East Queensland. No other institution can offer this level of exposure and real-word industry experience whilst studying.

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Learner Engagement

National Average = 51.8%*

5. CAREER OPPORTUNITIES & EMPLOYABILITY

JMI provides a real-world tertiary education to its students, with our graduates ready to enter the professional music industry through the music and business skills acquired while at JMI. JMI graduates are amongst the most employed performing musicians in Brisbane. If you see a jazz performance in Brisbane, chances are one of the musicians studied at JMI. We also continue to employ graduates for a range of our non-accredited programs. Currently, we have JMI alumni getting paid teaching work from JMI by delivering night classes, private lessons, youth programs, workshops and performance demonstrations in schools.

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Support Services

National Average = 72.7%*

*JMI’s results from QILT Student Experience Survey 2022. Full results for the QILT Student Experience Survey are published on the QILT Website

The Career Options & Life Skills You’ll Achieve With Us

It is clearly documented that studying tertiary music can lead to a strong and prosperous career in a number of industries through a number of different avenues. “The Australian Guide to Careers in Music” by Michael Hannan (UNSW Press) outlines up to 150 different career paths available from studying a degree in music. These include; composition, performance, teaching, production, promotions, retailing, research, arts administration, music therapy among others.

Visit www.musiccareer.com.au for more information regarding career pathways from studying music.

Pathways to further study…

Numerous JMI graduates have moved on to post-graduate studies at other universities.  One popular pathway is to progress from JMI’s Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance to studying a Masters of Teaching. This qualification will qualify you as an Instrumental Music Teacher or Classroom Music Teacher in a variety of school systems. Other popular post-graduate study pathways include Masters of Music Studies, Masters of Music Therapy or a Masters of Vocal Pedagogy.

Alumni stories

Read about some of our alumni, including why they loved studying at JMI and what they’ve achieved in their careers since graduating:

Where Are They Now? Meet Alumni, Costa Constantinou

The Jazz Music Institute was founded in 1996 and has been a higher education tertiary institution since 2009. In the following blog series of 'Where Are They Now?', we talk to some of our alumni who we haven't heard from in quite some time! We find out where life has...

Meet our new Course Coordinator, Charlotte Mclean

Congratulations to Charlotte Mclean who has been appointed our new Course Coordinator in 2024! We had a quick chat with Charlotte to discuss her love for jazz, her approach to teaching and what she is most excited about in undertaking this new role. Tell us a bit...

Meet alumni Erin Logan

We were thrilled to recently catch up with JMI alumni Erin Logan who completed JMI's Bachelor program in 2017! Erin has been in the Australian Army Band since 2018 and gave us an update on what she's been doing since graduating and how studying at JMI helped her...

A Chat with JMI Alumni Steve Powell

We recently reached out to JMI Alumni Steve Powell about what he's been up to since graduating from the Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance at JMI in 2016.  Steve was the recipient of the Brad Rogers Memorial Award as the highest achieving student in his graduating...

JMI Alumni Stories: Charlotte Mclean

We asked some of our alumni what they have been up to since they graduated! Here's what Charlotte Mclean had to say. Graduated 2012. Tell us a bit about yourself. What do you play? I am a Jazz and originals vocalist and I have just started being brave enough to play...

Frequently Asked Questions

We often get these questions about studying at JMI:

Is the Bachelor degree recognised at other places?
Yes, our Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance is recognised under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and is accredited by Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). This means that this degree is fully recognised throughout Australia in the same way as a degree from a University.
Will I get private lessons when studying the degree at JMI?
Yes, at JMI we are committed to the value of having private one-on-one lessons with an expert teacher on your instrument. So as part of the Bachelor program, each student gets a 1-hour one-on-one lesson with their instrument teacher every teaching week of semester. This is something that is not guaranteed at most other providers.
Do I have to pay all fees upfront? Why can’t I get HECS-HELP?

You don’t have to pay all your fees upfront. As JMI is a private Higher Education Provider, we are not eligible to offer Commonwealth-supported places – only public universities are able to offer HECS-HELP. However domestic JMI students are able to access FEE-HELP, which is a similar loan scheme by the Government to assist in paying tuition fees. More information is available here

Why is JMI’s course so much more expensive than University degrees?

JMI’s Bachelor course is actually cheaper than most providers. Universities are able to offer Commonwealth-supported places which means that the fees charged are subsidised considerably by the Australian Government. This can result in a large percentage of the tuition fees being subsidised. So the HECS-HELP debt you incur at a University is significantly less than what the University actually charges for full fee paying students. This makes the fees look considerably cheaper at Universities.

JMI’s class sizes are also considerable smaller than most providers, giving students a more personal and concentrated learning experience. On average, JMI classes are between 5 and 12 students in size.

Did you study at Jazzworx or JMI?

If you did, we’d love to stay connected with you and help you celebrate your success in your current role/s. We know that many of you have gone on to further study, teach, and perform – all over Australia and around the world. With your permission, we’d like to feature you in some of our promotions, send you an enquiry about a performance or recording opportunity for your group or ensemble, or inform you of a job opportunity – all when we can.

We, at JMI, are proud of our students and the results you have achieved in music (Jazz in particular) and understand that there are many things we can offer you even after you’ve finished your formal study here.

So, please contact us at the JMI office via email: play@jazz.qld.edu.au or phone: 07 3216 1110 to sign up to our new Alumni Partnership Program!