Entry requirements for the Master of Music (Research)

Entry Requirements

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:

• a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree, or equivalent, with at least an H2A (75%) weighted average;

And for:

• Composition: a satisfactory composition folio;
• Interactive Composition: a satisfactory interactive composition folio.
• Music Performance (including conducting); and Jazz & Improvisation: a satisfactory audition;
• Musicology/Ethnomusicology; Music Psychology; Music Therapy and Music Performance: a satisfactory example of scholarly writing.

And:

• A research proposal

See additional requirements below for details specific to your discipline.

Exceptional applicants, with substantial professional experience and who have completed an undergraduate qualification in a relevant field, can be considered for entry into Master of Music (Research) in the disciplines of Interactive Composition, Jazz & Improvisation and Ethnomusicology without meeting the requirement of completion of an honours degree or equivalent.

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the selection committee will consider:

• prior academic performance; and
• the research proposal; and
• the composition folio, audition, and/or piece of scholarly writing.
• The ability of the Faculty to provide the appropriate supervision, facilities and resources for your intended project

3. The selection committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Selection and Admission into Graduate Research Courses Policy.

4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for graduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance Band 6.5 is required.

Exceptional applicants, with substantial professional experience and who have completed an undergraduate qualification in a relevant field, can be considered for entry into Master of Music (Research) in the disciplines of Interactive Composition, Jazz & Improvisation and Ethnomusicology without meeting the requirement of completion of an honours degree or equivalent.

Additional Requirements

Assistance with writing a Research Proposal can be found on the Academic Skills website.

Music Psychology, Music Therapy and Musicology/Ethnomusicology

Applicants must submit a research proposal of 2,500 words, including the research question and proposed methodology.

Research Proposals should include an introduction, literature review, purpose/aims statement, theoretical (or conceptual) framework, methodology (sample, recruitment, ethics, form of data), planned techniques for analysing the data, and significance of the study and what it might achieve.

Evidence of Scholarly Ability

Applicants are required to submit a copy of their Honours dissertation or a substantial piece of scholarly writing with their application.

Evidence of research ability

Applicants are normally required to have completed a research project, component, subject or group of subjects that accounts for at least 25% of their work (i.e. Honours year), or 25% of one year accumulated over the length of a Masters course, and which has, or have, been conducted, and assessed, individually. Research carried out in groups should at least have been graded individually.

This project, component, or subject(s) may include:

• Any obviously research oriented project, subject or sustained piece of scholarly writing conducted for assessment, such as small theses, research essays, long essays, or studios; and/or
• Any less-obviously research subjects, including practice-based subjects such as performance or fieldwork, where there is also scholastic rigor as documented in a sustained piece of writing analogous to and/or
• Any subjects directed at the formation of research skills, such as methodology and reasoning, such as scientific reasoning, or legal reasoning, where a sustained piece of writing has also been produced

For further details, please contact the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music Research Office.

Composition

• A short research proposal is required and should include a list of possible folio works (by duration and instrumentation or media) together with brief paragraph outlining technical, aesthetic and philosophical issues that pertain to the applicant’s compositional practice and style;
• A recent example of scholarly writing of at least 1,000 words;
• Three representative works submitted as recordings and in notated score format (where applicable). These should include a major work of over 10 minutes duration, and at least one work written in the last 2 years; and
• A CV including a list of works composed (with performances where applicable).

Interactive Composition

Applicants are required to complete a research proposal of 1,000 words that accompanies your application. This proposal must include:

• Title
• Statement of the project’s central concern(s) or ‘Research Question'
• Explanation of the conceptual framework of the project and/or summary of the research methods to be used
• An argument for the relevance and importance of the project
• Description of the nature of the final submission – the form that the body of creative work will take and how it will be presented; the nature of the dissertation and its relationship to the body of creative work
• An outline of the methodology or approach you intend to take and what you intend to do. For example:
• Identify whether the research is qualitative, quantitative or practice-led research
• In practice-led research, identify the specific techniques / technologies and approaches that are central to the research
• Identify if the research involves analysis of primary works (including a list of the works and performances)
• Bibliography – identify some of the key literature, artworks and performances and so on that informs your proposed work

Your application will be reviewed by our Selection Committee. If you are shortlisted, the Research Office will contact you after the application closing date with an interview time (interviews are normally held in November). If you are unable to attend the interview in person, your application and supporting material will provide the basis for an online or telephone interview.

Your interview will take 30 minutes and be conducted by a panel of 3 to 5 people. The purpose of the interview is to ascertain the scope of your intended research project, and your ability to successfully realise the intended project within a practice-led research environment.

A folio is required at the interview. Applicants unable to attend an interview must submit their folio by the closing date.

Applicant’s folios will not be returned. Do not send original recordings/scores/show reels.

The folio must contain recordings of 3 or 4 of your original compositions, at a total duration of 15 minutes. This can include audio visual recordings of your original music from any source such as: pop songs, concert music, band music, laptop performance, hip-hop rapping, music theatre music, film music, or music for dance or other media, such as music for games, advertising and web use. If appropriate include music scores and/or charts depending on your background.

The folio will be evaluated on the level of compositional craft and creativity, and suitability for Interactive Composition research.

Note: Weblinks to online content are not suitable and cannot be viewed by the Selection Committee.

Jazz & Improvisation

Applicants are required to complete a research proposal of 1,000 words that accompanies your application. This proposal must include:

• Title
• Statement of the project’s central concern(s) or ‘Research Question”
• Explanation of the conceptual framework of the project and/or summary of the research methods to be used
• An argument for the relevance and importance of the project
• Description of the nature of the final submission – the form that the body of creative work will take and how it will be presented; the nature of the dissertation and its relationship to the body of creative work
• An outline of the methodology or approach you intend to take and what you intend to do. For example:
• Identify whether the research is qualitative, quantitative or practice-led research
• In practice-led research, identify the specific techniques / technologies and approaches that are central to the research
• Identify if the research involves analysis of primary works (including a list of the works and performances)
• Bibliography – identify some of the key literature, artworks and performances and so on that informs your proposed work

Your application will be reviewed by our Selection Committee. If you are shortlisted, the Research Office will contact you after the application closing date with an interview/audition time (interviews are normally held in November). If you are unable to attend the interview/audition in person, your application and supporting material (as outlined above) will provide the basis for an online or telephone interview.

Your interview/audition will take 30 minutes and be conducted by a panel of 3 to 5 people. The purpose of the interview is to ascertain the scope of your intended research project, and your ability to successfully realise the intended project within a practice-led research environment.

You will also need to:

Demonstrate a very high standard of artistic ability via a live performance or live performance recordings

IMPORTANT NOTE: All applicants must provide their own accompanists where required. Equipment available for applicants includes: piano, drum kit (without cymbals) bass/guitar amplifiers, basic CD player, and the capacity to playback DVDs and QuickTime files. Equipment must be requested at the time of audition/interview invitation.

Music Performance

Applicants for Music Performance must submit a 1000-word research proposal outlining plans for an integrated written/performance project that will culminate in a 10,000 word thesis and live public performance of 70 minutes of repertoire. The proposal should include:

• Working Title
• Brief literature review
• Planned methodology
• Proposed performance repertoire, with clear indication how each work fits into the overall research project

Evidence of Scholarly Ability

Applicants are required to submit a copy of their Honours dissertation or a substantial piece of scholarly writing with their application.

Audition

A recorded audition is also required. Auditions for the Master of Music (Music Performance) are fifty (50) minutes in length.

Recordings must be made in one take, must be unedited and submitted electronically (see How to Apply for details on submitting your audition).

Applicants currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Music (Honours) subject Recital are permitted to use their final recital examination as their audition. If you intend to use your honours recital as a Masters audition please contact the Conservatorium technical services to ensure your honours recital is recorded.

Auditions are assessed for Musical Awareness, Technical Command, Quality of Sound, Communication and Control of Instrument. To gain entry an applicant must reach a standard equivalent to an H2A or 75%.

We do not specify audition repertoire as we do not wish to give the impression that particular works are favoured over others. Your audition repertoire should represent works that demonstrate your current performance standard. You should present a program of contrasting style, period and composers, which is what we would recommend for a competitive audition program.

See the How to Apply section for details on submitting auditions.

English Language Criteria

Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for graduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, the following performance bands are required: Master of Music (Research) Band 6.5