Application instructions
Deadlines
Nov. 15: Early Action deadline for CU Boulder Undergraduate Admissions application
Dec. 1: Priority deadline for College of Music application, including the following materials:
- Voice and musical theatre pre-screening recordings
- Composition and music production portfolios
Note: All College of Music applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by Dec. 1. Applications with no pre-screening or portolio requirements may be considered through Feb. 1, but are not guaranteed their preferred audition date.
Jan. 15: Regular Decision deadline for CU Boulder Undergraduate Admissions application
Feb. 1: Final College of Music application deadline (including recorded auditions)
Jan. 18, Jan. 25 + Feb. 8: College-wide audition days (In-person and remote options available)
Mid-March: Admissions decisions sent
Oct. 1: Deadline to submit both the CU Boulder Undergraduate Admissions application and the College of Music application, including:
- College of Music application
- Voice and musical theatre pre-screening recordings
- Composition and music production portfolios
Oct. 15: Final deadline to submit recorded audition
Nov. 15: Final deadline to complete a live audition/interview with the College of Music (including ad hoc auditions); deadline to receive a letter of recommendation.
The College of Music does not accept applications for summer term.
How to apply
Review all university admission requirements.
Submit your University of Colorado Boulder application
- First-year applicants: Apply via the Common Application
- Transfer applicants: Apply via the CU Boulder Transfer Application
- Please note that transfer students must adhere to the College of Music’s deadlines (posted above). Due to our audition process, we cannot consider transfer applications after these dates even though the university transfer application may still be open.
Submit your College of Music application online
- Your music application can be found on your CU Boulder application status page. Once you’ve submitted the application, check your email for a message from Undergraduate Admissions prompting you to check your application status. Make sure to save your log in information. Find your College of Music checklist on tab 2.
- The College of Music application will ask you to select your audition method. You may choose to audition remotely (recording + interview) or in-person. In-person auditions are highly encouraged. Check out auditions for more information.
- Voice, musical theatre, composition and music production applicants: Upload your pre-screening or portfolio materials on your status page on the music checklist. Check out auditions for more information.
- A short essay is required as part of the music application. Find the essay prompt for your area of interest on the auditions page. The essay must be uploaded as a PDF to your status page.
Provide one letter of recommendation
- The College of Music application will request the names and email addresses of at least one person who will provide a letter of recommendation for you. This person should be a music teacher or someone familiar with your development as a musician.
- When you submit the application, an email will automatically be sent to your recommender. Your recommender should submit the letter via the link in that email.
Complete your audition + interview
Most programs require an audition. There are two ways to complete an audition: in-person (on a college-wide audition day) or remotely (by submitting a recording AND registering for a Zoom interview). Check out auditions for more information.
- If you choose to audition remotely, you must complete the following:
- Register for a Zoom interview on one of the three college-wide audition days
- Upload your recording to your status page no later than Feb. 1—preferably prior to your Zoom interview.
- If you choose to audition in-person, you will be invited to register for your audition date/time beginning on Dec. 1. Voice, musical theatre, composition and music production applicants will be invited to register on Dec. 16 after pre-screening/portfolio reviews.
- Music education and composition applicants will be invited to sign up for an interview time in addition to an audition time. Music production applicants will register for an interview only.
Review the audition requirements for your specific area of study.
Undergraduate admissions FAQ
College of Music applicants should be able to read music using traditional notation and have experience in high school ensembles and/or private lessons. Our students come from all across the world. Incoming music students have an average unweighted high school GPA between 3.54 and 4.0.
To pursue a music degree at CU Boulder, you will need to complete two separate application processes: one through CU Boulder Undergraduate Admissions and another for the College of Music. It’s important to remain in contact with both CU Boulder Undergraduate Admissions and College of Music Admissions.
To be admitted to the College of Music, you must also be admitted to CU Boulder. If you are not admitted to the College of Music, you may still be admitted to CU Boulder and pursue a different major.
The composition (BM) and music production emphasis (BA) degrees do not require an instrumental audition. Instead, they require a portfolio and interview.
All other degree programs require an audition. Music education requires both an audition and interview. Check out the auditions page for your area of study.
Yes. Music students undergo both a musical (audition or portfolio) review and an academic review.
If I’m not a music major, can I still be involved?
Yes! We invite all CU Boulder students to make music a part of their college experience. We offer non-major options including electives, ensembles, a music minor, a music technology certificate and more—with no audition required.
Who should I contact if I have more questions?
We’re here to help. Contact the College of Music admissions office at undergraduate.music@colorado.edu.