[ how to apply ]
D.M.A. Application Requirements
D.M.A. Application: Supplementary Materials, Exams, and Assessments
As part of the online application, D.M.A. applicants must also submit these additional items:
1. Sample of Scholarly Writing
Submit a significant piece of your academic writing on a musical or non-musical topic. We prefer to see something that you have already written; you should not write something new for this application. Writing samples should be roughly between 5 and 20 pages in length. Please do not submit a sample longer than 20 pages. Writing samples must be in English.
2. Short Answers
The online application prompts D.M.A. applicants to answer these seven questions:
- Please rate your reading, writing, and speaking abilities in all foreign languages that you know.
- Please give an indication of your keyboard proficiency.
- Which do you consider your strongest areas in music?
- In which areas (both musical and extra-musical) do you feel you need or would like additional work?
- What are your present plans for a career?
- State clearly and fully your reasons for pursuing admission to the D.M.A. program at Yale.
- Please list any additional information that you feel is pertinent regarding other dimensions of your musical background about which the Yale faculty may not be aware (e.g. concert appearances, previous scholarships, national or international competitions, etc.).
Exams & Proficiency Assessments
In addition to passing the live audition (audition invitations are sent out in January), D.M.A. applicants must pass an ENTRANCE EXAM (offered on Saturday, February 29, 2020 only), and take a MUSICIANSHIP EXAM and PROFICIENCY ASSESSMENTS (offered on Friday, February 28, 2020 only). Applicants must be present on both days. The entrance exam contains four sections:
- Listening and Score Identification
- Music History
- Tonal Analysis
- 20th-Century Analysis
The proficiency assessments include a foreign language (for students whose first language is English) and a keyboard proficiency tests. On the same day as the proficiency assessments (Friday, February 28, 2020), a musicianship exam will take place. The musicianship exam will test your aural perception of melody, harmony, rhythm, and phrase structure in music through dictation and other written exercises.
To help you prepare for the exams, here are some samples of past exams. Click each link to download.
