Programs and Admissions > Graduate > - How to Apply & Housing
Applicants to Music graduate degree programs must successfully meet the admission requirements of BOTH:
1. The University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Graduate Studies (FOGS); and,
2. The UBC School of Music.
How to Apply:
1. LEARN ABOUT THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND THE UBC ADMISSION PROCESS
2. APPLICATION DEADLINES & FINANCIAL AWARDS
- For those applicants wishing to be considered for financial awards (read all bullet points):
- The application deadline is January 15th, 2013.
- In person auditions for Orchestral Instruments (Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion and Strings) will take place on Sunday January 20th. Piano auditions will be held on Sunday January 20th and Monday January 21st. Voice auditions are scheduled for Friday, January 25th (evening only) and Saturday, January 26th.
- Students who submit a complete application file (incl. audition, if required for degree program) by the 15 January deadline will be considered in the first round of award decisions. If a student is offered an award, he or she must inform the School of Music of his or her decision to accept or reject the award by April 15, 2013.
- Late applicants (those submitting materials after the January 15th): may be awarded any unused scholarship funds; however, the chances of there being any remaining funds to be distributed are small.
3. APPLY TO THE UBC FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
- Complete the online Application for Graduate Admission. You will receive a confirmation e-mail.
- If you are applying to two programs/majors within the School of Music, you need only apply to the Faculty of Graduate Studies once, for one program; however, you must e-mail the School of Music Graduate Admissions Secretary noting the second program/major you wish to be considered for.
- After you have applied to Graduate Studies, log into your Graduate Studies account regularly to review your application, check your status and to view a checklist of items required for your file at the School of Music. This list will be updated weekly to reflect items received.
Hint: Make sure that the spam and junk-mail filters on your computer do not reject e-mail from our domain - UBC.CA; otherwise you may miss important messages about your application.
4. ENGLISH REQUIREMENT
- You should arrange to have your scores available before the application deadline of January 15th. Late language scores may result in delays in considering your file, admission, and eligibility for scholarships.
- If no post-secondary degree in an English-speaking country has been attained, arrangements should be made to take one of:
- a) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). TOEFL scores must be issued to UBC directly from the Educational Testing Centre. To ensure your results are forwarded to UBC, use the University of British Columbia's institution code 0965 and give the reason for taking TOEFL, 'to enter a college or university as a graduate student.'
- MA, PhD and DMA minimum scores: The minimum acceptable score for admission to the MA, PhD or DMA program at the School of Music is 580 (paper-based) or 237 (computer-based) or 93 (internet-based). No exceptions are made. Test scores must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application, and official test scores ordered from the testing agency are required for application.
- MMUS minimum score: The minimum acceptable score for admission to the MMUS program at the School of Music is 80 (internet-based). No exceptions are made. Test scores must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application, and official test scores ordered from the testing agency are required for application.
- b) International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
- Minimum requirement for all music graduate programs: A minimum overall band score of 6.5 is required with a minimum score of 6.0 in each component of the academic (NOT general) IELTS test.
5. TRANSCRIPTS
- Carefully review official transcript and degree certificate requirements (Canadian and International), including translation requirements - especially important for Foreign (non-U.S.) documents.
- All academic records must be received in envelopes which have been sealed and endorsed by the issuing institution.
- Send TWO official sets of transcripts from all universities/colleges previously and currently attended to the School of Music. Hint: If you submit an interim transcript, the Faculty of Graduate Studies requires two copies of your final transcript.
6. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
- THREE letters of recommendation must be sent directly from referees to the School of Music. If you are submitting an online application, the School of Music will accept electronic references through the online application system. Alternatively, paper versions may be sent using the official UBC Graduate Studies reference form. Paper version must be sent, in their original sealed envelopes, directly from each referee to the School of Music.
- Eligible referees are those persons who are able to either:
- evaluate the applicant's background and potential for graduate work in the chosen field of specialization (i.e. Performance, Composition, Ethnomusicology, Historical Musicology, Music Theory); OR,
- who can comment on the applicant's general academic potential.
7. AUDITION (for performance applicants only)
IN-PERSON AUDITION
TAPED AUDITION [VIDEOTAPE or DVD, ONLY] - Send to the School of Music
Non-keyboard applicant
Submit a good-quality recording of a performance, on a high-quality VIDEOTAPE or DVD (NTSC system), preferably recorded by a professional technician. The recording should be an unedited version of a live performance and, if possible, be an entire public recital of recent date (within the past year). The printed program must be submitted with the tape.
- Keyboard applicant
The following provisions have been established and agreed upon with respect to audition tapes by applicants from outside British Columbia for candidacy to graduate study in keyboard performance: Recording must be done on a high-quality VIDEOTAPE or DVD (NTSC system), preferably by a professional technician.
The taped performance must be an unedited performance, dated within the past year, certified as to its integrity by the student and his/her teacher, and accompanied by a copy of the program.
8. DEGREE-SPECIFIC APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
- Additional degree-specific application requirements must be met. To see a list of these requirements, view the applicable information page linked below (send materials to the School of Music):
Academic Programs
MA in Historical Musicology
MA in Music Theory
MA in Ethnomusicology
PhD in Historical Musicology
PhD in Music Theory
PhD in Ethnomusicology
Performance Programs
MMUS in Choral Conducting
MMUS in Composition
MMUS in Guitar Performance
MMUS in Harpsichord Performance
MMUS in Opera Performance
MMUS in Orchestral Instrument Performance
MMUS in Organ Performance
MMUS in Piano Performance
MMUS in Voice Performance
DMA in Composition
DMA in Orchestral Instrument Performance
DMA in Piano Performance
DMA in Voice Performance
9. INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS
10. PERMANENT RESIDENTS
- Permanent Residents are required to provide proof of immigration status by submitting a readable photocopy of both the front and the back of the Permanent Resident Card to the School of Music. Alternatively, a readable photocopy of the Record of Landing Form may be submitted.
11. CANADIAN CITIZENS
- Applicants who indicate they are Canadian Citizens but who have completed all their tertiary education outside of Canada should provide evidence of Canadian Citizenship in the form of a photocopy of a passport or birth certificate forwarded to the School of Music.
12. TRANSFER CREDITS
Review the Faculty of Graduate Studies transfer credit
guidelines.
13. TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS
14. HOUSING
- In addition to standard on-campus graduate housing, there are two graduate student college residences on-campus which both have several awards and fellowships available on a competitive basis to residents.
a) Green College
b) St. John's College - The cost of renting an off-campus apartment in Vancouver can be quite high; so, we recommend that applicants who require housing stay on-campus.
- Estimated yearly living costs for full-time graduate students can be found in the Grad Guide.
15. RESULTS
Remember, you must meet the admission requirements of both UBC's Faculty of Graduate Studies AND the School of Music.
- School of Music
If you meet the admission requirements of the School you will receive notification (via e-mail and post) that the School has recommended to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, subject to their approval, your acceptance into a specific MUSC program. - Faculty of Graduate Studies
After receiving admission recommendations and files from the School of Music, the UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies Admissions office will review your file and send your official application results, both by e-mail and by post.
16. ENTRANCE (PLACEMENT) EXAMS
- Review the School of Music Entrance Exam requirements. Students admitted to graduate programs may be required to take the School of Music placement examinations to determine possible deficiencies in theory and/or history and/or piano performance. These exams are administered just before the start of the Fall term.
