Master of Music
If you are dreaming of a career as a professional musician or composer, this graduate degree is for you.
When you pursue a Master of Music degree at Penn State, you choose from among four options: Composition/Theory, Conducting, Performance, or Pedagogy and Performance. All prepare you for professional careers as performers/composers or teachers or for doctoral study. Penn State Music students benefit from small class sizes with all the resources of a major research university, including numerous concerts by an international roster of performers.
Program Application Deadline
Applications received and completed, including auditions and interviews, by February 15 will be given priority consideration for admission and graduate assistantship funding.
To be assured full consideration, please apply by this deadline. Review individual program descriptions for details on program and admission requirements.
Penn State will help you take your musical talent and drive to the next level—the professional stage, a top-ranked doctoral program, and beyond.
The Master of Music options at Penn State allow you to specialize based on instrument, voice, or ensemble. All require 36 credits. In the Conducting option, you may specialize in band/wind ensemble, choral, or orchestral. In the Performance option, you may specialize in voice, piano, or orchestral instruments. The Pedagogy and Performance option offers specializations in voice and piano. The Composition/Theory option is a stand-alone program.
Is the Master of Music right for you?
The Master of Music program prepares students for professional careers as performers or composers, or for doctoral study. The program is both rewarding and rigorous, with internationally known faculty providing individualized attention and mentoring, thus preparing students to enter a competitive field. Candidates need a bachelor’s degree in music with at least a 2.8 junior-senior GPA.
Considering the Master of Music? Consider this.
This degree prepares students for professional music careers as performers or composers, or for doctoral study.
Perform in the new recital hall, with other performances across campus and the world.
Small classes with nationally known faculty committed to your future success.
Penn State hosts a diverse range of performances featuring artists from around the world.
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Annie Burridge
Bachelor of Music 2000As general director and CEO of Austin Opera, Annie has led the development of a new strategic plan and launched an artistic initiative – Opera ATX – which brings groundbreaking artists to unexpected and unique venues throughout Austin. Before switching her focus to administration, Annie performed with numerous opera companies and orchestras, and was a young artist with Des Moines Metro Opera. In addition to her performance successes, Annie has received many leadership accolades.
News from A&A
From Bach to Brass and Janáček to Jazz: Penn’s Woods Music Festival June 11-24
For more than three decades, the Penn’s Woods Music Festival has ushered in summer with symphonic sounds, masterful musical artistry and memorable performances for audiences young and young at heart.
The beat goes on: Forty years of percussion education at Penn State
