Apply to the Master of Music Program

The Master of Music program is offered on the Statesboro Campus only. For curriculum information and other details, please visit the Master of Music program page.

Master of Music Program Admission Criteria

A prospective student who has earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and plans to take courses in the Music graduate program must be admitted under one of the following classifications:

Additional Requirements

All students will be required to pass the Departmental Graduate Entrance Exam in Music Theory and Music History before proceeding past 12 hours into the degree. These exams are usually given just before the start of each semester.

Application Deadlines

• Fall Semester (priority deadline, especially important if you wish to be considered for an assistantship, and deadline for International Students) March 1
• Fall Semester (final deadline) July 1
• Spring Semester December 1
• Summer Term April 1 (Music Education concentration only)

Submit supplementary materials

Send all materials to the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Gregory W. Harwood

M.M., Music Performance (Instrumental, Piano, or Vocal)

Review the Music Performance Curriculum

Applicants should either (1) contact the Director of Graduate Studies requesting that a live audition be arranged (be sure to include your specific instrument or voice type) OR send a link to a video recording of the audition or an actual video file via email to the Director of Graduate Studies.

The live or recorded auditions must follow these guidelines:

Instrumental: Satisfactory live or taped audition with three contrasting pieces from different periods. The audition committee may also request to hear scales or other technical material in a live audition. The String and Guitar area has specific requirements which are linked below.

Strings:  Download Specific audition requirements

Piano: Applicants must submit a list of repertory studied during previous four years and prepare a memorized program consisting of the following:

1. A contrapuntal baroque composition equivalent in difficulty to a three-voice fugue from The Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach.
   2. A complete classical sonata, preferably by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven
   3. A romantic work.
   4. A work from the impressionist or contemporary period.
   5. Sight reading (at a live audition)

Vocal: Satisfactory live or taped audition with four contrasting pieces from different periods demonstrating acceptable proficiency in diction in English, German, French, and Italian. Vocal students are also expected to demonstrate basic undergraduate proficiency using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and fluency in basic keyboard accompanying skills, which may be done during a live audition or at a later time if a recorded audition is submitted.

Additional Requirements for International Applicants

All international transcripts must be evaluated by a NACES accredited evaluation service. This must be a course-by-course evaluation and must include a GPA converted to the American 4.0 system. The evaluation must come to the Georgia Southern Graduate Admissions Office electronically or in a sealed envelope directly from the agency.

International students whose undergraduate degree was done in a language other than English must have test scores from TOEFL, IELTS, or DuoLingo submitted directly to Graduate Admissions by the evaluation agency. For consideration to be admitted to the M.M. program, a minimum TOEFL score of 80, with subscores of at least 20 in both speaking and writing is required, or an IELTS scores of at least 6.5, with no single subscore below 6.0. International students who meet all other admission requirements but who are deficient in English will normally be conditionally admitted. Conditionally admitted students must successfully complete the highest level in the university’s English Language Program (ELP) and achieve a minimum score of 80 on the ELP’s standardized English proficiency exam prior to matriculating into the M.M. program and taking any music classes. ESL exit level for these students is a MTLEP score of 255, with no subsection lower than 80.

International students with a very high GPA (at least 3.5) may apply for consideration to receive an Out of Country Tuition Waiver.

Graduate Assistantships  

Georgia Southern University offers opportunities for students in graduate programs to contribute to the teaching and research of the college by working as Graduate Assistants. Assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis based on academic record, musical skills, and the needs of the Department. If you have not yet received an Eagle ID number, you may enter all zeros to begin the application. A separate application to be considered for an assistantship is required

When you complete the Graduate Assistantship Application and are fully accepted into the M.M. program, you will automatically be considered for all assistantships and scholarships in the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music for which you are eligible.  In addition, you may want to consult the list of Vacant Assistantships mentioned on the College of Graduate Studies page and individually contact those for which you might be eligible.

The University has established March 1 as the priority deadline for applications for the following fall. This priority deadline is particularly important for students if they are considering applying for a graduate assistantship or any type of scholarship.

Questions?:  Contact the Director of Graduate Studies

Questions

Contact the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music.

Last updated: 10/4/2024