Music (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.  

Program Overview

The School of Music is committed to the education and training of performers, researchers, scholars, educators, and creators for careers as creative professionals and leaders. The full range of performance, creative, and research opportunities for student and faculty collaboration elevate opportunities for discovery and growth. That is the global benefit of joining a large and vibrant performing arts community.

The School of Music at LSU has a tradition of placing its graduates in positions as professors at leading institutions’ of higher learning, as leaders of organizations in the creative arts, performers in professional ensembles, and as active contributors to the creative economy in new and emerging fields. Acceptance into and enrollment in a graduate program at LSU places students into a cadre of scholars, creators, researchers, and performers that have access to a campus of talented peers. Opportunities are presented to develop transferable skills that enhance access to traditional positions in the creative arts. But perhaps more importantly is the ability to become involved in emerging areas fueled by societal, economic, and global shifts. Aligning current curricula with emerging possibilities in communication, technology, pedagogy, and entrepreneurism is at the core of student education in the School of Music.

Opportunities are provided for performance with such major ensembles as the LSU Symphony Orchestra, the Wind Ensembles, the Jazz Ensembles, the LSU A Cappella Choir, and LSU Opera. Electronic studios and laboratories enhance composition and research endeavors, and the full resources of Middleton Library as well as the university’s Special Collections provide materials for research supporting academic pursuits. Additional special events, such as the annual Festival of Contemporary Music, involve world-renowned artists from around the globe, celebrate creative and performance activities, and bring all into focus.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: Graduate Student Services, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applicants for admission to graduate programs in the School of Music must meet all the requirements of the Graduate School. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for all doctoral programs, but not for the masters programs in music. 

Admission to the graduate program in performance is based on an audition and interview. Applicants for degrees in composition must submit musical scores for review prior to consideration of admission. Applicants in music theory, musicology, and music education must submit examples of research and schedule an interview with faculty prior to consideration of admission. For a detailed description of all admission requirements, please see the school website.

Financial Assistance

All applicants will be considered for a graduate assistantship and other financial assistance if available. Assistantships may involve teaching, research, or service. Notification of assistantship and other financial assistance awards are usually made in March for the following academic year. Assistantship awards range from $7,000 to $11,000. Nomination of applicants who qualify for fellowship consideration will be made by the major professor in the area of concentration and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.

Graduate Faculty

(check current listings by department by clicking this link)

Performance Ensembles

Performance opportunities in the School of Music are enhanced by many excellent ensembles, including the following:

• LSU Symphony Orchestra
• LSU Wind Ensembles and Tiger Marching Band
• LSU Opera
• LSU A Cappella Choir, Chamber Choir, Women’s Chorus, Tiger Glee 
• LSU Jazz Ensembles`

Faculty Research

Members of the School of Music are active in numerous areas of research and creative activity, including composition, national and international performance, masterclasses, and scholarly research. By invitation, the performance faculty have presented in concerts, recitals, and at conferences world premieres of new compositions. On a regular basis and in both national and international venues, faculty members perform solo recitals as well as with ensembles ranging from chamber groups, symphony orchestras, and opera companies. The majority of our faculty have produced professional recordings, with several having earned the distinction of winning or being Grammy-nominated. This excellence of research, training, and example has influenced many graduate students in the School of Music to also produce their own professional CD or DVD. Music by faculty composers is frequently performed nationally and internationally and is published and recorded on highly respected recording labels.

Members of our faculty serve as editors or members of editorial boards for major research journals and all serve as adjudicators for competitions. Our music education, music theory, and musicology faculties regularly present their work at regional, national, and international conferences, publish books and articles and oversee editions, journals, and databases, which represent the dissemination of cutting edge research in music. These faculties are respected authorities in the areas of instrumental music education, elementary music education, research in music teaching, the composer Giuseppe Verdi, Medieval and Renaissance music, 20th Century music and aesthetics, and contemporary theoretical matters.

Programs

• Music, Ph.D.

• Music, D.M.A.

• Music, M.M.