Five Towns College


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Nestled on nearly 40 rolling acres at Dix Hills, Long Island, New York, Five Towns College is a comprehensive institution of higher education with a well-rounded music, media, and performing arts environment. Through its five major divisions—Music, Business, Liberal Arts, Fine Arts, and Childhood Education—the College offers more than thirty different programs of study leading to associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

The College awards a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz/commercial music, with major areas of concentration in performance, composition/songwriting, musical theater, and audio recording technology and music business. These programs are designed for students pursuing careers as professional performers, composers, recording engineers, music business executives, or producers.

The College also offers a Bachelor of Music degree program in music education. The Music Education Program is designed for students interested in a career as a teacher of music in a public or private school and leads to New York State Certification. In addition, the College offers a master’s degree program (grades K–12) leading to a Master of Music (M.M.) in jazz/commercial music or music education as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.).

Five Towns College offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree program in theater, with major areas of concentration in acting and musical theater. The theater program is designed for students who are interested in a career in the performing arts field as an actor, entertainer, director, stage manager, lighting or sound engineer, or any other related aspect of the entertainment industry.

For students interested in nonperforming careers in the music industry, Five Towns College offers the Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S.) degree program in business management, with major areas of concentration in audio recording technology and music business. A Bachelor of Fine Art degree (B.F.A.) in film/video is also available to those interested in pursuing filmmaking, commercial video production, and television production. These programs are designed for students planning to pursue careers in management, record labels, retail, and marketing with firms in the areas of record and music production, broadcasting, concert promotion, radio, television, theater, and communications. The program is intended for students who are interested in developing their business and technical expertise.

Five Towns College offers the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in elementary teacher education (grades 1–6), with areas of concentration in music and theater or elective offerings in a variety of fields. Students teach in neighboring school districts to gain experience. Upon completion of the program, students are licensed by the State of New York.

A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in mass communication is offered, with concentrations in broadcasting and journalism, and students are able to broadcast on the college radio station WFTU (AM/FM).

Students who attend Five Towns College benefit from the institution’s excellent reputation for preparing students for entry into the entertainment industry. In addition to its highly qualified faculty, the College has facilities that are state-of-the-art. The College is also equipped with a film/video production facility and sound stages of various sizes. The Dix Hills Center for the Performing Arts has been described as “acoustically perfect.” The Five Towns College library consists of more than 35,000 print and nonprint materials and has a significant collection of recorded music. The Five Towns College Living/Learning Center is a complex of four residence halls. Students reside in single- and double-occupancy rooms, each equipped with a private bathroom, high-speed Internet access, and satellite TV.

Five Towns College is fully accredited by the Middle States Association and the New York State Board of Regents.

Program Facilities

Performance spaces include the Dix Hills Center for the Performing Arts (500 seats), the Student Center, and The Upbeat Café. In addition, the College is equipped with 16-, 24-, 48-, and 72-channel state-of-the-art recording studios as well as a MIDI technology laboratory. The College’s film/video studios are equipped with both linear and nonlinear digital-editing suites as well as AVID nonlinear editing suites. The College operates WFTU, a 1,000-watt commercial radio station, and Radio Five Towns, a low-power on-campus radio station.

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

The many gifted and talented musicians and educators who compose the Five Towns College faculty bring a vast array of backgrounds and experiences to campus. The faculty is exemplary in both their academic and performance credentials. Artists-in-residence include the Township Theatre Group, Wes Belcamp, and Peter Rogine. Representative visiting artists include Don Grusin, the Sea Cliff Chamber Players, the Sound Symphony Orchestra, and the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Theatre Company of Long Island. John Sebastian, Ian McDonald, Steve Howe, Arvell Shaw, J.Geils, Jimmy Vivino, Sal Salvador, Arlen Roth, Tuck and Patti, and Special EFX are just a few of the artists/clinicians who appeared at the College the past few seasons. Alumni work throughout the music industry in numerous capacities, such as musicians, business managers, audio recording engineers, and music educators.

Student Performance

Students have the opportunity to perform in ensembles of every size and instrumentation. The most popular ensembles include the Concert Choir, Stage Band, Guitar Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble. Students are invited to participate in any of the major theatrical productions produced on campus each year by the Play Production Workshop and the Light Opera Company. These include musicals, operettas, comedies, dramas, and children’s theater productions. The Upbeat Café and the Student Center provide informal venues for students to gather, perform, and collaborate each afternoon.

Special Programs

The College is a member of the Phi Sigma National Honor Society and hosts a student chapter of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). Numerous festivals and performances are held each year, including a Stage Band Festival and Music Industry Conference. Past events have included the Classic American Guitar Show, the Long Island Media Arts Show, and the Great American Songbook.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: continuous. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, minimum 2.0 high school GPA, 2 letters of recommendation, audition, SAT I or ACT test scores, personal statement. Recommended: minimum 3.0 high school GPA, interview. Auditions held 1 time on campus; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions for international applicants or when distance is prohibitive and videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive.

Undergraduate Contact

Jerry Cohen, Dean of Enrollment, Five Towns College, 305 North Service Road, Dix Hills, New York 11746; 631-424-7000 ext. 2110, fax: 631-424-7008.

Graduate Contact

Dr. Alfred Townsend, Chair of Graduate Program, Music Division, Five Towns College, 305 North Service Road, Dix Hills, New York 11746; 631-424-7000 ext. 2142, fax: 631-656-2172.