While it would be preferable to have your video completed in one take, to mimic a live audition, we know that students do not always have control over their environment. Some areas may have more explicit instructions, but in general, please do you best to record on the same day, submitting one or multiple videos, as similar to an audition as possible.

All recordings can be uploaded through your School of Music Acceptd application.

Undergraduate applicants receive their decision from the Office of Admission and School of Music in late March. The final decision is available online through the “Where Am I in the Process?” webpage and you will receive a notification from the School of Music via Acceptd. Financial Aid decisions are available through the Office of Undergraduate Admission after admission decisions are processed - please allow up to three business days for financial aid to post.

Graduate applicants will receive decisions via Acceptd. Admission decisions will be released in mid-March and will include any fellowship and/or assistantship offers. Federal loans are processed after a graduate student enrolls at Carnegie Mellon, typically in the summer. Information about graduate aid can be found here.

You can, but we typically see the most successful auditions from students who audition on what they consider to be their primary instrument. If you choose to audition or interview for two programs within the School of Music, you will need to complete the Online School of Music Application twice. Please contact the Office of Recruitment & Enrollment if you plan to apply to two programs.

Instrumental auditions are unaccompanied. 

Campus Voice auditions will have an accompanist provided by CMU School of Music.

Accompanists are NOT provided for the NYC Regional Voice auditions. Voice applicants are required to have a collaborative pianist. We can provide a list of local accompanists, and students can make their own arrangements. Please contact the School of Music Office of Recruitment & Enrollment at music-admissions@andrew.cmu.edu for more information. 

You can also watch our recent webinar to learn about the differences among these programs:

No. Your portfolio review/interview is your audition for the Composition studio.

A K-12 Music Education Certification is available for undergraduate performance or composition majors, as a music minor + certification. The Certification is also offered as a three-semester post-graduate program (Music Education Certification). The School of Music also offers a Master of Music in Music Education.

All CMU School of Music programs have a fall-start term only.

Fee waivers are processed directly with Acceptd.

All undergraduate applicants who would like to apply for a fee waiver based on financial need should follow this Acceptd guide.

Once you have gathered the appropriate documentation, you can reach out to the Acceptd Support Team.

Admitted students can defer their admission one year as part of the enrollment process.  During this one-year deferral, you cannot be enrolled at any other degree-granting institution. Graduate students must send a formal letter requesting deferral to the School of Music Office of Recruitment and Enrollment by April 15.

Undergraduates must contact the Office of Undergraduate Admission about the deferral process.

Undergraduate applicant transcripts and test scores should be sent directly to the CMU Office of Undergraduate Admission.

Undergraduate music application materials should be uploaded electronically via the Acceptd music application. Read our undergraduate application process. 

School of Music minors do not require an audition. Once you are enrolled as a Carnegie Mellon student, you will first contact your major advisor. Once approved to move through with the minor, please contact School of Music Senior Academic Advisor Kate Ganczarz (kganzcarz@andrew.cmu.edu) for next steps.

The audition or portfolio review is a large factor of your admission decision, accounting for about 80% of your final admission decision. This artistic decision happens first. Students who are admitted to the School of Music are recommended for admission to the University. A student can still be admitted, denied or put on the wait-list for the School of Music by the Office of Undergraduate Admission, though these circumstances are rare.

Please review all Admission requirements.

If you are in the Music/Performance or Composition track/concentration, you will take four semesters of studio lessons as part of your curriculum. Technology track/concentration students are able take lessons through the Extension Division for non-majors since studio lessons are not a part of the curriculum.

Yes. Music students are able to study abroad but need to work closely with their advisor if they plan to be away during the academic year.  Typically students use the summer as a time to study abroad. The Study Abroad website is a great resource. The BXA program also has a student exchange program.

Electronic documents are preferred. Materials may be submitted online through the Acceptd music application. Unofficial transcripts, credential evaluations, and test scores may be uploaded to the media section of your application.

For GRE Scores:

• Send official scores to Institution Code 2074; Department Code: “Arts – Performance and Studio – Music” 2404

For English Proficiency Scores:

• Send official TOEFL scores to Institution Code 2074; Department Code: "Humanities-Music 19"
• Send official IELTS and Duolingo scores to "Carnegie Mellon University School of Music."

For Academic Credential Evaluations:

• Send official academic credential evaluations with GPA conversion (WES, ECE, or SpanTran) to "Carnegie Mellon University School of Music."

Only students applying for the Music & Technology MS need to take the GRE. The CMU School of Music is currently test-optional for GRE Scores.

The School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University offers competitive fellowships and assistantships based on merit and institutional need.

Administrative, Ensemble Staff, Teaching and Studio Assistantships are available.

A Graduate Assistantship, available only for Master of Music candidates, includes a stipend of $10,000 per year (paid biweekly during the academic year) and requires the student to work up to 10 hours per week for their assigned supervisor.

Graduate applicants will apply for consideration for assistantships through the online School of Music application. 

All admitted domestic graduate students at Carnegie Mellon are eligible for federal loans through The Hub. Your FAFSA is processed after you have chosen to enroll at Carnegie Mellon. The Hub takes the Cost of Attendance and subtracts scholarship or assistantship tuition remission in order to determine loan eligibility. Review the Graduate Financial Aid Guide for more information.

Yes, though a music degree is strongly preferred. Applicants who do not hold an undergraduate degree in music and do not have demonstrable prior academic work in music will undergo additional evaluation by the Admission Committee and may require special approval. Applicants without an undergraduate degree in music might indeed require catch-up theory/history work in addition to program requirements and remedial classes. 

An applicant may choose to apply to our Advanced Music Studies Certificate program prior to applying to a MM degree, should they choose to refine their skills and take preparatory coursework. Courses taken in an AMSC program are not transferable to a MM degree program, but are intended to help prepare students who feel they need additional preparatory work before applying to the MM.

For information on English proficiency scores requirements, please visit our International Students webpage.

Yes. All international applicants or students whose native language is not English, are required to submit a TOEFL, IELTS, or DuoLingo English Test score to the School of Music.

If you have not taken the TOEFL or IELTS since applying for an undergraduate program in the United States, we will be able to accept scores if they are within the last five years and meet our minimum standards. If scores are older than five years or do not meet the minimum for the program to which you are applying, you will need to take either the TOEFL, IELTS, or DuoLingo English Test prior to applying to the School of Music. Please contact the Office of Music Admission if you have any questions surrounding your test score/date at music-admission@andrew.cmu.edu.

To view CMU’s current policies around standardized testing, please visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions webpage.

Admitted students who have confirmed enrollment at Carnegie Mellon will be issued an I-20 from the CMU Office of International Education. 

Please visit our International Students page for more information.

Undergraduate International students do not qualify for need based financial aid through the Office of Undergraduate Admission. 

Graduate international students are eligible for fellowship and assistantships based on the audition/portfolio review. However, graduate international student are not eligible for federal loans.

Pittsburgh is home to a dynamic arts and cultural community including:

• Attack Theatre
• August Wilson Center for African American Culture
• Chatham Baroque
• Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh
• NAT 28
• Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society
• Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
• Pittsburgh Festival Opera
• Pittsburgh Opera
• Pittsburgh Public Theatre
• Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

The downtown Cultural District encompasses seven world-class theaters and a dozen art galleries. Named by National Geographic Traveler as one of the best places in the world to experience in 2012, Pittsburgh has “a wealth of fine art and architecture, and a quirky sense of humor.”