Undergraduate Frequently Asked Questions

Each year we assemble a team of musicians based on very specific ensemble needs. For orchestral instrumentalists, we populate two orchestras with a specific number of students for each section. For vocalists, we need specific voice types in our vocal program. Admission for instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, and music history is also decided by reviewing studio attrition and how vacant studio slots can best be filled.

The Shepherd School of Music and Rice University are offering tours and on-campus visits. The Rice University tour and information session schedule and registration may be found here for tours and events. If you would like to meet with a Shepherd School admissions professional, please see the Visit page.

We believe a large part of what makes Rice a remarkable environment for undergraduates is the residential college system, so we encourage all freshmen to live on campus. New students are assigned to one of our eleven residential units, or colleges. Each college houses approximately 230 freshmen and upperclassmen; another 70 or so members of each college live off campus for one of their four years at Rice. The colleges serve not only as residence halls but also as primary centers for dining, studying, playing, networking, and developing leadership skills. Each college functions as a self-supporting unit, boasting its own government, budget, sports teams, dining facility, and commons.

As the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest in Texas, Houston offers the diversity and richness found only in world-class urban centers. The city's population totals over 2 million, while the greater metropolitan area covers 8,778 square miles and has a population of over 7 million. Economic vitality spans the energy, healthcare, space, high-tech, and chemical industries. Houstonians support more than 500 cultural, visual, and performing arts organizations; 75 art galleries; five major museums; resident companies in opera, theater, symphony, and ballet; and four major league sports franchises. More than 90 languages are spoken in the Houston area. As a Rice student, you will benefit from the best of two worlds—a traditional university campus located in a thriving metropolis. The campus includes about 50 major buildings, designed over a period of nearly a century and which are representative of the changes in style of 20th century American architecture. The university's earliest buildings were conceived by the architect, Ralph Adams Cram, in a revivalist style based on the medieval architecture of Southern Europe and are characterized by red tile roofs, rose-hued brick, semicircular archways, and elaborate detailing.

There are on average 285 students at the Shepherd School; approximately 120 undergraduates, 165 graduate students. With chamber music, studio class, choral ensembles and orchestra concerts, there are numerous performing opportunities for undergraduates. Undergraduate and graduate students perform together in ensembles, assuring that students learn from each other while maintaining the highest level of musical excellence.

Due to the complexity of the audition process, the Shepherd School of Music only admits by regular decision.

We do not admit directly into the BA degree, nor do we offer a minor in Music. The BA degree is reserved for enrolled students, often performance majors, who have decided to change their focus.

There are no freshmen or transfer mid-year admits to Rice University or the Shepherd School of Music.

The Shepherd School receives over 400 undergraduate applications annually, and our acceptance rate is typically around 15%.

Individual lessons are scheduled directly with faculty members via the email address listed on their biography page. All introductory lessons are subject to faculty availability.

Depending on their field of study, undergraduate performance majors are required to participate in two to six semesters of chamber music at the Shepherd School. We believe instruction in chamber music to be critical to maintaining a successful career in music.

Many of the professional ensembles throughout greater Houston frequently employ Shepherd School students. Churches, museums, synagogues, private parties, and weddings are just a few of the “gigging” opportunities.

December 1 is the deadline for Shepherd School applicants to submit the Common Application and Rice Supplement, plus the required Preliminary Submission or Audition Profile Form.

The Undergraduate Prescreening Profile or Audition Profile Form is due to the Shepherd School by December 1. Your Common Application and Rice Supplement are due March 15. When scheduling your audition, please keep in mind auditions take place from mid-January to mid-February.

Yes. The Shepherd School is an academic division of Rice University, and music students take academic coursework, live in residential colleges, are an integral part of Rice’s campus life, and ultimately receive degrees from Rice University.

Rice recommends first-year and transfer applicants to undergraduate degree-seeking programs to submit SAT or ACT test scores, if available. Music applicants who are unable to submit test scores or prefer not to submit test scores will be given full consideration in the admission selection process. 

Yes, selecting a teacher preference in the area of strings, piano, and voice is very important. You will make this selection on the Preliminary Submission. Once your Preliminary Submission has been submitted, changes to your teacher preference must be made in writing. Please the SSM admissions staff who manages your area. Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, Organ, and Harp all have one faculty. Composition faculty are assigned students based on a rotating studio model. More information is found here.

No. Shepherd School performance and composition majors study privately with faculty members.

While it is critical that you have a successful audition, it is also important that the Shepherd School admissions committee sees your non-musical academic strengths. Music majors are required to take non-music academic courses at Rice University, some of which may be challenging. Maintaining a good high school GPA and testing well on the College Board exams help indicate what type of college student you may be.

Rice seeks students who demonstrate intellectual vitality through their course selection and their grade performance. Most applicants will challenge themselves by taking advantage of the rigorous coursework available to them. At a minimum, students must complete the following: English - 4 credits; Social Studies - 2 credits; Mathematics - 3 credits; Laboratory Science (e.g. biology, chemistry, physics) - 2 credits; Foreign Language - 2 credits; Additional credits in any of the categories above - 3 credits for a total of 16 credits.

Students admitted with curriculum deficiencies will be asked to complete the required work by taking high school or college-level courses during the summer before enrollment at Rice.

For an applicant who must submit the Preliminary Submission (brass, composition, percussion, piano, strings, woodwinds, and voice) by December 1, the faculty will review and make decisions before the Winter break. The invitations to audition will be emailed with the link to schedule your audition. Audition dates and requirements may be found here. IMPORTANT! Please set your email filter to accept rice.edu emails since this is the primary source of our communication with applicants. Applicants who use Gmail may need to check the Social or Promotions folders since our emails occasionally end up in those folders.

Harp and Organ applicants are scheduled in the beginning of December after we have received their Audition Profile form.

Our faculty members require a live audition before accepting someone into their studio. We do not conduct regional auditions in order to encourage serious applicants to visit the campus and experience our faculty, ensembles, and campus firsthand. If you have extreme circumstances that warrant a recorded audition, you must contact the SSM admissions staff who manages your area.

No. Audition dates are reserved for music major applicants only, and the Shepherd School does not offer a minor in music. If you are interested in lessons, ensembles, or classes outside of your major, please consult our non-major offerings.

Prior to your arrival on campus, you will receive an audition confirmation email listing the date, time, and room location of your scheduled audition. We encourage all to tour the music building and general campus at their leisure.

The Rice campus is located in the heart of Houston’s museum district, where there are numerous hotel accommodations. For a listing of nearby places to stay, please visit our map of area hotels.

All instrumental auditions are conducted without accompanists. A pianist is provided for voice auditions.

If there is a change in your audition repertoire, please bring multiple copies of your new list to your audition for the faculty.

Most auditions run from 10 – 15 minutes long.

If Houston is experiencing challenging weather, we will post a notice on the home page. If your travel is affected by difficult weather, please call us as soon as you are aware of this so we can re-schedule your audition for later in the day or on another audition day. We count on you to let us know so we can notify the faculty and their schedules can be adjusted.

Rice University will notify Shepherd School freshman applicants of their admission status by April 1. Transfer applicants will be notified by the end of May.

To apply for financial assistance, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 1 and use 003604 for the School Code. You must also complete the CSS PROFILE form by February 1 and use 6609 for the CSS Profile Code. In addition, you must submit 2023 Tax Returns and W-2s to IDOC by February 1 and complete the Shepherd School Financial Assistance Application. The completed form will be sent as a .PDF to your email which you can upload to your Prescreening Profile.

If you wish to be considered for a Shepherd School of Music merit scholarship, you must still complete all forms listed in the Costs and Financial Aid section.

Merit awards are generally distributed by the Shepherd School to applicants exhibiting exceptional musical ability and potential, coupled with excellent academic credentials. Merit awards are reviewed annually, and as long as merit recipients continue to make satisfactory musical and academic progress in their field of study and the degree program to which they are admitted, the expectation is for the award to be continued for four years.

Yes. The Rice payment plan is designed so that students or parents can pay over the course of the semester, as opposed to paying the full amount of tuition. Please visit payment plans.

No special international scholarships are offered. Merit award considerations apply to all applicants (including international). Rice considers international applicants on a need-aware basis, and offers need-based financial aid to a limited number of international first year applicants. This means when the Admission Committee evaluates international applications, the amount of financial aid a family might need is taken into consideration. Students who wish to be considered for financial aid must indicate their intention to apply for financial aid on the admission application. International students admitted without a request for financial aid cannot apply for financial aid in subsequent years. For additional information on Rice University Financial Aid programs, please visit https://financialaid.rice.edu/.