All persons seeking admission to any graduate degree in music must meet the university’s minimum general requirements for admission. Minimum university admissions requirements, deadlines, and other information can be found in the Graduate Admissions section of this catalog.

All applications will be evaluated in full by the music department’s graduate admissions committee. Note: Students meeting minimum university and department requirements are not guaranteed admission.

All graduate applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree in music (either a B.M. or a B.A./B.S. with a major in music) from a nationally-accredited program. Applicants who do not have such a degree should apply to one of our undergraduate music degrees and then reapply for our graduate degree upon completing their undergraduate major in music.

Applicants for the music education concentration who do not possess a state-level teaching certificate will only be admitted on a conditional basis, with the expectation that state-level certification will be acquired before the end of their first year of graduate studies.

In the event that state-level certification is not received within the first year, continued enrollment will be determined by special permission from the music department’s graduate admissions committee.

Applicants for the performance concentration must audition for the applied committee in his or her performance area as a part of their application. Prospective students on the performance track in voice must additionally demonstrate proficiency in German, French, and Italian diction prior to acceptance in the program.

The performance audition requirement will be evaluated by a committee comprised of applied faculty in the area of the applicant’s major instrument/voice.

For domestic students (U. S. citizens and permanent residents), application, official transcripts, and Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores are due to the Graduate Office at least 30 days before registration for the semester in which the student is entering.

• The GRE requirement will be waived for applicants with a completed undergraduate degree in music with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on their undergraduate transcript.
• Applicants who score lower than 150 on either the Verbal or Quantitative sections of the GRE will be accepted for admission only by special permission of the music department’s graduate admissions committee. Additional leveling requirements or special enrollment status may made as a condition of acceptance into the program.

Applicants who are non-native English speakers must demonstrate minimum English proficiency at the time of application as noted in the table below.

Regular admission entails no additional language requirements.

At about the time of application, the music department’s graduate admissions committee may recommend or require remedial coursework in those areas deemed deficient in the student’s educational background. Students with an undergraduate major in music will not generally have leveling requirements, however deficiencies in one or more areas may be determined by entrance examinations or transcript evaluation.

Upon evaluation by the music department's graduate admissions committee, all leveling course requirements (as well which courses will be required as prerequisite(s) or requisite(s) to graduate-level courses) will be communicated to the applicant.

In the event leveling courses are required, no more than 6 credit hours of audited remedial work will be allowed (with completion of the requirement signified by written approval of the faculty teaching the audited course). If more than 6 hours of remedial work is required, the student must enroll for course credit on their transcript and receive a minimum C grade to complete the requirement.

Regular admission entails no additional language requirements. The music department’s graduate admissions committee will be comprised of at least three graduate faculty members teaching at least one course in the program.

No more than two applied faculty can serve on the committee in addition to the above.