The School of Music offers the Master of Music (M.M.) with specialty areas in performance (including choral or instrumental conducting).
Admission Requirements
The applicant for the master’s degree is expected to have earned an appropriate undergraduate degree and successfully audition for the faculty.
Entrance Requirements
Applicants must meet the entrance requirements of The Graduate School as well as those of the School of Music. Applicants for performance degrees must audition. Some areas require a pre-recorded preliminary audition as part of the screening process. Live auditions should be scheduled by contacting the faculty member in charge of the student’s performing area or filling out an audition request form on the School of Music web page.
For performance majors the entrance exams in Music History and Music Theory (written and aural) are given the week before classes begin to determine whether review classes are necessary in the first semester of study. Admission for all degrees is conditional upon either passing the entrance exams or passing any required review classes with a grade of A or B before accumulating 12 credit hours.
Degree Requirements
General Requirements for Master of Music Degree
At least fifty percent of all course credits must be at the 600 level or above.
Master of Music (Performance) General Requirements (see below for area-specific requirements)
Prerequisites: Acceptance by the appropriate faculty of applied music.
- Music Performance (including recital) (9)
- Music History and Literature (6)
- Theory (including a minimum of one course from MUS 670 , MUS 671 , MUS 672 , or MUS 676 ) (6)
- Directed Electives (9)
- Recital (0)
Total (30)
A minimum of three full semesters, excluding summer sessions, is necessary for an M.M. in Performance. This MM degree program is offered in the following specialty areas: piano, collaborative piano (see below), voice (see below), organ, violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba, percussion and conducting (choral or instrumental). Wind, string, percussion, and conducting majors must participate in at least one University-sponsored performing organization for two semesters.
Thesis Requirement: For the Master of Music degree in Performance, a public recital acceptable to the faculty is required in lieu of a thesis.
Master of Music (Collaborative Piano)
Degree requirements to be added
Master of Music (Voice Performance)
- Voice Performance (including recital) (9)
- Music History and Literature (must include MUS 623 or MUS 627 ) (6)
- Theory (including a minimum of one course from MUS 670 , MUS 671 , MUS 672 , or MUS 676 ) (6)
- Physiology and Functioning of the Singing Voice (MUS 665 ) (3)
- Materials, Techniques, and Literature of Voice Teaching (MUS 667 ) (3)
- Advanced Vocal Repertory (MUS 620 ) (3)
Total (30)
A minimum of three full semesters, excluding summer sessions, is necessary for an M.M. in Performance.
Foreign Language Requirement: Voice Performance majors in the Master of Music are expected to have taken at least one year each of undergraduate level German, French, and Italian (or the equivalent by petition to the Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Music) as a prerequisite for degree study. If deficient, a student must enroll in language courses each semester of study until the deficiency is removed. Language classes must be passed with a letter grade of B or above.