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Graduate Admissions

Qualifications

To pursue doctoral level graduate study in Music, applicants are required to have earned a Bachelor’s degree, and it is expected that applicants to the doctoral programs will have the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree in Music. If you have not actually earned a degree in Music, comparison with the Stanford Department of Music’s requirements for the Bachelor’s degree will help you determine whether or not you will need to take courses in music theory, history, etc., on your own.

The terminal Master's program in Music, Science, and Technology is designed for candidates having an undergraduate engineering, science, music, or arts degree, or a degree that includes course work in engineering mathematics.

Application Deadline and Fee

Electronic applications are accessed via the Graduate Admissions website beginning in late September or early October of each year for admission in September the following year. Applications must be completed and filed by the second Tuesday in December. The filing fee is $125.00. Information about application fee waivers is available on the Graduate Admissions Application Fee website. The Department of Music does not provide departmental fee waivers. 

 

Required Supplementary Items to the Application

Include the following as uploaded documents within the online application:

  • Statement of purpose;
  • Three letters of recommendation;
  • Scanned (i.e., unofficialtranscripts from each school attended for at least one year; and
  • PhD and MA applicants must also include a writing sample demonstrating scholarly ability (i.e., Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis, papers submitted for classes, published papers, etc.)
  • DMA composition applicants must also include:
    • A complete list of your compositions, AND
    • One or more links to representative scores, audio and video recordings (3–6 recommended) provided online. Please use a streaming service for audio and video content; one or more download links may be provided for PDF files only. (Please make sure that links remain active for at least two months after the application deadline.)

Send official FINAL transcripts to the Department of Music ONLY after you have accepted an offer of admission! Details about final transcripts may be found here.

Per current University policy, all international students including those from Mainland China must receive English language clearance from the English for Foreign Students program prior to becoming a teaching assistant.

Note that GRE scores are optional for all graduate programs in Music.

Funding Information

The Department of Music recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

The Department of Music welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. Review of applications is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays in order to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field.

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