Music Education

Music Education

The following information is for entry into the 2027-2028 school year.

Undergraduate applicants

Bachelor of Music in Education (B.M.E.)

Undergradute music education applicants complete both an audition in their performance area as well as an interview: 

  • Audition: Complete a prescreening (if required for your area) and/or audition in your performance area. For information on which instruments or areas require prescreening and to see audition requirements, visit the audition page and select your instrument area or voice. Prescreening must be submitted with with your JSOM Supplemental application by December 1.
  • Interview: Your in-person interview will take place on your audition day.  In addition to the 1:1 interview, you will attend a mandatory group meeting with the music education faculty, consisting of:
    • An on-site questionnaire about your musical and extracurricular activities.
    • A general assessment of musical skills and dispositions that pertain to teaching music.

You will be scheduled for one of the following audition dates and will receive your schedule by email 3-4 weeks prior to your performance audition and music education interview and group meeting:

  • January 29-30, 2027
  • February 5-6, 2027 
  • February 26-27, 2027

Graduate applicants

Master of Music Education (M.M.E.), Master of Science (M.S.) in Music Education with Teacher Certification, Doctor of Music Education (D.M.E.), Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education (Ph.D.), Graduate Certificate in Music Education

All graduate music education applicants must submit a prescreening portfolio via the JSOM Supplemental application by December 1.

Submit the following materials via the JSOM Supplemental Application by Dec. 1:

  • An entrance essay of three to five pages to assess your ability to organize thoughts and to express them clearly in writing. The essay should include:

    1. Your background in music and music education, with particular emphasis on teaching experience.
    2. A discussion of what you hope to accomplish during graduate study and long-term career goals.
    3. M.M.E. and Ph.D. applicants should discuss potential research interests.
  • A writing sample that demonstrates your ability to write clearly and persuasively while also incorporating citations (e.g., research paper, research literature review, scholarly essay, term paper from a previous degree, compelling blog post/editorial)
  • Either a video of one recent teaching segment, approximately 10 minutes long, that is continuous and unedited except for trimming the beginning and end OR a video showing two recent teaching segments, each between 4 and 6 minutes long, continuous and unedited except for trimming the beginning and end of each clip. Videos from within the past year are highly preferable, particularly for applicants who are seeking an Student Academic Appointment. If your regular teaching involves teaching in English, then an English-language teaching video is preferable, particularly for applicants seeking an Student Academic Appointment. If your teaching has used languages beyond English, then a video in any language with English subtitles is acceptable.
  • A CV or resume
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Academic records must also be uploaded to your application or sent to musicadm@iu.edu.
  • Applicants are not required to submit a GRE General Test scores.

     

If your prescreen is accepted, you will complete an in-person interview with the music education graduate coordinator consisting of questions regarding previous schooling, teaching, and musical experience, along with research experience and interests. The interviews will be used to assess the applicant's ability to articulate thoughts and goals clearly and to determine the applicant's appropriateness for Associate Instructorships.

Learn more about auditions and prescreenings

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