The Department of Music accepts applications for the fall quarter only. Admission to the department is based on acceptance by the UCLA Graduate Division and a faculty review of the applicant's work. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree from an acceptable institution, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the last two years of upper-division coursework.

A major in music is not required as long as the applicant has the necessary background and musicianship to pursue graduate study. While the portfolio carries the most weight, the entire dossier is evaluated in making admission decisions.

STEP 1: UCLA APPLICATION FOR GRADUATE ADMISSION – due DECEMBER 1 online

The online application becomes available in September for the following fall quarter.

Complete and file the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission (AGA). Do not submit supplemental requirements without completing and filing the AGA.

This application will include the following:

Statement of Purpose
Letters of Recommendation
Unofficial Transcripts

STEP 2: MA & PhD SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS - due DECEMBER 1 (received, not postmarked)

Music Department Graduate Application Cover (PDF)

Official Transcripts: In addition to uploading unofficial transcripts to the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission, one official transcript from all colleges and universities attended must be mailed to the department.

International applicants, please submit one official transcript, degree certificate and/or diploma. All documents must bear the actual seal and/or signature of the Registrar. Photocopies are not accepted. Do not send the original of an academic record which cannot be replaced; obtain a properly certified copy instead. All transcripts and credentials are evaluated by the UCLA Graduate Admissions Office in terms of UCLA equivalency.  More information about Requirements for International Applicants can be found on the Graduate Division website.

You may submit the transcripts yourself, or have the institution send them directly to the department. 

International Students - TOEFL or IELTS: Students with English as a second language must receive a TOEFL score of 560 (paper-based test) or 220 (computer-based test) or an IELTS score of 7.0.  For the internet-based TOEFL (TOEFL iBT), the minimum total passing score is 87.  Please see UCLA Graduate Division – English Requirements for possible exceptions. Because processing, sending, and receiving TOEFL scores often takes several weeks, international students must schedule the TOEFL examination no later than October in order to meet the Departmental deadlines. These test scores must be received by the Dec 1 deadline in order to be given full consideration for admission and scholarship.

International Students seeking F1 or J1 visas : The UCLA "Financial Statement for Students Seeking Non-Immigrant Visas" must be received in the department by March 1.  Please visit UCLA Graduate Division – Visa Procedures / Financial Verification for more details and to download the form.

Composition Pre-screening Portfolio: For the MA, at least 3 compositions; for the PhD, at least 5. Please include a recording of a live performance for at least one of the pieces.

Portfolios must consist of three to five scores utilizing different instrumentation (not just piano) that demonstrate breadth of experience, technical mastery, awareness of 20th-century styles, and a range of genres and instrumental forces.

Recordings, preferably of live recordings, may be submitted in addition to compositions, but not in lieu of them. Recordings should
be submitted on an audio CD clearly labeled with name, degree, and year.

As an optional offering, those interested in composition for visual media may submit a CD and score of one or more film cues, with or without DVD.

Interview and Assessment Examination: Those applicants who advance beyond the pre-screening round will be invited to UCLA for a 30-minute interview with the composition faculty.  All applicants will be notified whether or not they have been invited to interview by early January, with the interviews scheduled for late January.  In addition to an interview, semi-finalists will be asked to take the composition assessment exam as detailed below.  Semi-finalists unable to visit campus can request a video call interview and arrange to take the assessment exam in absentia.

The exam consists of:

• - Harmony (1 hour): writing standard 4-part harmony from a given figured bass
• - Counterpoint (1 hour): writing counterpoint in your choice of 16^th C. specie, 16 th C. imitative or 18^th C. styles
• - Dictation: taking 2-part melodic dictation and taking harmonic dictation by writing chord symbols of a given progression
• - Analytical Essay (2 hours): writing an essay on an analytical/stylistic topic
• - Diagnostic tests in Sight Singing and Keyboard Sight Reading (Applicants who take the exam in absentia will have the diagnostic tests as a deficiency upon admission).

All supplemental and pre-screening materials should be received by December 1 at this address:

Graduate Admissions – (Composition)
UCLA Department of Music
2539 Schoenberg Music Building

445 Charles Young Drive East
Box 951616
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1616

Decision Status:

Generally, applicants are informed by the department in March.  When a decision is made, applicants receive an email, directing them to the online application site and the option Decision Status.  This information is not available over the phone or in email where identity cannot be verified.

Music Graduate Admissions Frequently Asked Questions

Music Graduate Admissions Resource Links