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Graduate Admissions

 Update on graduate admissions:

  • For the fall 2025 application cycle, admissions for the MFA (all emphases) and for the PhD in History and Theory of Music (HTM) are suspended.
  • In fall 2025, we will only be accepting graduate program applications for the PhD in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT). 

2025 Application deadline (PhD in ICIT):

All application materials for the PhD in ICIT must be received by December 1, 2025. Applications are not considered complete until all materials have arrived. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

2025 Core Graduate Application Materials:

The following materials make up the Core Graduate Application, and are required for all applicants.

1) UCI ONLINE APPLICATION FOR GRADUATE ADMISSIONS

Available online in the month of September.

2) Transcripts

Follow instructions in online application (item 1 above) on how to submit transcripts.

3) Reference Letters

Follow instructions in online application (item 1 above) on how to submit reference letters.

Three (3) letters of reference are required. Waiving your right of access is optional but recommended. For more details regarding the reference letters, please see the Letters of Recommendation section on the UCI Graduate Division Applying to UCI website.

4) Writing Sample (a.k.a. Academic Essay)

Follow instructions in online application (item 1 above) on how to submit the Writing Sample.

The Writing Sample must be in English and on a music topic. This may be fulfilled by the submission of an undergraduate paper or research paper of similar size and scope. We suggest ten (10) double-spaced pages; the paper should display your best prose style. It must be a PDF document.

5) TOEFL

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for international students who did not earn their undergraduate degree at an institution in the United States, or did not earn a diploma or degree in a country where English is considered the primary or dominant language.  Please see the English Language Proficiency section on the UCI Graduate Division Applying to UCI website.

6) GRE (not required)

The GRE is not required for graduate applicants in Music.

2025 ICIT PhD Supplemental Application Materials (required):

Please see this link: Supplemental materials for application to the PhD in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT)

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