Admissions
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Applicants for the Master of Sacred Music must hold a BA or its equivalent and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0. In addition, applicants must have basic skills in music, including courses in theory, music history, and choral conducting or organ. The degree program may exceed two years (four semesters) if remedial work is required in any aspect of the program. The deadline to be considered for fall admission is January 1. Applicants should apply through the School of Theology, and applications will be shared with the School of Music faculty as part of the joint degree application process.
Audition requirements: An audition at the School of Music is expected for MSM applicants. The audition, with the appropriate applied music faculty in the School of Music, will determine the level of musical proficiency. Applicants must demonstrate talent and ability in performance, scholarship, or composition sufficient to promise superior accomplishment at the graduate level. In addition, candidates must demonstrate prior interest in sacred music and a desire to pursue such study at the graduate level.
Choral conducting and organ applicants must submit a pre-screening video by the December 1 prior to their hoped-for date of matriculation. Recordings should be made no earlier than six months prior to the final MSM January 1 application completion deadline. Recordings should be uploaded via the School of Music’s ArtsApp online portal. Information about the ArtsApp portal and requirements can be found on the School of Music’s audition information site. Any questions about, or technical problems with, ArtsApp should be addressed to the School of Music Admissions Office, as it maintains that website.
Organists’ audition requirements are: a major work by J. S. Bach or one of his contemporaries, a major work from the Romantic repertoire, and a piece of contemporary music. Candidates may also be asked to demonstrate other keyboard skills, although it is understood that a candidate may not have had much experience in this area. For choral conducting auditions, please see the School of Music’s website for details of the specific audition requirements, which are the same as for the Master of Music.
For organ students, the uploaded audition may suffice as the audition requirement for students living more than 300 miles from Boston. All choral conducting students who are short-listed on the basis of their uploaded recording are required to be present at BU for an audition in February.
Degree and residency requirements: The MSM is granted upon successful completion of a prescribed program of study and terminal projects appropriate to the candidate’s field of specialization. Students must complete a minimum of 48 (choral conducting) or 45 (organ) semester credits, usually in two years, earning grades no lower than B− in all graduate-level coursework. All degree requirements must be completed within four years from the date of matriculation. In addition, students may be required to take prerequisite courses. This requirement is determined by results of proficiency examinations, which are required of all matriculating students. Students who are required to make up a deficiency in any area of music must complete designated prerequisite courses with grades no lower than B. Credit for a course taken to remedy a deficiency will not count toward the completion of degree requirements.The time limit for the degree program is four years (eight semesters).
