Degree Requirements: 33 Credit Hours

Admission Requirements

Regular

1. A completed bachelor’s degree in music or equivalent.
2. A minimum 3.0 (4.0 scale) cumulative grade point average in undergraduate work.
3. Two letters of recommendation by individuals who are familiar with the applicant’s potential for successful graduate study.
4. A statement of purpose explaining why you want to complete this degree.
5. A current resume. 
6. Requirements pertinent to the student’s intended area of concentration:
   1. Composition: a link to your composition portfolio, or electronic submission of individual score files to the Director of Graduate Studies in Music. 
   2. Conducting: a a link to an audition video or a live (please see the audtion process and requirements for specific performance areas at http://cah.georgiasouthern.edu/music/applications/graduate-application/) and a satisfactory agreement with the conducting faculty committee about how the practical conducting requirement will be managed. Generally, full-time students will be assigned to work with various University ensembles; other students may request permission to work with an ensemble (such as a school band or choir) with which they are currently involved.
   3. Music Education: a copy of your teaching certification document or teaching license of your Certification in Music (Georgia Level 4 or its equivalent) or documents showing that you are eligible for certification or licensure. 
   4. Music Technology: a hyperlink to your portfolio showing examples of your best work in music technology.
   5. Performance: a live audition or a link to a video audition (please see the audition process and requirements for specific performance areas at http://cah.georgiasouthern.edu/music/applications/graduate-application).
7. International students whose first language is not English and whose undergraduate degree was not completed at an institution where the primary language of instruction was English must have official TOEFL or IELTS scores submitted directly from the Testing Service to Georgia Southern University. 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.

Provisional

Students may be admitted, at the discretion of the graduate admissions committee, on a provisional basis if one or more of the requirements listed above are judged to be marginal. Specific provisions for exiting provisional status will be set in each case by the admissions committee and must be satisfied before proceeding past the first 12 credits of course work.

Departmental Entrance Examination

All students entering the program must pass a Departmental Entrance Examination to demonstrate acceptable undergraduate-level proficiency in music theory, analysis, and history. This examination is administered online prior to the start of the student’s first semester, and details about the contents of the test and its administration will be sent to each student after they have been admitted. Students who do not pass the examination will be required to take a review course and may not take Advanced Analytical Techniques (MUSC 7331 ) until they have passed the review course. Students who cannot pass the review course will be dropped from the program.

All M.M. candidates are required to pass a comprehensive oral examination, covering coursework and their recital or final project.

Program of Study