Graduate Studies in Music

The following checklist serves as a guide through the School of Music admission process.

Applicants must apply for admission to the university as well as to the School of Music. Acceptance into the School of Music is contingent upon admittance to the university. Please visit the SHSU Admissions website for more information on eligibility requirements. 

**Videos of audition repertoire are optional for the School of Music application (EXCLUDING Graduate Conducting and Graduate Composition). If the prospective degree requires an audition, applicants MUST audition in person on their selected audition day to be considered. SHSU faculty may use videos to assess your current ability level. International applicants may reach out to the area coordinator to request approval for a virtual audition.

Application Checklist

  • University graduate studies application via ApplyTexas
  • School of Music Application
  • Pay the application fee
  • Upon completion of your ApplyTexas application, you will be sent a link for a self-service account to upload the following:
    • Official transcript from the baccalaureate degree granting institution
    • Three letters of recommendation
    • Two writing samples (one essay and one scholarly paper) *
  • Contact the coordinator for your area of interest
  • Review the graduate audition requirements for each degree/instrument
  • Graduate Assistantship Application (if interested)
  • International Students only:
    • English proficiency scores (TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo accepted, dated within two years of the SHSU application)
    • International Degree Evaluation
    • Contact the Office of International Students for more information

*As part of the university application through ApplyTexas, prospective students must submit two writing samples, including a Personal Statement and a scholarly writing sample. In the Personal Statement, explain your interest in pursuing graduate studies in your area of specialty and your career plans/goals following graduate school. The second writing sample should represent your best scholarly writing about music, such as a research paper from a previous music theory or music history course or, for music therapy candidates, a professional document from a work setting. This scholarly writing sample should demonstrate your ability to utilize and appropriately cite reputable references and should showcase your capacity to synthesize information from various sources and create new interpretations of that information. Both samples will be assessed for content, as well as the mechanics of your writing, including sentence structure, word choice, sentence and paragraph length, punctuation, and spelling. For a final admissions decision, writing samples do not constitute the sole criterion for consideration of the applicant, nor do writing samples constitute the primary criterion to end consideration of an applicant. The applicant’s writing samples will be compared with those of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the extent that those backgrounds can be properly determined and identified by the School of Music’s admissions process.