Admissions and Scholarships
Submitting recordings during the admissions process
Applicants to Notre Dame, particularly those intending to major in music, may send the Office of Admissions supplementary recorded material (specific instructions to follow) to be reviewed by faculty in the Department of Music.
If musical performance forms a substantial part of your extracurricular activities and demonstrates a significant level of accomplishment reflecting the serious study of music over an extended number of years, we encourage you to make a submission.
Prospective students must use the SlideRoom application available through the Common Application in order to send a recording. The University will only accept supplementary material using this method, and will not accept physical recordings (no CDs or DVDs). Please note that an applicant must submit the Common Application before uploading media through the SlideRoom application. The Admissions Office will then direct the material to the Department of Music for review.
Submission guidelines
- Choose works that best demonstrate your level of skill on your instrument or voice.
- Instrumental applicants: Please submit 2 or 3 contrasting works representative of a variety of styles, periods, and tempos. You may select either short works or movements of longer works. It is not necessary to perform entire multi-movement works.
- Vocal music applicants:
- Applicants interested in the voice performance concentration in the music major should submit a video of 2-4 solo vocal selections in contrasting styles. At least one selection should be in the "classical" style (i.e. art song and/or beginning-level opera or oratorio aria). Non-belt musical theatre selections are also welcome. Please do not submit non-solo selections (i.e. singing within a choir).
- Applicants interested in the musical theatre minor should submit a video of 1-2 solo vocal selections. Musical theater excerpts are preferred, but pop, rock, jazz, folk/indie selections are also welcome.
- Ten to twenty minutes of music would be optimal.
- Please ensure the sound and image quality is clear.
- The audition recording should be attached via SlideRoom to your electronic application to the Admissions Office as part of the Common Application (see instructions above).
Merit scholarship consideration
Only students who intend to major in music may apply for a merit scholarship.
Please email a cover letter requesting scholarship consideration and a resumé of musical activities to:
Music Scholarship Committee, Daniel Schlosberg, Director of Undergraduate Studies, at dschlosb@nd.edu
Your recording uploaded through SlideRoom as a supplement to the Common Application (see instructions above) will also serve as part of your scholarship application.
Scholarship materials must be received no later than January 1, 2023.
Summer study scholarship for current students
Boehnen Scholarship for Summer Study in Music
Purpose
The Boehnen Scholarship for Summer Study in Music encourages music majors to enrich their musical education through participation in music festivals, university summer sessions, or other appropriate summer music programs. Notre Dame music majors undertake a rigorous, comprehensive curriculum. However, unlike students at conservatories and schools of music, they do so in conjunction with the added demands of a broadly-based liberal arts education that includes extensive University and College requirements, challenging electives, and often a second major as well.
The Boehnen Scholarship helps defray the cost of summer study, which, by contrast, allows the ND student to focus exclusively on music for a significant span of time. Summer music study also provides opportunities for ND students to develop relationships with teachers at schools they may wish to attend for graduate study, and to gain the benefits of studying among a cohort of students who share their high artistic aspirations and dedication to music.
Awards typically range from $1,000 to $2,000 but may be higher depending on the funds available, the number of meritorious applicants, and the costs of the programs under consideration.
The Department of Music gratefully acknowledges the generosity of David and Shari Boehnen in providing this opportunity, and the numerous ways they have supported the arts at Notre Dame.
Note: The Department regards summer study as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, courses in the required curriculum for music majors.
Application requirements
A statement from the applicant that (1) identifies the program (or programs) the student will attend, (2) describes the specific activities, goals the student will undertake, and (3) explains the significance of the proposed course of study for the student’s musical development, progress in the major at ND, and future plans after graduation. Maximum length: 500 words.
A copy of the acceptance letter from the summer program or other formal documentation that the proposed course of study will occur. (Applicants may submit a provisional application if they have not yet received acceptance from a summer program by April 1; however, such applicants must provide documentation of acceptance before April 15 in order to be eligible for funding consideration.)
A detailed, itemized budget documenting the expenses associated with attendance at the summer program(s) and identifying other funding sources the applicant is pursuing or amounts already secured.
A confidential recommendation letter from the applicant’s principal teacher (in the case of an instrumentalist, vocalist, conductor, composer, etc.), or from a member of the academic faculty in the case of a student proposing summer study in a scholarly area (theory, musicology, ethnomusicology, etc.).
Verification that the student has a GPA of 3.333(i.e., B+) or higher in music courses.
All application materials must be submitted electronically to the Department Chair, DUS, and Senior Administrative Assistant. (Their contact information is available on the department's administration page.)
Evaluation committee
The department chair, the DUS, and two faculty members appointed by the chair, normally to include a member of the performance faculty and a member of the academic faculty.
Timeline
Application deadline: April 1, 2023
Committee decisions announced on or before April 15, 2023