Doctor of Philosophy in Historical Musicology

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All of the materials listed below (with only two exceptions, as indicated below) must be prepared in one packet and mailed directly to the Thornton Admission Office. The full packet must be received by the Thornton Admission Office by December 1. Any application not complete by December 1 may be removed from consideration.

Required items:

• USC Graduate Application (submit online or directly to the USC Office of Admission)
• Thornton Supplementary Application
• Statement of Objectives
• Résumé
• 3 Letters of Recommendation (gathered by the applicant from each recommender in a sealed envelope with the recommender’s signature across the seal)
• Transcripts (gathered by the applicant from the appropriate school(s) or university(-ies) in a sealed envelope)
• Writing Sample
• GRE score report (general test only) – the applicant must submit a copy of his/her personal score report to the Thornton Admission office, as well as arrange for ETS to send an official score report directly to the USC Admission office
• TOEFL score report - required from all applicants for whom English is a second language, regardless of educational background or immigration status

Writing Sample
The writing sample should be a research paper on a musical topic that contains accurate historical description, critical engagement with ideas and literature, and an original conclusion or insight.

Statement of Objectives
The statement should be one or two pages in length and tell concisely why the applicant wishes to study musicology, why he or she is applying to USC, and what areas of research are of interest.