Financing grad school for MM in performance

I do know of doctoral programs (DMA) with a master’s as part of the program, rather than a terminal master’s. A terminal master’s is just a master’s degree on its own that is not part of a doctoral program. In some doctoral programs you cannot do the master’s without going on to the doctorate, so those would be non-terminal, so to speak.

I would think instrumentalists might be less likely to want a doctorate, and I agree that many MM’s would not be part of a DMA program in the way I described. (It is true that composers generally get PhD’s but some get DMA’s. Composers, I think, have a harder time making a living in their craft and tend to stay in academia, which requires a doctorate generally.)

c

@compmom

In the majority of cases, once a student has a bachelors degree, they are considered independent for financial aid purposes.

In addition, graduate school funding is way different than undergraduate funding…it is primarily merit based. For music majors, the strength of the audition is the determining factor in most cases, and the schools desire to have you as a grad music student.

Aid comes on the form of scholarships, assistantships, fellowships, sometimes work study, and loans. There aren’t any “entitlements” like the Pell Grant. Grad students can take unsubsidized Direct Loans up to a certain amount, and can take Grad Plus Loans up to the cost of attendance.

Many…many music grad students are not receiving merit aid…and are self funding their masters programs.

Some students receive partial funding but not full funding.

There are exceptions…like Yale, where every music performance masters student is fully funded. But that program is the exception to the rule.

I know of other exceptions to the rule where once admitted, every student is funded, and not just elite schools. The merit evaluation comes with the admissions decision.

For those with performers in voice/opera, how are commitments to roles in performances communicated? In writing with the offer, verbally, not at all? How did your student broach this aspect of the admission package? I have heard this should be an important consideration along with funding, but wonder how it actually works and if the promises (if made) were actually fulfilled (especially since who knows what the shows will be or whom else will audition etc…)?

@compmom it would be very helpful if you posted names of MM programs that fully funded all admitted students. I’m sure that would be helpful to many.

@songbirdmama - I would guess most schools know what the operas are going to be by audition time. The auditions for grad school are looking for talent AND needs for upcoming operas (in my opinion which could be right or wrong). I would guess your D’s UG school does this as well…knowing the jr and sr talent available when deciding on operas for the next year. For UG VP need is not such a big deal. They are looking mainly for talent and not thinking about operas as much since it is rare to use a Freshman in anything but chorus. But of course they do have to balance out males and females to get a variety of voice types…they are not going to take 12 sopranos for a class of 20 (even if the sopranos are the “best”). But in grad school, the needs for opera productions could play a bigger role in offers (this seemed to be the case for my D).

In general, I don’t think most students get written offers (but I’m not sure…some may). My D did not. But she did get some verbal reassurances that knowing their talent pool and her abilities, she should expect opportunity A, B and C (which would still require auditions once at the school). These assurances came from her teacher and another running a grad program. Those opportunities did come through. I still think in general the scholarship offer and teacher enthusiasm/dialogue will help your D decide…more so then anything in black and white…but I’m not sure as people don’t tend to share a lot of that information.

At my D’s UG, which had a large grad school, there were lots of “whispers” about deals like this in grad school…and I think that there may have been some deals for some intl PD candidates…but I also think some of it was sour grapes too. How knows for sure? But in general, I think it’s a more humble experience…lol…for most…and a good scholarship with teacher encouragement is what to look for (at least that’s what I think…). If the scholarship is generous or negotiable…that’s a pretty good sign.

Hey @songbirdmama - Interesting question regarding opera roles and auditioning for grad school. I have no idea. At my daughter’s current school the voice teachers aren’t involved in determining roles, except to give approval for one of their students to accept a role. I wonder how much the opera director is involved in evaluating MM candidates at various schools? At the moment, I’d be over the moon with a decent scholarship and a teacher that is a good fit. But first, hoping to hear that she gets some audition invites.