Music Education in Piano Pedagogy

To receive full consideration for admission and graduate assistantships, the application deadline is December 1. The School of Music cannot guarantee an audition, interview, admission, or graduate assistantship if application is received after the deadline.

Residency Requirement

Per Graduate College policy 8.2.1.1, "The student must be in residence at OU for at least two consecutive 16-week semesters during the pursuit of the doctoral degree while enrolled and engaged in coursework or research activities as prescribed by the major academic unit."

Assistantships

There is no separate application for assistantship. Unless the applicant indicates otherwise, we assume that all applicants are interested in being considered for assistantships. Please note that assistantships are usually awarded for the Fall and Spring semesters together. We very seldom have assistantships available for anyone entering in a Spring semester. We do not award assistantships for Summer sessions.

Application Procedure

Submit the online application (see Graduate Admissions page) and all materials described below.

The members of the piano faculty will review all application materials. Candidates will be invited to audition based on the quality of the preliminary recordings, the candidates’ professional materials, if applicable, teaching credentials, and the completion of the application file. Individuals invited to audition will be contacted by email to schedule a final audition. More details on the audition can be found at the bottom of the page.

Application materials required for all graduate degrees

These items must be submitted to the online graduate application system.

Resume
- Submitted to the online application under the Resume tab.
Statement of Purpose
- Submitted to the online application under the Statement of Purpose tab
- Please compose a brief personal statement (approximately 2–3 pages of double-spaced, 12-point font text with 1-inch margins) regarding your desire to pursue a graduate degree in music. Include responses to the following prompts:
  1. How would you describe your professional path to this point?
  2. Why do you want to pursue this degree at OU?
  3. How do you want to grow musically, artistically, pedagogically, and/or intellectually during your graduate studies?
  4. What skills, expertise, and experiences do you bring to graduate study at OU?
  5. Describe your post-degree plans (i.e., How will you apply your newly acquired academic knowledge and expertise?).
Three letters of reference
- Submitted to the online application under Recommendations tab
- Your three reference letters should include:
  - At least one letter from: your studio professor, ensemble conductor, chamber coach, etc., or a person who has considerable knowledge about your abilities as a performer or composer.
  - At least one letter from: a person who can speak to your abilities as a scholar of music.

Scholarly writing requirement

This degree requires you to submit a sample of your scholarly writing.

Submitted to the online application under the Supporting Documents tab
The guidelines for this writing sample are as follows:
1. Should represent your best writing and researching skills.
2. Preferably not more than 3 years old; should be recently revised. If you do not have a recent scholarly writing sample on hand, we ask that you compose something original.
3. Adhere to a consistent method of formatting and citations (e.g., Chicago, MLA, Turabian, APA) and include a bibliography/reference list.
4. A minimum of 5 pages of double-spaced, 12-point font text (not counting bibliography) with typical 1-inch margins.
5. Ensure your writing sample is representative of the field. Consider presenting a complete argument supporting a clear thesis, perhaps methodological in nature for empirical research, or other format reflective of various academic areas in music.
6. Please contact the Graduate Music Office (gradmusic@ou.edu) or the area chair for your program with any questions about meeting these requirements.

Pre-screening application materials required for this degree

These items must be submitted to the online graduate application system

Evidence of at least two consecutive years of professional teaching experience in applied and/or group piano, at an academic institution or independent studio, or the equivalent.
- Submitted to the online application under Supporting Documents.
Repertoire list of significant solo and chamber piano repertoire. This list should include works that you have rehearsed and/or studied (even if you did not perform them in public recitals).
- Submitted to the online application under Supporting Documents.
Programs of solo and chamber/collaborative programs performed in the past (no departmental group recitals)
- Submitted to the online application under Supporting Documents.
A list of literature and materials used in the applicant’s teaching
- Submitted to the online application under Supporting Documents.
A video recording of a memorized solo performance of at least 30 minutes. The video must include works of at least three composers, each of a contrasting style or era. Applicants are encouraged to highlight personal interests by including works of underrepresented composers, groups, cultures, and styles.
- Video files or links to online video recordings may be submitted to the online application under Digital Portfolio > Upload Media.
A 30-minute video recording of your teaching that demonstrates piano teaching effectiveness in a group and/or private situation. Several different teaching segments may be combined to create the 30-minute video. Applicants whose teaching on the recording is in a language other than English MUST add a segment in English following the teaching demonstration in which they discuss their teaching and their interest in a graduate degree.
- Video files or links to online video recordings may be submitted to the online application under Digital Portfolio > Upload Media.
Any other pertinent information related to the candidate’s professional preparation and achievements.

Final Audition

The members of the piano faculty will review all application materials described above. Individuals invited to audition will be contacted by email to schedule a live, on-campus final audition.

If invited to audition, prepare 30 minutes of music to perform from memory. The program must include works of at least three composers, each of a contrasting style or era. Applicants are encouraged to highlight personal interests by including works of underrepresented composers, groups, cultures, and styles. The in-person audition may include repertoire submitted in the prescreening video. Applicants will be asked to sight read during the audition.

With the approval of the applied teacher, a current MM student at the University of Oklahoma who plans to apply to the DMA program within twelve months of his/her planned graduation from the MM program may use his/her master’s degree recital as the DMA audition. The recital must meet DMA audition requirements. In order for a faculty committee to be organized to attend the recital to evaluate it for DMA application purposes, the student must inform all members of the piano faculty at least two weeks before the recital.

Date	Type
January 31, 2026	Masters or doctoral applicants only
February 7, 2026	All degree programs
February 14, 2026	Masters or doctoral only (last day for doctoral applicants)
February 21, 2026	Masters or undergraduate applicants only (last day for masters applicants)
February 28, 2026	Undergraduate applicants only