The Fall 23 application for Graduate Studies at UC Santa Cruz opens on October 1, 2022. The Music Department deadline is Thursday, December 15, 2022.
**Please note that the Music Department only accepts new students in the Fall.
For a link to the online application, information on general campus requirements, and guidelines for how to submit test scores and transcripts, please visit the Graduate Admissions page.
The following are required of all applicants:
- Personal history/statement
- Statement of Purpose
- Writing Sample
- Résumé
- Three letters of recommendation (MUST be submitted online)
- Transcripts. It will now be possible to upload unofficial transcripts for the application. Official transcripts will not be required until an admitted student accepts.
- *Please note that the Music Department no longer requires applicants to submit GRE scores. The GRE is optional.
In general, all materials will be submitted through the online application.
The online application will guide you through these requirements, including any supplemental materials. Program-specific requirements regarding supplemental materials are listed below. Questions regarding supplemental materials or applications in general can be directed to the Music Graduate Advisor at mga.mus@ucsc.edu. Please note that CDs, DVDs, scores, and other application materials will not be returned.
M.A. in Music, Composition Emphasis:
Applicants should include three compositions; at least two of these must include a printed score. Scores should be uploaded to the online application in PDF format. To submit recordings of any compositions, please upload them as a sound file to a website such as soundcloud.com, or as audio/video to YouTube. The online application will have a space to enter the URL.
M.A. in Music, Performance Practice Emphasis:
Applicants must include a 10- to 20-minute unedited recording of one or more recent performances as instrumentalist, vocalist, or conductor. Audio files should be uploaded to a website such as soundcloud.com and video files should be uploaded to YouTube. The online application will have a space to enter the URLs. Audio or video recordings of performances may also be submitted on CD, DVD, or USB flash storage, and should be sent to the following address:
Graduate Program Advisor
Music Department
UCSC
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
USA
Please note that submitted materials can not be returned.
D.M.A. in Music Composition:
Applicants must submit documents representative of four compositions. At least two of these should be scores, but other document types, including performance directions and/or code, are welcome. Applicants to the computer-assisted composition track should include either an example of a computer program they have written (a source code for the program plus documentation describing its use) or other evidence of technical competence with computers. Scores should be uploaded to the online application in PDF format.
To submit recordings of any compositions, please upload them as a sound file to a website such as soundcloud.com. The online application will have a space to enter the URL.
Ph.D. in Music:
Applicants to the PhD program in music must demonstrate the potential for both original scholarship and excellence in classroom teaching. Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of: success in undergraduate and/or master's level coursework in music history, ethnomusicology, and theory; skills in verbal communication that suggest promise of a successful publishing career in music, and strong work in the classroom; and the intersection of their subspecialty interest with the expertise of the UCSC faculty.
For more information, please contact the Music Graduate Advisor at (831) 459-3199 or <mga.mus@ucsc.edu>.