The Pros and Cons of Using Music Therapy in Higher Education
Arts-based evaluations in higher education have been growing in popularity.
Posted June 4, 2026 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
By Drs. Treena Orchard & Anushka Ataullahjan
Music has been used to foster therapeutic outcomes (i.e., connection, reflexivity) and enhance academic achievement among post-secondary students, particularly those in the social sciences, arts, and humanities, for decades. Increasingly, musical performance, storytelling, and other creative activities are recommended across disciplines to help mitigate the deleterious impacts of AI use among university and college students.
Using qualitative data from a recent study that explored how a creative musical assignment among first-year health studies students impacted learning outcomes, we consider the positive outcomes of using arts-based assessments and the challenges encountered by the teaching assistants (TAs) responsible for marking and assessing the emotionally rich and sometimes traumatic content students submitted. The implications of this study are of interest to educators who employ creative or arts-based assessments and practitioners seeking insights about how music, specifically, can be used to connect with young people and enhance their reflexive skills in various pedagogical settings.
Project Overview and Methodology
The Therapeutic Playlist Assignment was developed by Dr. Orchard as a way of combining personal reflexivity and creative writing with critical thinking in a fun and applied assignment. Students select 10 songs and reflect on them in terms of their therapeutic effects (calming, happy, fun, sorrowful) and the different roles music plays in their everyday lives as they navigate intense academic and social experiences. We paired this activity with a silent disco, where participants dance to music through wireless headphones to encourage physical activity and operationalize class concepts about social cohesiveness and well-being through music.
This project was conducted in a first-year class (n=580) about health and wellness, including emotional, psychological, social, and academic attributes. Music was already included in the curriculum as a powerful way to learn about how the arts are linked to memory as well as interpersonal connection. First-year classes in our faculty are very large, and evaluation approaches are often limited to multiple-choice exams or blog posts, which are not typically experienced as engaging or meaningful.
We sent a survey about the Therapeutic Playlist and Silent Disco to all students, and 36 completed it. We also conducted interviews with students (n=2) and TAs (n=6). Our initial query about whether these activities might generate greater academic performance or program loyalty was not borne out, but many students recognized the value of the assignment and disco in terms of the social bonding it allowed them to do with their peers. This underscores the importance of social connection, not as a mere byproduct, but as a significant pedagogical instrument in its own right.
Music as Therapeutic Self-Exploration and Regulation
Students indicated that beyond simple enjoyment, music is crucial for their emotional well-being. As one respondent said: “I don’t think I would be able to survive without music....It balances my whole day... keeps my life interesting.” Similarly, another participant shared: ”Music honestly soothes me a lot…I always end up going downstairs to play piano... to put my mind off of things.” The playlist assignment helped them tap into their love of music and was often a healing experience, as this student indicated: “I was really doing something healing for myself... Since it was more personal, you were able to pull stuff and actually make those connections . Many told us that they felt secure in sharing vulnerable and emotionally charged experiences, which illuminates how such assignments combine academic contemplation alongside valuable healing and self-reflection.
Creativity and Social Connections
Students appreciated the playlist assignment for its innovative approach, viewing it favorably compared to conventional, frequently tedious academic tasks. One young woman shared: “I could actually enjoy the assignment [it wasn’t] just a checkbox…This had to be one of my favourite courses so far.” These creative assignments might be especially suitable for junior students who undergo significant transitions at the onset of university or college. This is reflected in the content of the assignment, which focused on homesickness, breakups, missing family, and emotional adjustments. We also observed that music enabled students to articulate the intersections of their identities—such as race, gender , culture, and mental health.
Ethical and Emotional Tensions for Teaching Assistants
This emotional richness of the assignments was engaging, but it also presented challenges for the TAs because they didn’t always know how to respond to emotional revelations about issues like sexual assault , self-harm , and death. One explained: “I felt like I had to step into more of a mentor role than a grader," while another remarked: “They shared stuff they wouldn’t normally say out loud.” Evaluating these reflections within a strict rubric was also difficult, and the TAs indicated that they felt uneasy assigning lower grades to reflections that showed introspection but did not necessarily reflect class content. These conflicts draw attention to larger ethical dilemmas about how to assess creative assignments that balance scholarly rigor and emotional vulnerability. Some TAs mentored their students through emotional introspection, showing compassion, and creating an environment conducive to vulnerability.
Arts-based evaluations in higher education have been growing in popularity, often as a way of preventing the use of AI . However, there are other compelling reasons to include creative assessments in pedagogical praxis, as our study revealed, perhaps especially for junior students. Adjusting to university is a profound transition, and students are often disconnected from their social support networks and may struggle with connecting with their peers. Incorporating assignments that foster connection between students using music, a shared medium that means a great deal to them, provides an opportunity for community building and allows vulnerability to be fostered in a therapeutic way. Yet these assignments can be hard to mark because of their personal, sometimes traumatic content. As educators grapple with the new realities of creating meaningful assignments amidst proliferating AI tools, using and refining activities like the Therapeutic Playlist Assignment can help promote critical reflection, embodied integration of course material, and interpersonal connections at pivotal life moments.
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Treena Orchard, Ph.D., is an anthropologist and author who writes about sexuality, tech, and relationships.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.