COMPOSITION APPLICATION & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Deadlines: The Department of Music only accepts applications for Fall Quarter admission. All materials must be received, not post-marked by:
DECEMBER 1st
Composition, MA & PHD
For admission to the Composition program, there are TWO parts to the application process:
Step 1: UCLA Application for Graduate Admission
Step 2: Supplemental Materials for Composition (see below)
STEP 1: UCLA APPLICATION FOR GRADUATE ADMISSION
The application for admission, which is only online, is available beginning in September for Fall Quarter of the following year:
www.gradadmissions.ucla.edu
STEP 2: COMPOSITION: MA & PHD SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Due December 1st: Click here for printable CHECKSHEET.
Overview: Students must have completed or be completing a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA in upper-division undergraduate work. A major in music is not required, as long as the applicant has the necessary background and musicianship to pursue graduate study. While the sample work is the most important item in the application, the entire dossier is evaluated in making admission decisions.
- Statement of Purpose: A prose statement of your long range goals in composition, including biographical information, and how going to graduate school, especially at UCLA, will contribute to achieving those goals.
- Transcripts: Two (2) official transcriptsof your undergraduate work from your bachelor’s degree school and all coursework you have taken since then. If you are currently in school, please include “work in progress”.
- 3 letters of recommendation: These should be from 3 people who can speak to your potential as a graduate student in this field. Please include your present teacher if possible. Go to graduate admissions for the form.
- Compositions, with a recording of a live performance of at least one of the pieces: For the MA, at least 3 compositions; for the PhD, at least 5.
- Assessment Examination: This test covers the normal undergraduate preparation in music that we feel is essential for successful completion of a graduate degree in composition at UCLA. For more information on the test and to sign up, click on Composition Assesment Exam at left.
- TOEFL: 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 graduate admissions 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 1st deadline in order to be given
full consideration for admission and scholarship.
- All 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. Go to graduate admissions for visa procedures.
- GRE: The Music Department does not use the GRE for admissions and it is not required. In lieu of the GRE, we require our Assessment Exam.
Mailing Materials:
All materials should be sent to:
Graduate Admissions – COMPOSITION
Department of Music
2539 Schoenberg Music Building
UCLA, Box 951616
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1616
Decision Status:
For a variety of reasons admission can often take a few months. Generally, applicants are informed sometime 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. Please note: a paper letter regarding your status will not be sent; you must access your decision letter online.
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