When Music Goes Up In Flames: The Impact of Academic Advising on the Perceived Burnout of Music Majors

Academic advisors are prepared to engage with a diverse population of students each semester, each bringing their own unique personality and experiences to the advising relationship. Unfortunately, many advisors, particularly those dealing with music majors, find themselves meeting with students who display extreme cynicism and exhaustion toward their chosen major, known as burnout.  In order to help advisors recognize the needs of this student population, over 300 music majors across the country were surveyed in order to investigate the relationships between perceived academic advisor support, basic psychological needs, and burnout.  Perceived advisor support was found to be positively correlated with burnout, such that as advisor dissatisfaction grows, burnout also grows.  Additionally, numerous predictive relationships were found between advising factors and burnout with basic psychological needs acting as mediators, suggesting that advisors should consider the psychological needs of their students within the advising relationship.  Implications for academic advisors are discussed.