Degree Programs

1. Read through the Admissions Information page.
2. The application deadline for Fall 2026 admissions for the MA or PhD in Music (Critical  Music Studies) is December 15, 2025.
3. Complete the application  found here:https://graduateadmissions.stonybrook.edu/apply/ 
4. Please note that the Critical Music Studies program may email you to request an interview (to be held on Zoom in mid-January), in order to learn more about your interests and potential in the program. 

M.A. in Music (Critical Music Studies)

1)    Application – submitted through the Graduate School application system (Slate) (link on this page, above).

2)    Application Fee – paid via the application.

3)    Statement of Purpose - uploaded to the application.  Please indicate what you hope to accomplish from your graduate studies in Stony Brook's Music Department, what your career goals are, and what music or musicians have influenced your path as a musician. Please note: All written work submitted to support your application must be your own. In particular, the use of generative AI to generate entire sentences and paragraphs is not permitted and may be disqualifying.

4)    Resume/CV - suploaded to the application.

5)    Three (3) Letters of Recommendation – recommenders submit through the application system.

6)    Transcripts – official transcripts from institutions where a degree was received. For coursework relevant to the proposed course of study taken outside of a degree, unofficial transcripts will suffice.  Details on the submission process can be found here (see Transcripts: Requirements and Submission).

7)    2-3 Academic Papers –  uploaded to the application.  These should be original papers in music research, analysis or criticism in the range of 2500-5000 words.  In addition to these, you may send papers on other subjects if you think that they support some aspect of your application for admission.  Please limit your papers to those that exemplify your best work.  Please note: All written work submitted to support your application must be your own. In particular, the use of generative AI to generate entire sentences and paragraphs is not permitted and may be disqualifying.

8)    GRE Scores - GRE scores are NOT required.

9)    TOEFL/IELTS Scores (if applicable):

Applicants whose native language is not English who have received/will receive a degree from an English-speaking institution will not have to supply a TOEFL iBT score (or approved equivalent) for the purposes of admission. 

Applicants who only have received/will receive an Artist’s Diploma or Advanced Graduate Certificate in an English-speaking institution will be required to  provide a TOEFL iBT score (or approved equivalent) for the purposes of admission.

Applicants whose native language is not English and have not received/will not have received a degree from an English-speaking institution will be required to provide a passing TOEFL iBT (or approved equivalent- see below for acceptable tests) score in order to be admitted.  For any test, the most recent scores are counted, and the test must not be more than two years old at the time of application (this means that tests taken prior to September 2024 cannot be considered for Fall 2026 admissions).

Tests Accepted: Stony Brook University accepts either TOEFL iBT or IELTS scores.  For Fall 2022, Stony Brook University is also accepting TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition and IELTS Indicator.  Currently, Stony Brook University does NOT accept Duolingo, TOEFL My Best Score, or TOEFL ITP scores. 

Reporting of Scores:

• For TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition, have ETS send scores to Stony Brook University using code 2548.  Only electronic transmission of scores from ETS to Stony Brook University is considered official for TOEFL scores – copies of your results are not acceptable.
• For IELTS, have the organization mail an official score report to the Music department. 
• For IELTS Indicator, email the score results you receive to the Graduate School at gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu.

Minimum Scores

Minimum score requirements are as follows:

• TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition: 80 for MA applicants
• IELTS or IELTS Indicator: An overall score of 6.5 with no subsection below 6

Spoken English

All students with a TA/GA stipend whose native language is not English and who have not received/will not have received a degree from an English-speaking institution must demonstrate a sufficient level of English-speaking proficiency and may be required to take English courses based on these measures. Proficiency is determined by the speak subsection score. For TOEFL iBT/TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and IELTS/IELTS Indicator speak subsection scores, please see the chart below:

TOEFL iBT Speak	IELTS Speak	Course Requirement	Result
25-30	7 or higher	none	Eligible to TA
22-24	6.5	OAE 594	Eligible to TA
19-21	6	OAE 592	Eligible to run recitation and lab sessions and/or grade
15-18	5-5.5	OAE 590	Not eligible to TA

More information

Please see the Graduate Bulletin for further information:

https://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/graduatebulletin/current/admissions/requirements/english.php

Ph.D. in Music (Critical Music Studies)

1)    Application – submitted through the Graduate School application system (Slate) (links on this page, above).

2)    Application Fee – paid via the application.

3)    Statement of Purpose - uploaded to the application. Please indicate what you hope to accomplish from your graduate studies in Stony Brook's Music Department, what your career goals are, and what music or musicians have influenced your path as a musician. Please note: All written work submitted to support your application must be your own. In particular, the use of generative AI to generate entire sentences and paragraphs is not permitted and may be disqualifying.

4)    Resume/CV - uploaded to the application.

5)    Three (3) Letters of Recommendation – recommenders submit through the application system.

6)    Transcripts – official transcripts from institutions where a degree was received. For coursework relevant to the proposed course of study taken outside of a degree, unofficial transcripts will suffice.  Details on the submission process can be found here (see Transcripts: Requirements and Submission).

7)    2-3 Academic Papers – uploaded to the application.  These should be original papers in music research, analysis or criticism in the range of 2500-5000 words.  In addition to these, you may send papers on other subjects if you think that they support some aspect of your application for admission.  Please limit your papers to those that exemplify your best work.  Please note: All written work submitted to support your application must be your own. In particular, the use of generative AI to generate entire sentences and paragraphs is not permitted and may be disqualifying.

8)    GRE Scores - GRE scores are NOT required.

9)    TOEFL Scores (if applicable):

Applicants whose native language is not English who have received/will receive a degree from an English-speaking institution will not have to supply a TOEFL iBT score (or approved equivalent) for the purposes of admission. 

Applicants who only have received/will receive an Artist’s Diploma or Advanced Graduate Certificate in an English-speaking institution will be required to  provide a TOEFL iBT score (or approved equivalent) for the purposes of admission.

Applicants whose native language is not English and have not received/will not have received a degree from an English-speaking institution will be required to provide a passing TOEFL iBT (or approved equivalent- see below for acceptable tests) score in order to be admitted.  For any test, the most recent scores are counted, and the test must not be more than two years old at the time of application (this means that tests taken prior to September 2024 cannot be considered for Fall 2026 admissions).

Tests Accepted: Stony Brook University accepts either TOEFL iBT or IELTS scores.  Stony Brook University is also accepting TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and IELTS Indicator.  Currently, Stony Brook University does NOT accept Duolingo, TOEFL My Best Score, or TOEFL ITP scores.  

Reporting of Scores:

• For TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition, have ETS send scores to Stony Brook University using code 2548.  Only electronic transmission of scores from ETS to Stony Brook University is considered official for TOEFL scores – copies of your results are not acceptable.
• For IELTS, have the organization mail an official score report to the Music department. 
• For IELTS Indicator, email the score results you receive to the Graduate School at gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu.

Minimum Scores

Minimum score requirements are as follows:

• TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition: 90 for PhD applicants
• IELTS or IELTS Indicator: An overall score of 6.5 with no subsection below 6

Spoken English

All students with a TA/GA stipend whose native language is not English and who have not received/will not have received a degree from an English-speaking institution must demonstrate a sufficient level of English-speaking proficiency and may be required to take English courses based on these measures. Proficiency is determined by the speak subsection score. For TOEFL iBT/TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and IELTS/IELTS Indicator speak subsection scores, please see the chart below:

TOEFL iBT Speak	IELTS Speak	Course Requirement	Result
25-30	7 or higher	none	Eligible to TA
22-24	6.5	OAE 594	Eligible to TA
19-21	6	OAE 592	Eligible to run recitation and lab sessions and/or grade
15-18	5-5.5	OAE 590	Not eligible to TA

More information

Please see the Graduate Bulletin for further information:

https://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/graduatebulletin/current/admissions/requirements/english.php

1. Read through the Admissions Information page.
2. The application deadline for Fall 2026 admissions for the MA or PhD in Composition is December 15, 2025.
3. Complete the application found here:  https://graduateadmissions.stonybrook.edu/apply/
4. Please note that the Composition program may email you to request an interview (to be held on Zoom, likely on Februrary 9, 2026), in order to learn more about your interests and potential in the program. 

The Department of Music at Stony Brook offers the MA and PhD degrees in Music Composition. The championship of new music runs deep in the department, with a consistently large contingent of faculty composers and performance faculty who have been in the forefront of new music commissioning since the department’s inception in the late 1960’s.

Students are admitted to the graduate program in a competitive process on the basis of promising individual voices that are developed through weekly composition lessons. Students develop their compositional art and craft against the backdrop of course requirements informed by Western art music traditions [see curricular requirements here.] Our six faculty composers embrace a broad spectrum of compositional styles and philosophies and support the varied creative trajectories of admitted students as they evolve during their time in the composition program.

The MA and PhD are full-time programs that have 2- to 3-year residential requirements, and students actively participate in the extensive activities of the program by attending concerts, rehearsals, regular faculty and guest composer colloquia, and a weekly Composers Forum. Student works are presented on new music concerts by the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber players, called by the New York Times “a small army of musicians who demonstrate consistent accomplishment.” Every semester, the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra reads graduate compositions for orchestra and our opera program performs scenes from student works. One of the principal advantages of studying at Stony Brook is access to the large graduate performance program of almost 200 student musicians, most of whom study for the DMA degree. Many performers have gone on to form new music groups such as the New Millennium Ensemble, Sputterbox, Unheard-of Ensemble, and Yarn/Wire. Additional performances by performers in a variety of genres are mounted by the Staller Center, the professional arts organization on campus. New York City, 55 miles to the west and accessible by a train with a campus station, further provides a stimulating cultural environment and opportunities for performance.

It is our mission to prepare for their professional careers post graduation, not only through the continued development and refinement of their compositional practice, but also by providing a solid foundation in Western art music and experience in teaching and other administrative activities. Many students in the graduate composition program receive tuition scholarships and assistantships to teach their own classes in music theory, musicianship, computer music, and composition under the supervision of faculty mentors. They are ready upon graduation to take their place as faculty at fine institutions in the U.S. and abroad.  Former graduate students have faculty appointments at Bard College, Brandeis University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Crane School of Music, New York University, Northwestern University, the University of Washington, among many others, and abroad in institutions in Israel, Spain, Finland, Hong Kong, and Lebanon. Other graduates have gone on to successful non-academic professional careers, in publishing houses, music venues, and non-profit arts organizations.

The capstone of the MA in Composition is a composition portfolio.  Preparation for this includes a grounding in Western classical theory (musicianship, counterpoint, and analysis), music technology, orchestration, specialized composition topics courses, and participation in weekly Composers Forum meetings.  A principal aspect of training is weekly composition lessons.  We operate on an “open studio” model: students have the option of studying with several teachers over the course of their study. 

In the second year, in addition to submission of the composition portfolio, students take a qualifying exam in analysis of tonal and post-tonal music. 

In the first year of study, PhD students are assigned a faculty committee, to determine with them an appropriate course of study that takes into account prior coursework and student interest.  Students create works for a PhD portfolio. 

Prior to advancing to candidacy (normally after two or three years in the program), composition students submit their PhD portfolio, take a field exam covering “new music” from the last 100 years, present a PhD colloquium and submit a PhD essay, both on topics in 20th and 21st Century music of their choice. 

The thesis for the PhD in Composition is a substantial creative work.

Matthew Barnson, Composition, Theory & Musicianship
Nirmali Fenn, Composition, Theory & Musicianship
Perry Goldstein, Composition, Theory & Musicianship  
Margaret Schedel,   Composition, Computer Music & Theory
Daria Semegen, Composition, Theory & Electronic Music
Daniel Weymouth, Composition, Computer Music & Theory