Hi
I am in the process of applying for masters programs and need ideas for schools to apply to. I need help figuring out how schools are ranked in terms of caliber of the program and where I fit.
Thanks
There are many programs. Big and small. Are you more interested in performance or pedagogy?
Are you interested in the conservatory style, private school, state school? East coast? West?
Do you need FA? Are you willing to be a TA?
Have you asked your current teacher to help you make a list? I assume you are in college now.
I would go to your teacher first and get a list then come here to ask questions about specific schools.
Admission can be influenced by your voice type, Example, if they have 3 mezzos, they may not be taking any. So regardless of your ability or the “caliber” of the school, they may need you or not.
Lots of variables. GIve us some more information and then we can go from there.
Preferably performance with ped. As second option. Any kind of school preferably in the south. FA would be great. TA is fine. Current teacher did not give many options in the south and not many options in middle tier.
Thanks for the help
Is this the same as unc chapel hill or different?
Different. This is UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. Otherwise known as North Carolina School of the Arts.
Check out University of North Texas and Miami Frost as well. I haven’t checked out their VP programs.
I honestly don’t know a lot about VP programs, specifically, so hope others come on to answer you. I do know a fair amount about schools of music, more broadly, and will continue to think of some if I can.
Do you have examples of middle tier schools in the south?
Vanderbilt and Rice are top tier.
Loyola New Orleans? http://cmfa.loyno.edu/music/vocal
Florida State?
You could look at state universities in whatever states you are interested in.
Others know more than I do about VP!
In the south, I would consider Vanderbilt, FSU, and Miami, and Rice as a starting place. Go their websites and take a look.
Vanderbilt does not have a graduate program.
OP is looking for “mid-tier.” Any ideas anyone?
I realized as soon as I posted OP looking at MM. Yes, correct not Vandy.
U Alabama has a growing opera dept.
Would state U’s in general be options to look at, particularly in-state?
Does anyone know about schools in California?
We were offering suggestions in the South 
Look at state u’ and UC’s…
I guess I considered the west coast as the south. Does anyone know which of the many uc schools are known for their voice programs?
@BearHouse would be the person to consult, but in the meantime this is the list of schools his UC- focused D applied to last year for voice:
BearHouse’s D: Vocal Performance, mezzo
Chapman University, BM, 11/12/17
Arizona State U, BM, 1/20/18
UC Irvine, 1/21/18
UCLA, BM, 1/26/18
UC Santa Barbara, BM,1/27/18
SFCM, BM, 1/29/18
Cal State Long Beach, 2/24/18
San Diego State, 3/3/18
Cal State Fullerton, 3/4/18
U Arizona, 3/17/18
I live in the south and we are definitely NOT west coast. 
I believe that UCI has an MFA in voice. UCLA, UCSB, UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz all have MM in voice. The UC programs tend to be much smaller than the CSU programs and take fewer students. However, my D really liked the UCI, UCSB and UCLA programs. The CSU’s are much larger programs and, often, more well known for music. Long Beach, Northridge, and Fullerton all have well-regarded music programs. Many of the other CSU’s have strong music programs as well. I think you can find all the CSU music degrees via the website Cal State Apply.
Of note, UCLA and Fullerton are the only state colleges in California that required a pre-screen for voice at the undergraduate level. That “may” tell you something about relative strength of these programs. UCSB’s program seemed impressive and well-designed (to me). My D is at UCI and she is very happy with her decision. They have a very small number of graduate voice students and the studio seems supportive. I cannot comment on performance opportunities for graduate students at some of these smaller programs so you might keep that in mind.
In the long run, I suspect it is more about a connection with the voice faculty and performance opportunities rather than any ranking of the programs. I suspect that if you had to place the UC’s in a tier for music, UCLA would get top billing. But if the voice professor you want to work with is at UC Santa Cruz does it really matter? For the CSU’s, I think Long Beach, Fullerton and Northridge would be top tier for voice. Yet, my D loved San Diego State and it was a top choice for her. So you never know…
I will add that if you are a California resident, be sure to check out Arizona State University. The cost may not be prohibitive as they recruit a lot of California students and the music program appeared very strong with many performance opportunities.