Music (Theory and Composition)

Admission Requirements:

Applicants to Composition and Theory must submit:

• An online application;
• An application fee;
• Transcripts from all universities and colleges attended must be uploaded to your application; do not mail official transcripts to our office.
• Two letters of recommendation, submitted online. At least one should be from a faculty member.
• A curriculum vitae (CV) or resum\xc3\xa9;
• A statement of purpose in essay form, indicating your reasons for undertaking graduate study. In addition, please describe your qualifications for the academic program and your objectives in undertaking this program. Applicants to the doctoral program should outline their research interests and how they would complement those of the faculty. Applicants to the master\'s program should discuss their plans for their academic and professional career and how the degree would help them attain their goals.
• Portfolio: Please submit at least three original scores, with corresponding audio files of performances of those scores, if available. The Department of Music requires that you submit digital files for application review purposes, and you must contact the department to request an exception if you want to submit non-digital files. Preferable file formats are .PDF for scores and .WAV, .AIF or .MP3 for audio files. Do not send native notation program files (e.g. .MUS, .SIB).
• Music Composition Exam: The Department of Music employs an informal testing procedure designed to assist the admission committee in reviewing applications to the graduate programs in Composition and Theory.
  
  • There are two short exercises in tonal music. You are asked to spend up to, but under no circumstances more than, four hours (including copying time) in the preparation of your answers. Please note that your application will be considered incomplete without this exercise.
  • Upon completion of the test, you are asked to sign the appended statement affirming that you have received no outside assistance in preparing your answers. You should then upload the exam directly to your applicant self-service status. It is highly advised that you keep a copy of your exam for your own personal records; electronic submission of this exam is strongly preferred.
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) recommended, but not required. Our ETS institution code is 3092.