College of Fine Arts School of Music Undergraduate Handbook

Graduate Admissions

School of Music Website Links

Graduate Admissions
MM Information Brochure
MME Information Brochure
DMA Information Brochure
PhD Information Brochure

A completed application to a graduate degree program requires:

  1. Completed application form, available at http://music.ou.edu/
  3. Cover letter that addresses your reasons for pursuing graduate study at the University of Oklahoma.
  5. Resume/curriculum vita detailing your experience in and outside of music.
  7. Copies of all college transcripts.  (These are in addition to the original transcripts required by the university’s Office of Admissions.  You don’t have to send original transcripts to the School of Music.)
  9. Three current letters of recommendation from people who can comment on your potential for success in this degree program. 
  11. Applicants for MM Musicology, MM Music Theory, and all DMA and PhD applicants must include a sample of their scholarly writing (minimum 7 pages, with bibliography and footnotes).
  13. Applicants to composition degrees must include portfolio of scores and recordings.
  15. Applicants to MM or DMA conducting programs must include a video recording of their conducting (VHS or standard DVD).
  17. Applicants to music education degree programs must include a video recording of their teaching and/or conducting (VHS or standard DVD).

Although specific audition requirements will vary depending on the instrument or area, applicants to the Master of Music should be prepared to perform 30 minutes of music and applicants to the DMA should be prepared to perform 60 minutes of music.  The repertoire should be appropriate to graduate-level study and should represent a reasonable breadth of styles and, if appropriate, different instruments.  Vocal auditions must be accompanied. Vocal auditions should include pieces in English, Italian, French, and German.  Vocal and piano auditions must be fully memorized. For all other performance degree programs, at least one piece must be performed from memory.  Woodwind, Brass, String, and Percussion auditions shall be performed without accompaniment.  Sight-reading of unfamiliar music may be required of any applicant to any performance degree program.

If an applicant shows potential for completing a graduate degree but is unable to complete all aspects of the application (such as a full audition) or has deficiencies in preparation (such as sufficient language study for voice applicants), he/she may be considered for conditional admission.  In such cases, the applicant would be asked to agree in writing to the conditions and to acknowledge the actions necessary to remedy the conditions and the deadlines by which the conditions must be remedied.  Conditional admission allows a graduate student to enroll in coursework while working to remedy the conditions.  Conditional admission is temporary, seldom lasting more than 2 or 3 semesters.  If the conditions are not remedied by the established deadlines, a conditionally admitted student can be disenrolled.