Undergraduate Frequently Asked Questions

The coronavirus outbreak has clearly affected how students and families navigate the college admission process. We understand that many communities have experienced school closures or restricted activities, and that families around the world are enduring financial strain and loss of loved ones. We are committed to working with schools and families to ensure all candidates receive full consideration for Northwestern and the Bienen School of Music’s incoming classes. 

The Bienen School has no plans to change fall 2021 application deadlines.

The Bienen School does not expect any applicant to stray from CDC guidelines in order to record prescreening or audition materials. Please see your program/instrument’s Audition & Program Requirements for comprehensive information about this year’s requirements.

Early Decision: The Bienen School of Music will not be holding on-campus auditions. More information will be sent to applicants via email, and we will update this FAQ section. 

Regular Decision: The Bienen School has not yet made a decision about holding on-campus Regular Decision auditions. All applicants will be contacted once the Bienen School and Northwestern have made a decision about our Regular Decision audition format.

Faculty and staff are working to determine best practices and options for applicants and faculty. All applicants will receive information about this year’s audition process via email. Each program/instrument’s Audition & Program Requirements page also will be updated with information about audition repertoire and procedures.

Lesson requests with faculty members are made directly through the faculty members themselves. Visit our Faculty Profiles to find contact information for individual faculty members.

Please feel free to upload a statement about how you have been impacted by the pandemic to your Bienen School Supplement. Please note that this is optional.

Join us for a Bienen School information session! Sessions are led by a Bienen admissions staff member and cover the application process, degree options, financial aid, and more. The sessions also include time for Q&As. Register for a session here. If you have any questions about Bienen School admissions, feel free to contact us at musiclife@northwestern.edu .

Refer to Application Instructions for information.

The indication to apply to the dual degree is made on the Common Application to Northwestern University.

No, however, all Bienen School of Music applicants are required to submit materials via the Bienen School Supplement.

Yes. Those interested in Early Decision should first contact the Bienen School's Office of Admission, Financial Aid and Graduate Services: musiclife@northwestern.edu.

All applicants should submit music materials via the Bienen School Supplement regardless of whether or not their chosen major/degree has an audition component.  

Most file types are accepted, and can be as large as 5 GB each. Refer to the Bienen School Supplement Portfolio section for detailed information.

Request and submit this through your Common Application.

No. All admission decisions are sent from the Office of Undergraduate Admission. If you have applied to more than one school within Northwestern, your admission decision will state which school(s) you have been accepted to.

No. The Bienen School of Music is a school within Northwestern University, so Bienen School applicants must be admitted to both the Bienen School of Music and the University as a whole.

No. Students are allowed to major in only one performance area. Additional majors may be added in music studies areas such as music education, musicology, music theory, music cognition, and music composition and technology, in addition to all majors found outside the Bienen School.

Yes. Students are welcome to complete two majors within the Bienen School of Music with the exception of two performance majors. Bienen students may complete a second major or dual degree program in the Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Students interested in pursuing a second major in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Medill School of Journalism, School of Communication, or School of Education and Social Policy may add a dual degree with the second school, or they may transfer to the second school and pursue music as a second major.  

Yes. If you have exceptionally strong interests in music and another field, this option offers the opportunity to earn two separate degrees (music plus one in an outside field) in five years. The Bienen School partners with the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, McCormick School of Engineering, Medill School of Journalism, School of Communication, and School of Education and Social Policy so that you may pursue both your passions side by side.

Bachelor of Arts degrees within the Bienen School are considered liberal arts degrees. There are no performance-based BA degrees. BA students may pursue an optional concentration in the areas of composition, musicology, music cognition, music education, and music theory. 

Bachelor of Music degrees include more music and performance-based courses. Those pursuing a Bachelor of Music in performance or music education perform in ensembles and take private lessons during the entirety of their undergraduate studies. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Music in other music studies areas (musicology, music cognition, music theory) receive one year of private lessons and have a one-year ensemble requirement. BM music composition students take private composition lessons with faculty and have a one-year ensemble requirement.

For more information, see Degrees.

Bachelor of Arts in Music students have a one-year ensemble requirement. There are no private lessons with faculty, but lessons with graduate students may be available. 

See our Opportunities for Nonmajors page.

Minors are declared after arriving at Northwestern as an enrolled student. See available music minors. Please note that there are no performance minors.

It is not necessary to record in a studio. Use the best available technology you have. Many successful prescreening recordings have been created on smartphones. The camera should be stationary for each selection and each selection should be uploaded as a separate file. The goal is to achieve a “natural acoustic” sound. Do not edit or electronically alter the audio of your prescreening submission. 

Yes. This is strongly encouraged.

You will receive an email from the Office of Music Admission with instructions on how to schedule your audition.

Do not book travel until you have scheduled your audition. If you must purchase your travel prior to confirming an audition, we recommend purchasing refundable tickets. The Bienen School of Music reserves the right to change audition dates. We are not responsible for any expenses incurred for changing travel plans.

Final round auditions may be performed on campus or by online submission, though live auditions are strongly encouraged. If you plan to upload a recording as a final audition, this recording is due by February 1 and should be submitted via your Audition Registration. Applicants submitting final auditions online are required to submit a video recording rather than audio. If for some reason you are unable to attend a previously scheduled on-campus audition, contact the Office of Music Admission to discuss submission options: musiclife@northwestern.edu. Please note: those auditioning by recording will not receive prescreening decisions—only admission decisions. 

The Office of Music Admission will send you a Musical Background form to bring to your audition. You may bring the sheet music for your audition selections, but this is optional.

Vocalists: Though we provide an accompanist for the live audition, you must supply your own music for the accompanist. Do not send the music in advance; simply bring it with you when you come to campus. We recommend making photocopies of all your music, back-to-back, and neatly organizing your selections in a three-ring binder. Please do not place the music in plastic sleeves as this causes glare for our pianists. Do not use staples. A binder is preferable to large books or scores.
 

For Bachelor of Music instrumentalists: All auditions, with the exception of jazz studies auditions, are unaccompanied. The Bienen School will provide a live combo for on-campus jazz studies auditions. 

For Bachelor of Music vocalists: Final auditions must be accompanied. A professional accompanist will be provided by the Bienen School of Music for on-campus auditions.

Yes! You will receive information on other activities that you may participate in via email.

Yes. Northwestern University offers financial assistance to students primarily on the basis of demonstrated need. Northwestern is among a small group of private institutions that continue to meet the full demonstrated institutional financial need of our aid applicants. In addition, there are merit scholarships from the Bienen School. Learn more.

There is no difference in the merit-based scholarship process for international applicants. International students are ineligible to apply for federal student loans through FAFSA, however. There are some options for international students to receive a private loan, however many of them do require a U.S. citizen to act as a co-signer. More information can be found here.

Directions to campus and parking details can be found on our Visit Us page. Applicants auditioning on campus will receive information on parking, hotel accommodations, transportation, and on-campus events via email. 

Normally, we provide a tour of our facilities and an information session every weekday at 11:45 a.m.

However, the Northwestern Office of Undergraduate Admission and Bienen School of Music have temporarily canceled all upcoming information sessions, campus tours, and large group visits due to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more here.

Lessons with faculty members are made directly through the faculty members themselves. Visit our Faculty Profiles to find contact information for individual faculty members.