Master of Music in History of Musical Instruments

The master of music degree with a specialization in history of musical instruments is designed to meet the needs of students with a wide variety of backgrounds, training and interests. Work in the National Music Museum, one of the greatest institutions of its kind in the world, and choose to focus on conservation, research, cataloging and others that best suit your interests.
Let your passion become your career. Our program offers you affordability and flexibility with several specialization choices and multiple thesis/non-thesis tracks to customize your plan of study. USD offers the only master's of music degrees in the state, and our program has been accredited though NASM since 1956 and and by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Official transcript(s) verifying receipt of an undergraduate degree and previous graduate credit (in English or with translation). Transcripts must be complete (e.g., if currently enrolled, work-in-progress coursework must be included, foreign transcripts must include a grading scale, and for countries that issue, copy of degree certificate/diploma i.e., India, Nepal, etc.). The USD Graduate School and/or academic units retain the right to require credential evaluations from organizations, such as Educational Credential Evaluators/World Education Services (ECE/WES), for a student if such an evaluation is deemed necessary. Additionally, the Music Department has specific requirements based on degree specialization:
M.M. with Specialization in Performance requires an audition with the pertinent applied music faculty.
M.M. with Specialization in Music Education requires an interview with the Music Education professor.
M.M. with Specialization in Music History requires an interview with the Music History professor and writing sample.
M.M. with Specialization in Collaborative Piano requires an audition with the piano faculty.
M.M. with Specialization in Conducting requires an audition with the pertinent conducting faculty (choral or instrumental) and submission of video demonstrating rehearsal and performance conducting.
M.M. with Specialization in the History of Musical Instruments requires an interview with the pertinent museum faculty and a writing sample.
Baccalaureate degree must be from an institution with institutional accreditation for that degree. A minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 2.7 on conferred degree and/or graduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, based on a 4.0 scale, on all graduate coursework is required for full admission. 15 credit hours of undergraduate credit in music as approved by the department is preferred. Each graduate program may admit students on provisional status per university policy. Applicants who do not achieve at least a 3.0 undergraduate cumulative grade point average can only be admitted provisionally to the Music Department. All students entering the graduate music education program must possess an undergraduate degree in music education to finish the coursework within four semesters.
Applicants with degrees from countries other than the United States who have obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree from an institutionallyaccredited American college or university or from an accredited institution in the following English-speaking countries: United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada (Excluding Quebec), Australia, and New Zealandare not required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score.For all other applicants, a minimum score of 71 on the Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT), 550 on the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT), 8 on the TOEFL Essentials, 6.0 on the IELTS Academic, 53 on the PTE, or 105 on Duolingo is required for graduate admission.