Vocal Studies

Contact Melinda Coats, Graduate Studies Administrative Associate.

No. Getting into the School of Music is a dual-acceptance process. In order to gain admission to the School of Music, you must also be accepted by the Graduate School; acceptance for one does not guarantee acceptance for the other. Those applying for the Church Music Dual Degree (MDiv/MM) must ALSO Apply to Truett Seminary.

Students who are unable to attend an on-campus audition day must contact the appropriate instrument/voice professor via email and request permission to be considered using an alternate audition. If permission is granted, applicants can upload the material to the application on Acceptd.

See the Double Major in Music page for more information.

Applicants to the Master of Music program in Music Theory and Musicology are required to submit GRE scores. Baylor's institution code is 6032.

Graduate Associate positions (graduate assistantships) are awarded based on the recommendation of the faculty in the student's major area. Decisions typically begin to be made about March 1 and may take up to two months to complete. Candidates will be notified of their status by email as soon as possible after this has been determined.

Students who are awarded Graduate Associate positions will be asked to sign and return a contract. The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies of the School of Music will make the official notice of Graduate Associate position awards in writing. Any discussion of Graduate Associate position awards or assignments prior to that notice, or by any other persons, shall be considered preliminary and unofficial.

Other resources for funding include: work study programs, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, outside scholarships, GradPlus loans, and alternative loans. For more information, please contact the Student Financial Aid Office.

International graduate applicants must demonstrate English-language proficiency by submitting either TOEFL or IELTS scores. Baylor's Institution Code: 6032.

Minimum TOEFL scores for master's degrees are: 550 paper, 213 computer-based, 80 internet-based. The minimum IELTS score for master's degrees is 6.5. Minimum DuoLingo score is 125.

Minimum TOEFL scores for doctoral degrees are: 600 paper, 250 computer-based, 100 internet-based. Comparable scores on the IELTS or PTE exams may also be submitted for doctoral degrees.

International applicants are exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement under the following circumstances:

• You have a conferred degree from an institution in the United States
• Your degree was issued from an institution where the medium of instruction is English.

No one will be admitted who does not meet these minimum standards because we want students to be successful academically as well as in a performance area.

Incoming graduate students must be advised by the School of Music Associate Dean for Graduate Studies before they can register for classes. Before you arrive on campus, please email the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies to set up an advising appointment.

During the week preceding the semester in which a graduate student enrolls he/she will take music theory and music history diagnostic exams. Appropriate remedial course work may be required as a result of the exams. In addition, graduate students with majors in vocal performance, collaborative piano, and church music with vocal performance emphasis will be tested over their knowledge of Italian, German, and French lyric diction. If the student is deficient in any of these languages he/she will be expected to enroll in an appropriate diction course. See the Graduate Music Handbook for more information on the exams and how to prepare for them.