Music Education (Graduate)

The following requirements are in addition to completing the University application.

Master of Music Education applicants:

In addition to completing Steps 1 and 2 of the Application Process, applicants should:

• Be sure the Three Letters of Recommendations specifically address your professional accomplishments
• The Personal Statement should discuss your professional aspirations and why you are pursuing a graduate degree in Music Education in addition to how the University of Illinois will help you achieve your professional goals
• Applicants who wish to be considered for a Teaching Assistantship should ensure that at least one of their references provides specific comments on their potential to engage in university level teaching duties associated with such an appointment

Master of Music Education with Certification applicants must also submit:

• Passing Test Scores for the Illinois Basic Skills Test as an admission component. Admission decisions will not be made until the Test Score has been reported. (Students who reside outside the State of Illinois should contact the Council on Teacher Education (chetzych@uiuc.edu) for information on possible provisional admission).
• Complete the Supplemental Music Application so that the Music Admissions Office may schedule an audition on your primary instrument and interview with the Music Education Faculty
• Applicants who wish to be considered for a Teaching Assistantship should ensure that at least one of their references provides specific comments on their potential to engage in university level teaching duties associated with such an appointment

Doctoral Programs in Music Education, EdD or PhD applicants must:

1. Applicants must hold one degree in Music Education (Bachelor’s or Master’s) from an accredited institution that led to certification granted by a state board of education. International students’ qualifications will be assessed individually to determine the extent to which their credentials are appropriate for music education in their home country.
2. Interviews with the Graduate Coordinator for Music Education and the faculty member responsible for the applicant’s concentration area. To be considered for an assistantship, an on-campus interview is required. The interview dealing with knowledge of issues, concepts and trends in music education (see below) should also be taken on the day of the interview on campus.
3. All doctoral applicants are invited and encouraged to attend a Doctoral Open House scheduled for a Friday-Saturday in late January or early February (Applicants will be notified of the date after the December 1 deadline for applications). Attendance at the Open House provides a convenient way to complete the doctoral Music Education Entrance Examinations and to be interviewed for teaching assistantships, which are required components of the application process. In addition, this event provides applicants with an opportunity to meet other doctoral applicants and to attend research presentations from current doctoral students and faculty about their ongoing investigations and other professional activities. Applicants who cannot make the Doctoral Open House must arrange an alternative campus visit with the Graduate Coordinator for Music Education in order to complete their interview. Alternative arrangements are also possible for international applicants who must discuss their application status with the Graduate Coordinator for Music Education.
4. Successful completion of the Music Education Entrance Examinations during the campus visit (overseas students should contact the Graduate Coordinator for Music Education to arrange a separate interview/examination). Entrance examinations consist of two parts:
   
   a. Knowledge of issues, concepts and trends in music education Bring to your interview three papers you have written in your bachelor or masters degree coursework that demonstrate your ability to think critically and reflectively about an important issue, concept or trend in music education. During the interview, you will be asked to discuss your approach to these three papers, your knowledge of the broader issues related to the topic, and to reflect critically on the various factors which have impacted on your particular view. The aim of this component of the entrance requirements is for you to demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about current issues, concepts and trends in music education, that you have read widely in the discipline, that you are open to new ideas and ways of thinking, and that you will eventually be capable of writing a thesis that will add something fresh to the literature in music education. For this reason, think carefully about the range of topics you choose to discuss and how major researchers and theorists who have worked in the area have shaped your ideas. (NB: If you have completed a thesis or research project as part of your master’s degree, then this should serve as one of the discussion topics).
   
   b. Research Practices Questions in this portion include identification and definition of basic research terms, identification of prominent music education researchers, and knowledge of major music education research journals and their editors. Applicants not receiving an acceptable score will be required to enrol in MUS 533 (Introduction to Research in Music Education) as a deficiency.
5. Additional admission requirements
   
   a) Ph.D.
   Completion of a Master’s Thesis or Research Project from an accredited institution, or evidence of sufficient background to undertake a research project that is significant and substantial. It is up to each applicant to provide evidence with the initial application of prior research experience and potential for undertaking a major Ph.D. dissertation. Applicants who are not able to provide evidence of having completed a previous thesis or research project should apply for the Ed.D. and consider transferring into the Ph.D. once they are able to demonstrate that they are capable of completing a research project of the scope required for a Ph.D.
   
   b) Ed.D.
   Demonstrated completion of a minimum of three consecutive years of full-time teaching at one institution as a certified music teacher of children between the ages of three and eighteen.
   DVD/Videotape of a classroom or rehearsal teaching situation and a written explanation of the teaching context and goals. Submission of the DVD/videotape and written material is a required component of the initial acceptance procedure.