The following programs require both a formal application and entrance audition to the School of Music. Additionally, the Music Education and Music Therapy programs require an entrance interview. 

• Bachelor of Music (Performance, Music Education, Music Therapy) 
• Bachelor of Arts with Applied Emphasis
• Music Minor
• Music PSEO

Equivalency and PSEO applicants please see specialized instructions. Transfer applicants please find additional information below.  The BA in Music with Academic Emphasis does not require an application for admission or audition.  

Music Application Instructions

STEP 1: Apply to the School of Music

Select the application that corresponds with your instrument area and term of interest.

• Applicant profile
  Includes your proposed degree plan, audition/interview date and studio instructor preferences, musical and educational history, as well as space to list musical accomplishments and personal goals.
• Pre-screening videos
  Required only if you are applying to audition on voice, piano, violin, viola, cello, or double bass. 
• Two letters of recommendation
  The application will gather the email addresses of your references and collect the letters on your behalf.
• Vocal accompanist sheet music
  Vocalists who pass the pre-screening round will be provided an accompanist at no charge for their live audition round. Accompanists are neither required nor provided for other instruments.
• Recorded audition
  If you choose to submit a recorded audition, your video is due with your application. Please review recorded audition eligibility and guidelines.
• $45 Non-refundable application fee
  Students may apply for a fee waiver. Applicants from MN, ND, SD, WI and Manitoba who receive a fee waiver on their application to the University are also eligible for a fee waiver from the School of Music. Contact musicapply@umn.edu for fee waiver details.

STEP 2: Apply to the University of Minnesota

• Freshman and Transfer applicants must apply for undergraduate admission to the University of Minnesota by the University application deadlines at https://admissions.tc.umn.edu/. Apply by priority deadlines for maximum scholarship consideration.
• Equivalency applicants and currently enrolled students at the U of M - Twin Cities do not need to apply to the University.
• PSEO must apply to the U of M PSEO program when applications open in February.

STEP 3: Audition and Interview

Provided you pass any pre-screening round required of your instrument, the date you select on your application is considered confirmed. Due to the high volume of applications, the School of Music cannot consider requests for specific times of day or to reschedule.

Live Auditions: Auditions take place between 8:00 a.m.– 8:00 p.m. with a formal time sent to auditionees two weeks prior to their selected audition date. Review the audition requirements.

Recorded Auditions: It is to your benefit to complete a live audition. However, recorded auditions are available for students located 200+ miles from the University of Minnesota. Recorded auditions are uploaded to the School of Music application at the time of submission. Review the recorded audition guidelines.

Interviews: Music therapy and music education applicants must complete a 15-minute entrance interview. Interviews take place between 8:00 a.m.– 8:00 p.m. central time with a formal time sent two weeks prior to the date select on your application. Students submitting recorded or arranged auditions must still complete an interview via Skype on a School of Music formal audition day. At the time of the interview you will be asked to submit a printed copy of your responses to the Music Education/Music Therapy Interview Profile. 

Admission Decisions

Students who apply by the School of Music and University application deadlines will receive notification of their music admission status no later than March 31 for fall entry and January 15 for spring entry. If denied admission to the School of Music, applicants must wait one full academic year before they are eligible to re-apply unless otherwise noted in your notification letter.

Scholarships

Students who complete their applications for fall enrollment to the BMus and BA Applied degrees by the application deadlines and who gain admission to the University of Minnesota are automatically considered for music scholarships. Learn more about scholarships. 

Instructor Preference

Students have the opportunity to indicate their primary and secondary choices of private lesson instructor. Every effort will be made to honor these requests based on studio availability and balance. However, the School of Music cannot guarantee placement in your preferred instructor's studio. 

Housing

Most incoming music, art, theatre, dance and honors majors choose to live in Middlebrook Hall, the dormitory located next to Ferguson Hall (the School of Music) on the West Bank of campus overlooking the Mississippi River. In order to secure a spot in Middlebrook, students must apply for housing and list Middlebrook Hall as their first choice of a dormitory. You may apply for housing as soon as the application is posted in November of each year. You do not need to wait to be admitted to or confirmed to enroll at the University of Minnesota before you apply for housing; the earlier you submit your housing application, the more likely you are to be placed in your first choice of a dormitory.  

Transfer Students 

The University of Minnesota School of Music is an accredited, institutional member school of the National Association for Schools of Music.

To transfer to the School of Music, you must apply to both the University of Minnesota and the School of Music. If you are supported by a music scholarship at the time of your application to the School of Music, the director of your current music school must submit a signed transfer release form in on your behalf in order for you to be considered for music scholarships at the University of Minnesota.

If you have taken music coursework for credit at another institution, you may be able to apply those credits toward, and be exempt from, the equivalent coursework at the School of Music. This will require you to undergo a transfer course review process that may include: placement exams for theory and ear training, syllabus review for academic and specialized music courses, and a transfer jury at the end of your first semester at the University for applied lessons and ensembles. Students transferring must take placement exams and have syllabi reviewed at the beginning of their first semester after admission. 

Transfer specialists in the Office of Admissions will provide applicants with information on the transfer of liberal education/general credits to the University of Minnesota.