Master of Arts in Choral Conducting

Earn your MA in choral conducting

Many fine students have graduated with an MA in choral conducting, moving on to some of the most important choral positions in the country.

The graduate program in choral conducting and pedagogy normally has five to six graduate students in residence each academic year with funding for all of the students including a tuition waiver (including most fees), a stipend for a .25 time assistantship, and excellent health benefits. This number of students allows the faculty to better serve the needs of our students, providing more personal attention while, at the same time, assuring funding for your program.

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The choral area prides itself in offering a rich, varied, and supportive student body with whom to interact during your graduate education.

The MA in choral conducting requires 37 semester hours, a minimum of 24 graduate credits must be earned at the University of Iowa.

Contact the faculty

The choral faculty, comprised of the director of choral activities, Timothy Stalter, and the assistant director of choral activities, David Puderbaugh, are dedicated, through their teaching, curriculum, and music making, to offering a premier education in all aspects of the conductor’s art, especially gesture, effective rehearsing, and score study, in tandem with a deep immersion in choral literature.

How to apply to the program

The application deadline for the graduate program is Dec. 1, 2023.

Start by filling out the online application following the directions and visiting the web page on graduate admissions.

Choral MA applicants will not write a thesis, but a DMA applicant will, so please check the appropriate box when choosing the correct degree designation.

Be sure to include:

A sample of your writing. This sample is often an academic paper, but can also include a published article, review, or program notes for a concert, preferably on a music topic.
A resume/CV regarding your education and experience.
A link to a video on YouTube or another platform is accessible to the choral faculty. If the video is posted to a private account, please indicate how the choral faculty can access it. This video should be at least 20 minutes long and consist of rehearsal footage with a clear straight-on view of the conductor. Performance footage may also be included, but the video must include the conductor rehearsing an ensemble.

Once the graduate online application has been completed and the writing sample, resume/CV, and video link have been uploaded to the application, the choral faculty will then review the applications.

Successful applicants will be notified and invited to campus by Jan. 15, with interviews taking place in February through the beginning of March and notification of admission by April 1 at the very latest.

If you are not a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident you will need to fill out the application for international students. Because you will need to obtain the proper visa to study in the United States, it is strongly recommended that you begin the process of applying as soon as possible.

View full requirements and apply

Requirements and program planning

download course checklist

Introduction to Graduate Study in Music (MUS:5300), 2 semester hours

Review of Undergraduate Theory (MUS:5200): Required of all graduate students who do not pass the advisory examination in music theory. It must be taken before completing 6 semester hours from the following list of theory courses. This course does not count toward graduate degree requirements.

Students exempt from MUS:5200 through the advisory examination in music theory must complete 6 semester hours from the following:

Counterpoint Before 1600 (MUS:4200), 3 semester hours
Counterpoint After 1600 (MUS:4201), 3 semester hours
Jazz Theory (MUS:4730), 3 semester hours
Tonal Analysis (MUS:5235), 3 semester hours
Non-Tonal Analysis (MUS:5236), 3 semester hours
Analysis of Popular Music (MUS:5237), 3 semester hours
Special Topics in Theory and Analysis (MUS:5240), 3 semester hours
History of Ideas in Music (MUS:6210), 3 semester hours
Theoretical Approaches to Music (MUS:6211), 3 semester hours
Theory Pedagogy (MUS:6215), 3 semester hours
Advanced Tonal Theory and Analysis (MUS:6250), 3 semester hours
Advanced Non-Tonal Theory and Analysis (MUS:6251), 3 semester hours
Advanced Theory and Analysis of Popular Music (MUS:6252), 3 semester hours

Select from the music history courses in the following list. Only one 4000-level course (taken at the University of Iowa or equivalent transferred in from another institution) may count toward the 6 semester hours required:

Music and Gender (MUS:4320), 3 semester hours
Medieval and Renaissance Music (MUS:4325), 3 semester hours
Baroque Music (MUS:4330), 3 semester hours
18th-Century Music (MUS:4335), 3 semester hours
19th-Century Music (MUS:4340), 3 semester hours
20th-Century Music (MUS:4345), 3 semester hours
Advanced Jazz History (MUS:4350), 3 semester hours
American Music (MUS:4355), 3 semester hours
Jazz Matters (MUS:4360), 3 semester hours
Studies in Film and Music (MUS:4610), 3 semester hours
Teaching Music, History, and Culture (MUS:6305), 3 semester hours
Topics in Musicology (MUS:6310), 3 semester hours
Historical Approaches to Music (MUS:6312), 3 semester hours
Topics in Ethnomusicology (MUS:6314), 3 semester hours
Foundations of Ethnomusicology (MUS:6315), 3 semester hours
Renaissance Music Notations (MUS:6326), 3 semester hours
Music Editing (MUS:6375), 3 semester hours

Major Ensemble (four semesters required), 1 semester hour each

19-20 semester hours in these courses are required.

Graduate Secondary Performance – Voice (MUS:6120), 1 semester hour
Advanced Choral Conducting I (MUS:6581), 2 semester hours
Advanced Choral Conducting II (MUS:6582), 2 semester hours
Advanced Choral Conducting III (MUS:6583), 2 semester hours
Advanced Choral Conducting IV (MUS:6584), 2 semester hours
Seminar: Choral Literature & Analysis (MUS:6561), 2 semester hours
Seminar: Choral Literature & Analysis II (MUS:6562), 2 semester hours
Seminar: Choral Literature & Analysis III (MUS:6563 ), 2 semester hours
Seminar: Choral Literature & Analysis IV (MUS:6564), 2 semester hours
Score Reading (MUS:6585), 1 semester hour
MA Recital (MUS:6900), 1-2 semester hours

Proficiency in one language (French, German, or Italian) is required. Other languages must be approved by the choral area. This requirement must be met by the end of the fourth semester of residency. Students may satisfy the proficiency requirement in the following ways:

Testing out of the second semester of the language at the University of Iowa by individual testing through the individual foreign language departments. See the director of choral activities regarding this option.
Passing of one of the following courses with a grade of C or higher. German: GRMN:5000 German Reading for Graduate Students (prerequisites: GRMN:1002 or GRMN:1010 or GRMN:1020); GRMN:1002 Elementary German II; GRMN:1020 Intensive Elementary German
French: FREN:1002 Elementary French II; FREN:4911 French for Reading and Research
Italian: ITAL:1102 Elementary Italian II; ITAL:3002 Intensive Elementary Italian
Passing a course of similar scope (C or higher) from another institution. Check with the choral activities before enrolling in a course.

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