Please submit a portfolio of composed works.
Undergraduate applicants who are successfully prescreened will be invited to audition on the date selected on the application. Prescreen results will be communicated by email in early January.
Graduate applicants do not need to audition.
Please submit a video with your application and follow the application procedures for Choral (PDF), Orchestral (PDF), and Wind (PDF) Conducting programs.
Students interested in pursuing an applied jazz instrument may do so by applying to the Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies or the Master of Arts in Music with concentration in Jazz. For all other degrees that require an audition, that audition must take place on a classical instrument.
Jazz audition repertoire sheets
Applicants must perform a successful audition on their major instrument. Applicants whose major instrument is piano or guitar must also successfully audition on a traditional band or orchestral instrument for the bachelor's degree in Music Education Instrumental program, or on voice for the bachelor's degree in Music Education Choral program. An interview with the music education faculty is also required.
In addition to your application, please submit the following:
Following submission of these materials, applicants must complete an acceptable interview with the faculty. A member of the faculty will contact you to schedule this interview. An audition is not required.
If you are interested in learning more about the degree, please be in touch with Dr. Joseph Parisi (parisijo@umkc.edu), PhD Coordinator, or other members of our Music Education faculty.
The following materials are required for the PhD application:
Applicants will be notified in early January regarding an invitation for an interview with the faculty and audition information.
Applicants for the master's degree in Music Theory must submit an example of analytical writing from an upper-level music theory or music history class, as well as a statement of purpose. Please upload these documents to your application on the "writing sample" page.
An informal interview will also be arranged by faculty. This interview may be conducted online or by phone.
All applicants must successfully interview with the music therapy faculty.
Please prepare two popular songs of your choice in any genre to sing a cappella during the interview with music therapy faculty. In addition, you will audition on your applied instrument or voice type. (Applicants whose major instrument is piano or guitar will typically fulfill ensemble requirements by enrolling in UMKC Choral Union or UMKC Campus Band)
An audition for evaluative purposes is required for those with a bachelor's degree in music who are applying for the master's degree in the Music Therapy Emphasis program. This audition will be scheduled separately from the interview and typically does not take place on one of the audition days. It is generally scheduled just before the start of the school year.
Board-certified music therapists returning for the master's degree in Music Therapy provide clinical skill competencies in lieu of an audition.
Interdisciplinary Ph.D.candidates have other requirements. Please contact the Director of Music Therapy for more information.
Please submit a recording along with a sample of scholarly writing and a proposed program of audition repertoire (PDF) with your application for the doctorate and Artist's Certificate degree programs. Applicants who are successfully prescreened will be invited to audition on the date selected on the application.
Please submit a recording with your application for the master's, doctorate and Artist's Certificate degree programs. Applicants who are successfully prescreened will be invited to audition on the date selected on the application.
Please submit a recording with your application for the master's, doctorate and Artist's Certificate degree programs. Applicants who are successfully prescreened will be invited to audition on the date selected on the application.
Applicants interested in the Lyric Opera's Young Artist Program (YAP) should select the first audition date: Saturday, February 4th, 2023.
Requirements for graduate Theatre applicants
UMKC Theatre graduate programs have additional application requirements.
Headshot/resume
EITHER: a 2 page essay addressing both (1) the most memorable moment you’ve had in the theatre, and (2) a defining moment you’ve had in life (unrelated to theatre) ---- OR submit an "un-essay" to respond to the two above questions. Your response can take any form that you’d like: free-writing, poetry, spoken word, video blog, film, a music playlist, collage, artwork, etc. We ask that if there is no text or spoken word involved in your response that you write a short artistic statement explaining how it relates to the questions.
2 letters of recommendation to either be uploaded or sent after submission of the form
Application materials should be uploaded to your application status page for review by the Theatre faculty.
Digital and Immersive Media
