Conducting Concentration

What sets UCF apart is that graduate students will work with and learn directly from highly trained faculty that are at the top of their field. UCF is also the only music graduate program in Central Florida. Because the campus is in Orlando, an international hub of entertainment, many graduates take advantage of gaining experience through freelance gigs, theme park work and more while completing their studies.

Alumni of the M.A. Music program have had successes in many areas. Some stay in their current positions with added confidence and skill while some have used the degree to qualify for new positions, such as college or university level instructors. Others have gone on to doctorate programs in performance, musicology and more.

A limited number of Graduate Teaching Assistantship positions normally become open for the fall semester each year. Some of the positions are targeted toward specific areas of need (such as concert support and recording, marching band or class piano), and others are more general (such as assisting with large lecture classes). In return for work in the department assisting with courses, GTA students receive a waiver for the tuition portion of 9 credit hours each semester, health insurance and a cash stipend. Normally, students will be supported for four semesters, if the work and academic achievement is satisfactory.

All prospective students are encouraged to apply using the department’s Graduate Teaching Assistant application form.
GTA APPLICATION

All Music MA students are required to take the Graduate Theory Diagnostic Test at the beginning of their first semester. The purpose of this exam is to confirm that the student is properly prepared for music theory study at the graduate level. Please click here for further information and preparation information: UCF Graduate Theory Diagnostic Test.

In order to apply for the Master of Arts, Music degree program, you must first apply to UCF through the College of Graduate Studies at https://graduate.ucf.edu.

Two letters of recommendation are required. These may be submitted online through the Graduate Studies application, or sent directly to the music department.

All college transcripts are required to be submitted to the Graduate Admissions office.

The applicant must submit a scholarly or academic essay of at least 1,000 words (about 4–5 double-spaced pages) on some topic in music or music education, written in formal prose (as if for submission in a music history or theory class for a grade). You may submit a paper that you used for a previous course, but please note this is not an essay about why you like music or why you want to go to graduate school. Essays on any era or style, and popular or non-Wester music are acceptable. The paper should state a thesis, provide supporting evidence for the thesis and lead to a conclusion. Ideally, the paper should make use of various sorts of reliable information, which you cite through some form of footnotes, end notes, or inline citations, and which are then listed in a bibliography after the body of the text.

Supplemental to the application file for admission to UCF’s College of Graduate Studies, MA Conducting applicants should also submit the following pre-screening materials directly to the Director of Bands, Director of Orchestral Studies, or Director of Choral Activities, in accordance with their emphasis (instrumental or choral):

• Current resume highlighting significant musical and professional accomplishments
• 15-20 minutes of conducting video: performance, rehearsal, or a combination of both

Through faculty review of all application and supporting materials, faculty leaders will select candidates to invite to campus for in-person audition and interview. Faculty leaders will communicate directly with those candidates to schedule their visit to UCF’s campus and to settle on specific repertoire to be used in live conducting audition.