Music Education Faculty Members’ Perceptions of Admissions and Selection Criteria for Doctoral Music Education Programs

The purpose of this study was to examine music education faculty members’ perceptions of admissions and selection criteria for students entering doctoral music education degree programs. We distributed a questionnaire to music education faculty at 60 institutions in the United States that offered music education doctoral degrees. Resumes/curriculum vitae, writing samples, academic transcripts, recommendation letters, and an interview with faculty were the admissions requirements most frequently reported by participants. Results indicated that participants perceived interviews and writing samples/ability to be of the highest importance when making admissions decisions. In addition to required materials, five characteristics including teaching experience/ability, disposition, research interest, writing skills, and curiosity emerged as desirable when making admissions decisions. Our findings provide music education faculty and potential doctoral students a better understanding of what skills and characteristics are considered important at this crucial transition point that frequently results in becoming a music teacher educator.