Whether you are looking to advance in your current career path or perhaps make a career change, our graduate programs provide the opportunities to focus your studies even further. Take your education to the next level in one of dozens of programs available.
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Choose your area of study to see all relevant admission details.
Choose your area of study
Arts Administration
Providing an education in arts management and leadership.
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Brass
Fostering limitless experiences and connections.
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Commercial Music
Providing hands-on experience as performers, engineers and producers.
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Conducting
Gaining leadership and entrepreneurial skills for the 21st Century.
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Jazz
A vibrant environment where creativity and tradition intersect.
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Keyboard
Offering exceptional training for performers and teachers.
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Liberal Arts in Music
Pursuing a passion for music alongside other academic interests.
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Music Education
Preparing tomorrow’s teachers and researchers.
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Music Therapy
Building careers using music in service to and rehabilitation of others.
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Musicology
Training socially responsible scholar-musicians of the highest caliber.
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Percussion
Building skillsets for successful, competitive musicians.
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Piano Technology
Providing valuable experience in repair and restoration situations.
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Strings
Preparing students to excel as a versatile, modern musician.
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Theory & Composition
Training musicians through outstanding instruction and mentorship.
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Voice & Opera
Developing students for a multitude of performing opportunities.
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Woodwinds
Preparing students for diverse careers in teaching and performance.
Select programFall 2026
Jazz Admissions
Developing jazz professionals at the highest level
Jazz
Key Admission Dates
Fall 2026
- Priority Deadline December 1
- Final Deadline February 1
- Audition Dates January 24, February 7, February 21 (other dates by appointment)
- Decisions Released March
- Merit-Based Financial Assistance Offers Released March and April
Jazz
Application Requirements
1 Apply to Florida State University
Complete the Florida State University Application and pay the $30 application fee.
In order to meet the Florida State University requirements for graduate admission, applicants must have earned a minimum 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average (GPA) in all coursework attempted while registered as an upper-division undergraduate student working towards a bachelor’s degree. Applicants not meeting this requirement may be considered for admission, but only by special exception. To determine your upper-division GPA, please consult the GPA calculation worksheet. If your upper-division GPA is below a 3.0, please be sure to address this deficiency in your Statement of Purpose. You are also encouraged to have your referees address your academic preparedness for graduate study in their letters of recommendation.
Applicants with degrees earned from international institutions must submit their official transcripts through the Evaluation Company pathway portal, or from another NACES approved evaluator. The Evaluation Company has created a custom application for Florida State University that will make sure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. Florida State University recommends The Evaluation Company as our preferred credential evaluation because it offers an easy way to streamline the application process.
The College of Music admissions requirements exceed University minimum standards. Official English Language Proficiency results are required of all applicants who are citizens of a country where English is not an official language, including applicants who have already studied in an English speaking country for any length of time.
For admission, attain the minimum required score on one of the following exams:
Additionally, to be eligible for a teaching assistantship:
- Students must score a minimum of 26 on the speaking portion of the IBTOEFL or;
- Achieve a score of 50 on the SPEAK Test (offered by FSU) to qualify for a graduate assistantship.
2 Apply to the College of Music
Complete the College of Music Supplemental Application and any additional materials required for your program. The Supplemental Application allows you to select your audition date, and will be added to your Application Checklist within 1-2 hours of submitting your application to FSU.
- Comprehensive Repertoire List
- This is a list of all significant works you have studied to date.
- Vita/Resume
- Include education, background, experience, honors and awards, publications, names of former teachers, and any other important information.
- Statement of Purpose
- There is no required format or prompt for the Statement of Purpose. Most are 1-2 pages in length and discuss the applicant’s background, career goals, and potential for success in the program. This may be formatted as a cover letter to accompany the Vita/Resume.
- Letters of Recommendation (3 required)
- You will enter your recommenders’ contact information through the Application Status Check.
3 Submit transcripts from all previously attended institutions.
For the purposes of the admission review, transcripts may be official or unofficial. Prior to matriculation, entering students are required to submit final, official transcripts.
Applicants with degrees earned from international institutions must submit their official transcripts through the Evaluation Company pathway portal, or from another NACES approved evaluator. The Evaluation Company has created a custom application for Florida State University that will make sure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. Florida State University recommends The Evaluation Company as our preferred credential evaluation because it offers an easy way to streamline the application process.
4 Complete your audition
Be sure to review the audition requirements for your instrument.
A live audition is strongly encouraged whenever possible. We do accept pre-recorded auditions, however, if travel to campus presents a hardship for you and your family. For those who choose the recorded audition option:
Video and audio is required. Each selection should be recorded in separate, unedited videos with a backing track. Tracks can be found on YouTube, at Learn Jazz Standards, or by using an app like iReal Pro. Additionally, please submit a brief video introducing yourself.
Jazz
Audition Requirements
Select your instrument from the list below to view audition requirements
Auditions are accepted on the following instruments: Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone, Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drum Set. Auditions will be accompanied by a rhythm section.
Applicants should prepare three jazz selections, one from each of the three categories listed below:
- Swing or Latin (select one):
All The Things You Are
All Of Me
Autumn Leaves
Doxy
How High The Moon (or Ornithology)
Just Friends
Take The A Train
There Will Never Be Another You
Oleo (rhythm changes)
Cottontail (rhythm changes)
I Got Rhythm (rhythm changes)
Blue Bossa
The Girl From Ipanema - Blues (select one):
Blue Monk
Straight, No Chaser
Billie’s Bounce
Tenor Madness - Ballad (select one):
My One and Only Love
In a Sentimental Mood
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
Drum Set applicants should also prepare:
- The snare drum etude “Rolling in Rhythm” from Charley Wilcoxin’s Modern Rudimental Swing Solos
- Play swing time/feel for 1 minute at each of the following tempos: Quarter = 60, 120, 240 (demonstrate time and light fills as well)
- Demonstrate (at any tempo) knowledge of these latin styles: Bossa Nova, Samba, Mambo, 12/8 Afro-Cuban – 1 minute each (demonstrate time and light fills as well)
- Demonstrate knowledge of these essential rudiments: 5- Stroke Roll, 10-Stroke roll, Flam Paradiddle, Triple Ratamacue (Start each slow, build up speed, then back down to slow)
- Find a recording of a jazz standard of your choice to play along with (or record with a live trio, if possible) and perform it thusly: Play along with the recording into a couple solos, then at some point stop the recording and solo over the song form of the tune for (2) choruses, then stop at the point where the melody should come back in.
Jazz Guitar applicants should also prepare:
- Major and harmonic minor scales in all 12 keys
- Minor pentatonic scale in all five positions on the fretboard
Applicants who chose to submit a recorded audition: selections should be recorded with a rhythm section or backing track if possible.
Jazz
Audition Day Itinerary
Stop in to meet our Student Success team!
Meet Associate Dean Liz Avery and key staff members from the College of Music. Learn more about the programs and opportunities for graduate students, including details regarding the admission process, student funding, and life in Tallahassee. Question and answer session with current students will follow.
Have all of your final questions answered! Speak one-on-one with an admissions representative.
Common Questions
Expand AllEveryone who completes the application process (including interview and/or audition, if required) is automatically considered for scholarships and assistantships, and no additional application is necessary. Only graduate students interested in auditioning for accompanying or group piano teaching assistantships are required to take an additional audition. Contact College of Music Admissions for further details.
Prescreenings are required for the following instruments/degree programs:
- MM or DM in Brass Performance
- MM or DM in String Performance (Violin only)
- MM or DM in Woodwind Performance (Flute, Clarinet, and Saxophone only)
- MM or DM in Voice Performance
- MM or DM in Piano Performance
- MM in Piano Pedagogy
- MM or DM in Accompanying
- MM in Opera Coaching
Prescreening submissions are due by December 1 and results will be released by December 15. Applicants who are successful in this first round will be invited to campus for a full audition on one of the dates listed above.
An accompanist is provided, free of charge, for all voice auditions on campus. Rehearsal time is not provided, however, and scores should not be submitted in advance. Please bring neat copies, in a book or organized in a binder, in the appropriate key(s). Students may bring their own accompanist to the audition if they wish.
Classical instrumental auditions will be unaccompanied. Jazz auditions are accompanied by a rhythm section.
Students are allowed a maximum of three audition attempts per instrument/voice, per degree level (bachelors, master’s, doctoral). Applicants are allowed one audition per application.