Graduate Application Instructions
Articulate What Matters
If you’re serious about professionally pursuing your craft and articulating ideas that matter, learn more about our small and selective graduate programs here.
If you’re ready to apply, listed below are the graduate applications instructions for each program.
Art History, MA
Art History/Art+Design Dual MA/MFA
Entrepreneurship in the Arts, MA
Music, MM
Visual Arts, MFA
Meet the Graduate Program Faculty
Our renowned faculty are leaders in their fields.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact admissions@purchase.edu.
Art History, MA
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DEADLINE
Fall: Priority Deadline: March 1, 2020
Decisions released by March 15, 2020 with Priority consideration for scholarship funding.
Rolling Deadline: Applications will be accepted until enrollment goals are met.Application Requirements:
Applicants should have taken at least five (5) undergraduate courses in Art History. Applicants with fewer undergraduate art history courses will still be considered for admission. If offered admission applicants with fewer than five undergraduate art history courses may be required to take pre-requisite undergraduate courses prior to enrolling in graduate course work.
Apply Now: https://purchase.slideroom.com/#/login/program/51487
A complete online application will contain:
- A nonrefundable application fee of $75 and $5 SlideRoom fee
- Completed graduate application forms
- Three letters of recommendation
- 300-500 word Personal Statement
- 1- 2 writing samples, 30 pages maximum for each sample
Complete Your Application
Submit all of the following in one package:- Official academic transcripts (in envelopes sealed by the registrar) from all colleges attended.
- TOEFL score, if required (see International Student Application Instructions)
Mail your complete package to:
Office of Admissions
ATTN: Graduate Admissions
Purchase College
735 Anderson Hill Rd.
Purchase, NY 10577Your application will not be considered complete until you have submitted all required official transcripts and, if applicable, test scores to the above address.
Art History/Art+Design Dual MA/MFA
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DEADLINES:
Fall: February 1, 2020
Spring: admission not offeredApplication Requirements:
Students interested in MFA/MA option must submit separate applications to both the MFA Visual Arts program and the MA Art History MA program and must be admitted to both programs. Apply online at A complete online application will contain:- Nonrefundable application fees for both applications
MFA Visual Arts: $85 ($75 graduate application fee and $10 SlideRoom submission fee)
MA Art History: $80 ($75 graduate application fee and the $5 SlideRoom submission fee) - Completed graduate application forms
MA Art History
- Three letters of recommendation
- Personal Statement
- 1-2 writing samples
MFA Visual Arts
- Three letters of recommendation
- Personal Statement
- Portfolio
Complete Your Application
Submit all of the following in one package:- Official transcripts (in envelopes sealed by the registrar) from all colleges attended.
- TOEFL score, if required (see International Student Application Instructions)
Mail your complete package to:
- Office of Admissions
Purchase College
735 Anderson Hill Rd.
Purchase, NY 10577
Your application will not be considered complete until you have submitted all required official transcripts and, if applicable, test scores to the above address.
- Nonrefundable application fees for both applications
Entrepreneurship in the Arts, MA
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DEADLINES:
Fall: August 1, 2020
Spring: December 1, 2019Application Requirements:
Apply Online Now
A complete online application will contain:
- Non-refundable application fee of $80 fee
- Completed graduate application forms
- Minimum of three letters of recommendation, no more than five
- Two written statements as follows:
- What does entrepreneurship mean to you, particularly as it relates to arts and creativity? What is it about Purchase and this program that are designed to help you pursue this vision of creative entrepreneurship and how does it fit into your long-term career plan and goals? (500 words)
- If you were able to build a creative enterprise from the ground up, what would it be and what would it look like? What product/service would it provide, who would the customer be, etc.? (500 words)
- Resume
Submit all of the following in one package:
- Official academic transcripts from all colleges you have attended (including community college, transfer coursework, study abroad, summer session, etc):
Paper transcripts should be submitted in envelopes sealed by the registrar’s office of your institution. Institutions that deliver official electronic transcripts can email them to admissions@purchase.edu. - TOEFL score, if required (see International Student Application Instructions)
Mail your complete package to:
- Office of Admissions
ATTN: Graduate Admissions
Purchase College
735 Anderson Hill Rd.
Purchase, NY 10577
Your application will not be considered complete until you have submitted all required official transcripts and, if applicable, test scores to the above address.
Prerequisites
Applicants must have demonstrable skills in the fundamentals of accounting. If admitted without these demonstrable skills, they will need to take a basic accounting course. Admitted students need to successfully complete such a course before the first semester of enrollment in the MA (Finance for the Arts is offered in the first semester of the MA curriculum).
Music, MM, PC, AD
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DEADLINES:
Fall:
Application: January 1, 2020Spring: Applications and pre-screening audition online must be submitted by October 15, 2019. (select programs only).
Apply online https://purchase.slideroom.com/#/login/program/51491
A complete online application will contain:
- Application and Pre-Screening Submission- $142 (plus processing fee)
- One letter of recommendation is required (no more than 3 should be provided)
Pre-screening Guidelines:
Applicants can upload sound files (mp3), video (mov) and/or any required documents (pdf).You may choose to submit your audition in either a video (mov) or sound (mp3) format, but please choose one or the other. CDs or DVDs are not accepted.
Live Auditions: By Invitation Only
- Spring applicants will be notified of results of pre-screening auditions by November 1, 2019.
- Fall applicants will be notified of results of pre-screening auditions by February 5, 2020.
Students selected for live auditions will be notified by email directly from the Conservatory of Music and will be assigned a live audition date at that time.
Details for pre-screening and live auditions.
Bass Live Audition Date: (TBD)
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces.
- Three-octave scales and arpeggios.
- Two contrasting solos of applicant’s choice.
- Three contrasting orchestral excerpts.
Brass Live Audition Date : TBD
Horn; tenor trombone; bass trombone; trumpet, must audition on Bb and C trumpets, and can choose additional option of performing on D, Eb, and/or piccolo trumpets; tuba: addition on F, Eb, CC, or BBb tubas.
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces.
- Two advanced, contrasting pieces, one of which must be an original work from the 20-/21-century repertoire. Performance of at least one piece from memory is desirable.
- Advanced sight reading taken from orchestral repertoire. Excerpts will include: Transposition for trumpet and horn; reading of alto or tenor clefs for trombone.
Cello Live Audition Dates: TBD
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces.
- Two contrasting movements of a concerto from the standard repertory
- Two contrasting movements from the Bach Unaccompanied Suites.
- A third contrasting work of your choice (an ètude, a contemporary work, a showpiece, or a movement of a sonata).
Classical Guitar Live Audition Date: TBD
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare:
- A Bach suite, violin sonata/partita, or a work from Bach’s lute music.
- A major work from the Classical or Romantic period.
- A 20th-century work.
Composition Live Audition Date: TBD
Prescreening audition: Please submit two original scores (required) and recordings (if available), one of which must have been written within the last two years. No MIDI, please.
Live audition: Please bring three pieces as described below.
- Applicants should present three original works notated conventionally, if appropriate, and recorded or performed live (if available-no MIDI, please)
- The composition interview/live audition entails a brief ear training exam (interval recognition, chords, pitch matching, and scales), a discussion on general theoretical and/or historical topics and a demonstration of basic instrument proficiency. Students must prepare one short work on their solo instrument of choice.
Harp Live Audition Date: TBD
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces. All compositions must be performed from memory.
- Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp (1st movement, no cadenza)
- One contemporary or 19th-century work from the standard harp repertoire on the level of Hindemith’s Sonata or Faure’s Impromptu
- 1st harp part from Symphone Fantastique/Berloiz, and one cadenza from Young Person’s/ Britten or Lucia/Donizetti, or Swan Lake/ Tchaikowsky
Jazz Studies Please note that we offer the following instruments as part of the jazz studies program: saxophone, trombone, trumpet, piano, bass, guitar, drums, voice.
Live Audition Dates: TBD
Prescreening audition (The total length of your materials should not exceed 10 minutes)
- All applicants, except for drummers and singers, should perform two contrasting jazz standards, preferably with rhythm section or play-along record. Play the melody and an improvised solo.
- Singers should submit two selections, with piano, rhythm section or play-along accompaniment, from the American Songbook, including repertoire from Gershwin, Kern, Ellington, Porter, etc. Respect for the melody is advisable. Improvised solo not required.
- Acoustic bassists should include one chorus of walking bass lines in addition to the melody and improvised solo. (Note: a major concentration in electric bass guitar is not offered. Please audition on acoustic bass only.)
- Guitarists should include one chorus of comping in addition to the melody and improvised solo.
- Drummers should perform a ballad with brushes, a medium swing tune, and an up-tempo swing tune in the context of a trio or a small jazz combo. Please trade fours, eights, or choruses on either the medium or up-tempo swing tune.
Live audition: Only those applicants who pass the recorded audition will be invited to a live audition. Students will play in ad hoc groups that will also include current students and faculty as support players/accompanists. More formal than a jam session, opportunities will be provided for each invited applicant to be featured as a soloist, playing in a group setting.
Instrumentalists should prepare the following repertoire, in the indicated keys. You may be asked to read these tunes in other keys, but lead sheets will be provided.
Singers should prepare the same repertoire in their preferred key but must bring three copies of a lead sheet in that key.- All the Things You Are (Ab)
- What Is This Thing Called Love? (C)
- On Green Dolphin Street (Eb)
- Body and Soul (Db)
- Blues (in any key)
Percussion Live Audition Date: TBD
Prescreening audition: Please submit two contrasting selections from the five “required” selections listed below.
Live audition: Please prepare all five “required” selections
Required:
- Snare drum: One ètude from Delecluse’s Douze Etudes or equivalent
- 4 Mallets: One 4-mallet solo from the standard solo repertoire
- 2 Mallets: One 2-mallet movement from J.S. Bach Six Suites for Solo Cello or Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (no repeats)
- Timpani: One solo from the standard repertoire
- Orchestral Excerpts: One standard orchestral excerpt on each of the following: Snare Drum, Xylophone, and Timpani
Optional:
- Multiple percussion solo: For the Prescreening audition, in addition to submitting two of the above required selections, you may submit a work from the standard solo repertoire.
*For the live audition, all applicants must provide percussion faculty with two copies of all audition pieces
Piano Audition Date: TBD
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces. All compositions must be performed from memory.
- A prelude and fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier or another work of Bach containing a fugue
- One sonata by Mozart, Beethoven (including Op. 49 and Op. 79), Haydn, or Schubert. (Single movement for the pre-screening audition, full sonata for the live audition)
- A major composition by a 19th-century composer.
- A composition by a representative 20th-century composer.
Studio Composition Audition Dates: TBD
Prescreening audition:
- Submit 2-3 samples of your music accompanied by a statement clearly describing your role in the writing and recording process for each piece. These statements can be combined into one document and uploaded as an additional media item.
- Also submit a professional resume explaining your experience writing and/or performing music, your professional training (lessons, etc.) and anything else you feel is relevant to your application. This can be uploaded as an additional media item.
Applicants are expected to have basic music theory skills, including sight reading and the ability to hear and sing back intervals and chords
Live audition: Please prepare the following:
- Five original works, either recorded or notated conventionally and performed live Compositions should demonstrate technical and aesthetic abilities as a performer, composer, and producers.
- Written evidence of musical and/or professional accomplishments to date.
- Interview with studio composition faculty.
Viola Audition Date: TBD
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces.
- Two contrasting movements from a Suite for Unaccompanied Cello by J.S Bach.
- Two movements from a concerto for sonata or equivalent, such as Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher, Bloch’s Suite, concerto by Bartok and Walton, and sonatas by Brahms and Hindemith
Violin Audition Dates: TBD
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces.
- Two contrasting movements of a concerto from the standard repertory.
- Two contrasting movements from the Bach Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas.
- A third contrasting work of your choice (an ètude, a contemporary work, a showpiece, or a movement of a sonata).
Voice (Classical) Live Audition Dates: TBD
Prescreening audition:
Your recording should not exceed 15 minutes in length and should include the following songs. The songs should be in contrasting styles, and one must be from the 20th-century repertoire:
- Four art songs: one Italian, one French, one German, one English
- One aria from an opera. If aria is in one of the above required languages, you may eliminate that language from your art song requirement.
Live audition:
Only those applicants who pass the prescreening audition will be invited to a live audition.
- Please prepare all pieces listed above. They can be the same pieces as your pre-screening, but don’t need to be if you have new repertoire that you would like to present.
- An accompanist will be provided; however, applicants are welcome to bring their own. Please bring legible, well-organized music for the accompanist.
Woodwinds - Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon Please note that we do not offer classical saxophone.
Live Audition Date: TBD
Flute
Prescreening audition: Please submit selections from the list below.
- A movement from a baroque sonata or classical concerto
- A 19th or 20th century piece
- An orchestral excerpt of your choice
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces from the list below
- Two contrasting selections/movements from the concerto/sonata literature (Ex. Mozart concerto, Bach sonata, etc.)
- A 19th or 20th century piece (Ex. Dutillex Sonatine, Prokofiev Sonata, etc.)
- Two excerpts from the orchestral repertoire
Oboe, clarinet, bassoon
Prescreening audition: Please select two pieces in contrasting styles from the list below.
Live audition: Please prepare all pieces from the list below
- Two contrasting movements from a major concerto in the standard repertoire
- Two contrasting etudes showing the applicant’s level of technical and lyrical abilities.
- Two excerpts from the orchestral repertoire.
Complete Your Application
Submit all of the following in one package:- Official academic transcripts from all colleges you have attended (including community college, transfer coursework, study abroad, summer session, etc):
Paper transcripts should be submitted in envelopes sealed by the registrar’s office of your institution. Institutions that deliver official electronic transcripts can email them to admissions@purchase.edu. - TOEFL score, if required (see International Student Application Instructions)
Mail any documents to:
- Office of Admissions
ATTN: Graduate Admissions
Purchase College
735 Anderson Hill Rd
Purchase, NY 10577
Your application will not be considered complete until you have submitted all required official transcripts and, if applicable, test scores to the above address.
On Live Audition Day
What to Expect
The faculty listening to your audition will represent your area of study. They may choose not to hear all the music you have prepared. Do not interpret this negatively: time limitations prohibit the faculty from listening to each applicant’s entire audition repertoire.
Plan to arrive at the Conservatory of Music at least one hour before your scheduled audition time. You will be brought to a practice room 30 minutes before your audition to prepare yourself both mentally and physically. Wear neat and comfortable clothing that projects your seriousness and desire to study music on a professional level.
What to Bring
Please bring a typed repertoire list and a typed list of the pieces you intend to play. Though not required, we encourage you to bring additional materials, such as a resume, letters of recommendation, and unofficial transcripts. (Note: Accompanists are only provided for voice/opera studies auditions; all other applicants are encouraged to bring their own, but accompaniment is not required). A rhythm section will be provided for all jazz auditions.
Placement Exams
Theory placement exams will be given online over the summer. Keyboard and Ear Training placement exams will be given during orientation week.
Students in Jazz Studies do not take any placement exams.
Questions?
Question-and-answer sessions will be held throughout the day. Specific times for these sessions will be available at check in. These sessions will be followed by a campus tour. All applicants, their families, and guests are welcome to attend. No reservations required.
After the audition, you are free to go.
Visual Arts, MFA
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DEADLINES:
Fall: February 1, 2020
Spring: admission not offeredApplication Requirements:
Apply online https://purchase.slideroom.com/#/login/program/51492A complete online application will contain:
- A nonrefundable application fee of $85 payable online with a valid credit card or electronic check. This fee includes the $75 graduate application fee and the $10 SlideRoom submission fee.
- Completed graduate application forms
- Three letters of recommendation
- Personal Statement
- Portfolio
Complete Your Application
Submit all of the following in one package:- Official academic transcripts from all colleges you have attended (including community college, transfer coursework, study abroad, summer session, etc):
Paper transcripts should be submitted in envelopes sealed by the registrar’s office of your institution. Institutions that deliver official electronic transcripts can email them to admissions@purchase.edu. - TOEFL score, if required (see International Student Application Instructions)
Mail your complete package to:
- Office of Admissions
Purchase College
735 Anderson Hill Rd.
Purchase, NY 10577
Your application will not be considered complete until you have submitted all required official transcripts and, if applicable, test scores to the above address.