The School of Music Scholarship Application Process Reopens on November 1st 2025. The process below is from last year.

Music Scholarship Information

  • Who can apply? - Any undergraduate student at MSU
  • What is the average award amount? - $2,000 per year
  • What is expected of awardees? - Participation in a large ensemble and Studio/Private Lessons

Music Scholarships are currently not available for students planning on studying Technology Performance as their primary instrument/voice.

 

ALL STUDENTS MUST FILL OUT THE FAFSA TO BE CONSIDERED FOR ALL MUSIC SCHOLARSHIPS.

Important Application Dates

  • Cat Scholarships Application Opens - November 1st
  • MSU FAFSA Priority Deadline - February 1st
  • Priority Application Deadline is - February 1st
  • Cat Scholarships Application Closes - May 1st

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How To Apply

Incoming First-Year & Transfer Students:

Step 1: Apply to Montana State University
Step 2: Receive Letter of Acceptance from MSU Admissions, with Generated Student Identification Number (GID)
Step 3: Establish your NetID (your MSU unique identifier) and set a password.
Step 4: Apply via the Cat Scholarships Application
Step 5: Audition! Review the Requirements for the SoM Scholarship Audition and record your audition videos
Step 6: Complete the School of Music Scholarship Audition Form and submit your video links.
Highly Recommended: In addition to the online video submission, please contact the faculty in your instrument/voice area before the priority deadline to schedule a FREE in-person or online lesson by emailing the appropriate faculty member. Our faculty would love to work with you in a lesson setting and get to know you better! 

Continuing Undergraduate Students:

Step 1: Apply via the Cat Scholarships Application
Step 2: An audition is usually not required. Please reach out to your studio or ensemble professors and let them know you are interested in a scholarship.                                                                      

(Please note: this is not how you renew a current School of Music Scholarship. For more information on how to renew a current Music Scholarship, please see How to Renew below!)

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How To Accept

2-4 months after a successful audition at Montana State University, you will receive an email containing your award amount via the email address you provided. Please follow the steps below to accept your scholarship. 

These steps are for both First-Year/Transfer Students and Continuing Undergraduate Students:

Step 1: Check you Email (and your junk folder, just in case)! You will receive your award letter through Docusign via the email address you provided in Cat Scholarships.
Step 2: Fill out all of the required information in the letter (name, MSU Student ID, major).
Step 3: Read your letter carefully to ensure there are no errors. If you find errors please contact us. 
Step 4: Sign your acceptance form electronically through Docusign to accept your award!

Scholarship Requirements

  • Registered as full-time students (minimum of 12 credits)
  • Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0
  • Must renew scholarship application each year
  • Must meet specific requirements, detailed in award letter

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How To Renew

This procedure applies to continuing students who have already received a scholarship from the School of Music and are looking to renew it for the next year. 

Step 1: Sign in and fill out the Cat Scholarships form. You will not need to audition again unless instructed by a faculty member. 
Step 2: Submit the following to music@montana.edu by February 1.

  • In the subject line of the email, please type – Music Scholarship Renewal and your last name
  • In the body of the email:
    • Confirm your desire to continue on a music scholarship in the next academic year
    • Confirm that you have filled out and updated your information in Cat Scholarships
    • List the studio and professor that you studied with this academic year
    • List the ensembles that you were involved with this academic year
    • List the ensembles that you plan to be involved with the next academic year
    • Attach to the email a current transcript (unofficial is fine)

Step 3: If/When you receive your updated scholarship offer letter, sign the acceptance form and email back to music@montana.edu

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What's the difference between tuition waivers and scholarships? 

Tuition Waivers

  • 75% of our awards come from tuition waivers
  • Available to majors and non-music majors
  • Waivers can only be applied to tuition costs
  • Students may only receive one waiver per semester. WUE, Presidential and MSU Employee dependent waivers cannot be stacked with a School of Music waiver. It is advised that the student accept the largest waiver.

Scholarships

  • Come from donated funds
  • Amounts vary depending on sufficient funding
  • Majority require recipient to be a Music Major, although a select few can be awarded to non-music majors
  • May be applied to tuition and fees. Excess will be refunded back to student

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Scholarship Audition Requirements by Applied Area

For questions regarding applied music and audition repertoire, please contact the appropriate School of Music faculty member listed below. 

Additional Jazz Scholarship Requirements

If you would like to be considered for a jazz scholarship, scholarship applicants must include the following materials in addition to those listed below in their performance area.

  • Improvisation
  • ??????????????

Woodwinds

  • Two-octave major scales in instrument keys of E & A flat in 8th notes at 120 bpm. (oboe only one octave of A flat required)
  • Full range chromatic scale in quarter notes at 144 bpm
  • Two solos or etudes in contrasting styles of length 2-4 minutes each

Brass

  • Two-octave major scales in instrument keys of E & A flat in 8th notes at 120 bpm. 
  • Full range chromatic scale in quarter notes at 144 bpm
  • Two solos or etudes in contrasting styles of length 2-4 minutes each

Percussion

Must perform on at least 2 of the following:

  • Snares: published solo (rudimental or orchestral) 
  • Keyboard: 2 or 4 mallet published solo 
  • Timpani: published solo that best demonstrates your ability on technique and tuning
  • Drumset: demonstrate various styles, as well as chart reading and soloing

Piano, Guitar, and Harp

  • Guitar: Two contrasting pieces or movements from the solo classical repertoire
  • Piano: Two solos in contrasting styles
  • Piano: D major & d harmonic minor - minimum 2 octaves, hands together ascending and descending
  • Harp: Two solos in contrasting style

Voice

  • Two contrasting songs with piano or recorded accompaniment. Memorization and professional attire are strongly encouraged.
  • Auditions must be video recorded and accessible by direct link. Submit video links to jharney@montana.edu for consideration in a voice studio. Auditions will be reviewed as they are received.

Strings

  • Two 3-octave scales; one major, one minor (Basses please prepare 2-octave scales)
  • Two contrasting works
    • One movement of an unaccompanied solo or etude
    • One movement from the standard concerto or sonata repertoire

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