<p>Compmom suggested that I post this a link to this thorough and thoroughly engaging blog post about apply to grad school as a composer as its own thread. So, Compmom - I always take your advice!
Twopenny</a> Thoughts on Graduate School Admissions |</p>
<p>Spirit Manager sent it to me privately and I thought it was too good to keep to myself!</p>
<p>^There’s food for thought for every music grad and undergrad student in this little blog.
Including this link: [NewMusicBox</a> » Buyer Beware: Education Debt](<a href=“http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/buyer-beware-education-debt/]NewMusicBox”>Buyer Beware: Education Debt - New Music USA)</p>
<p>and:</p>
<p><a href=“http://recoveringoboist.blogspot.com/2012/12/go-for-it-but-dont-pay-for-it.html[/url]”>http://recoveringoboist.blogspot.com/2012/12/go-for-it-but-dont-pay-for-it.html</a></p>
<p>musicamusica - that Recovering Oboist link has a lot of wise advice about incurring, or not incurring, debt for a music degree! Thanks for pointing that out.</p>
<p>Good advice (excerpting):</p>
<p>"Take some time off before grad school or skip it entirely… I think musicians need some time away from the safe academic environment in order to evaluate what being a musician really means to them and estimate what it will take, emotionally and financially, for them to keep doing it at a high level.</p>
<p>Another strategy for those who compose or are interested in academic music, is to skip the Master’s, spend a year or a few years developing in a variety of ways, and then apply to a funded PhD or DMA program. (I have no idea if this works for instrumentalists or vocal performers.) </p>
<p>There are some funded master’s programs, but they seem to be hard to find. I had no idea until a few months ago.</p>
<p>Debt is tough for everyone and limits choices: fewer grads going into public service, for instance. For artists, it sure can affect freedom of choice and maybe even integrity, out of necessity.</p>
<p>My daughter is home this week and we have been researching grad composition options, both academic and outside of academia. We have found many interesting programs in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Feel free to PM me if you would like to share info. Also, I found gradcafe.com, which has a forum for music applicants that is not well-used but is informative nevertheless.</p>
<p>I’ll add something my son is learning right now: make sure you have a good understanding of the requirements of the program other than those involving composition itself. My son is finding that he will be spending a LOT more time on the required ear training than he would have anticipated. I don’t think it would have changed his mind, but something like that could matter if you have a close decision.</p>
<p>I know there are graduate composition programs which have no such requirements at all, and possibly no requirements period. And those in between. So, Hunt is right - that’s definitely something a prospective student should explore.</p>
<p>Yes, some explicitly mention total freedom of choice, others have long prescripted curricula with theory, ear training, music analysis etc.</p>
<p>My daughter is enamored of a program that is entirely project-based 
</p>
<p>Hunt, did your son find his program to be different from advertised, so to speak? Or did the introduction on website, interview and audition give him some idea of the requirements in advance?</p>
<p>I don’t think it was misrepresented–he just didn’t realize quite how intense the ear training was going to be, and how much of his time it was going to take, until he actually started. He thinks it will be good for him in the long run.</p>
<p>[Composing</a> a Life, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dollar | NewMusicBox](<a href=“http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/Composing-a-Life-Or-How-I-Learned-to-Stop-Worrying-and-Love-the-Dollar/]Composing”>Composing a Life, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dollar - New Music USA)</p>
<p>Another interesting take on grad school for composing, or on not doing grad school in composing (and getting an MB instead).</p>
<p>Editing off again: meant MBA</p>