Application Requirements for the BM Degree
Undergraduate applicants must have graduated from an accredited secondary school, or provide proof of the equivalent of a secondary school education. College entrance examination test scores are helpful, but not required. (SAT scores are preferred.) We strongly suggest that voice applicants take at least two years of French, German, or Italian in high school. More detailed admission and financial aid information may be found in the Application and Admission section.
Home-Schooled Applicants
SAT or ACT scores are required for home-schooled applicants. Such applicants also must provide either a GED certificate or a description of their curriculum. (A list of courses by itself is not sufficient information.) Questions on this topic should be addressed to the director of admissions at Eastman (1-800-388-9695).
Undergraduate Transfer Applicants
Admission procedures for undergraduate transfer applicants are the same as those for undergraduate freshman applicants, with the following additions:
- Transcripts: Transfer applicants must submit transcripts from their current colleges or universities as well as from an accredited secondary school.
- Transfer credits: Credits for non-music courses in which a grade of B- or better was earned may be applied to the Eastman bachelor’s degree. (An examination may be required when the course is a prerequisite for an Eastman course.) The number of semesters completed toward a degree is based on an evaluation of the applicant’s transcript and audition. Transfer applicants are required to study at Eastman a minimum of two years; transfers will not be placed into the senior class. Degree audits are done by the Office of the Registrar during orientation and the first week of the semester. (Note that it is generally not possible to inform applicants of their exact class standing when they are admitted.)
- NASM release form: The National Association of Schools of Music, of which Eastman is a member, requires transfer applicants to complete a transfer release form. (This form is part of the undergraduate application to Eastman.) The form must be signed by the dean or chair of the school or department where the applicant currently is enrolled, if that school is a NASM member.
- Audition repertory and requirements: Audition selections must follow the guidelines given in this section. Repertory should represent at least three historical periods and, for singers, additional language study. It is understood that transfer applicants will be expected to demonstrate a higher level of musical and technical development than that of applicants to the freshman class. All preliminary requirements described in this section of the bulletin are equally applicable to transfer students.
- Theory placement: Transfer students with at least one year of undergraduate theory take an advanced-standing theory test during orientation to validate their undergraduate theory courses and to determine placement in Eastman’s theory classes. Transfer students with less than two years of undergraduate theory must take the freshman theory placement test.
