MUED-MM - Music Education

Master of Music students seeking admission to the graduate programs of the Division of Music must have earned a Bachelor of Music degree (or the equivalent) from an accredited institution and must submit complete transcripts of previous college work, along with three letters of recommendation. Any student whose first language is not English must present one of the following:

• TOEFL iBT: A minimum overall score of at least 80 with a minimum score of at least 20 in each of the four sections

• IELTS: A minimum overall score of at least 6.5 with a minimum score of at least 5.5 in each of the four sections

• Computer Based TOEFL: A minimum overall score of 213

Incoming graduate students are required to take the Graduate Music Diagnostic Examinations upon matriculation. The results of these examinations are used to identify any deficiencies in the areas of music history/literature, music theory and aural skills. Students found to be deficient in these areas will be required to take appropriate review courses. Failure to pass required review courses in the first term of study will result in academic probation and a second-term continuation of review. (Financial aid does not cover any review courses.) Failure to pass the review courses during the second term will result in academic suspension from the degree program.

The standard required for admission is a cumulative minimum GPA of 3.000 (on a 4.000 scale) in all undergraduate work. Under rare circumstances, acceptance on probation may be granted to a student whose cumulative GPA is less than 3.000. In such instances, seven credit hours in approved coursework must be completed during the first term of residence and a GPA of 3.000 must be achieved. A student who does not meet these criteria will be dropped automatically from the University and may not enroll in the following term. The student may reapply after a lapse of one term.

No more than six hours of transfer credit may be applied to any degree program other than the Master of Sacred Music program. Such credits must have been earned in graduate-level courses and cannot have been taken in order to fulfill undergraduate degree requirements. The acceptance of transfer credits is subject to the approval of the student’s adviser, the chair of the department offering the comparable SMU course if it is a required course, and the Director of the Division of Music.

Applicants to the Master of Sacred Music program may apply up to nine hours of transfer credits of nonperformance music or theological study. Approval by the Division of Music is required if such hours are in music, and approval by the Perkins School of Theology Committee on Academic Procedures is necessary if such hours are in theology.

Applicants should consult the Meadows Graduate Admissions Office for material beyond the following guidelines:

• A performance audition is required in each field except music education, music composition, music theory pedagogy and musicology. Applicants in these fields may elect to audition for placement in ensembles. Musicology, music education, music theory pedagogy and music composition applicants are required to submit evidence of competency and creativity in the form of term papers, analyses or compositions. Musicology majors are expected to have a reading ability in at least one world language. Music education applicants are required to submit a sample term paper and video-recorded teaching examples, and to complete a personal interview with the music education faculty.

• Piano performance and pedagogy majors are strongly encouraged to audition and interview in person. In addition to a graduate performance audition, applicants to this program are required to present a live or video-recorded teaching demonstration.

• Choral and instrumental conducting majors are required to submit a video recording of a recent conducting rehearsal. A video recording of a performance will be accepted if a rehearsal is not available. Video recordings should be DVD format.

Note: Information on admission to the M.S.M. program is found in the Master of Sacred Music section of this catalog.