For Prospective Students
About UNT
Located in one of the nation’s Ten Best College Towns and fastest growing metropolitan areas, the University of North Texas College of Music is one of the world's largest and most respected music schools. We offer fully accredited degrees from the bachelor's to doctoral levels and are dedicated to providing a dynamic, diverse and comprehensive learning environment in which each student’s fullest potential may be achieved.
A student-focused public research university, UNT is designated a best university by Forbes and is the largest, most comprehensive in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With excellent academics and distinguished faculty, we are the choice of more than 39,000 students. We offer 105 bachelor’s, 88 master’s and 37 doctoral degree programs.
The UNT College of Music offers:
Inviting Environment
Be welcomed into a tight-knit community that inspires excellence and empowers students to find their voice. Our students are artistically and academically gifted, and we have the highest percentage of Honors College students and National Merit Scholars at UNT.
Abundant Resources
Perform in world-class venues including the Murchison Performing Arts Center which features state-of-the-art lighting, audio/video recording and excellent acoustics. Our large ensemble concerts are broadcast live online making it easy for your family and friends to watch your performances.
Extensive Opportunities
Surround yourself with constant innovation. Develop an entrepreneurial mindset through our newly-created career development and entrepreneurship initiative.
One-on-One Connections
Receive mentoring from faculty committed to developing well-rounded, versatile musicians who are resourceful and have marketable skills. Our faculty includes internationally acclaimed artists and scholars in composition, conducting, ethnomusicology, music education, music entrepreneurship, music history, music theory and performance.
Robust Network
Build a professional network that includes peers, faculty, more than 100 internationally acclaimed guest artists per year and distinguished alumni who support you throughout your career.
Put Your Passion Into Practice
The UNT One O'Clock Lab Band performs in the University Union Syndicate.
Making music together
UNT offers more than 70 student ensembles that enrich the musical community by producing more than 1,100 diverse recitals and concerts annually.
Chamber Music
More than 40 wind, brass, string and mixed chamber ensembles, plus our graduate/undergraduate string quartets and Nova new music ensemble.
Choral
Six choirs, ranging in size from 50 to 160 members, including our premier choral ensemble, the A Cappella Choir.
Early Music
A 35-member Baroque orchestra, 25 member chamber choir and a variety of mixed chamber ensembles dedicated to period performance.
Jazz
More than a dozen vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles, including the seven-time Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, UNT Jazz Singers and 25 small groups each semester.
Opera
Three full, double-cast productions each year, plus opera scenes and other special projects.
Orchestral
Two 80-member orchestras, including our Symphony Orchestra, which was established in 1938.
Percussion
Classical percussion ensembles, drumlines, steel bands and ensembles devoted to music from Africa, Cuba, Brazil, Bali and South India.
Winds
Nine wind bands including the 400-member Green Brigade Marching Band and the three-time Grammy Award-nominated Wind Symphony.
Set the Stage for Success
Students in UNT's Symphony Orchestra rehearse and perform regularly in our beautiful Winspear Hall.
The UNT College of Music became home to the nation’s first jazz degree in 1946 and—with nine big bands, four vocal jazz ensembles, more than a half-dozen specialty jazz ensembles and approximately 25 small groups—the program continues to thrive today.
The Sound of Innovation
We are internationally recognized as a hub of innovation. Our Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI) enables composers to explore the integration of music and art technologies with state-of-the-art support for research, creative work, performance and teaching.
We offer clinical services as well as have opportunities for advanced research in music and medicine through the Texas Center for Performing Arts Health.
Acclaimed and Dedicated Faculty
With more than 100 full-time faculty members—including Grammy Award winners, a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winner, Guggenheim Fellows and soloists with internationally-renowned operas and symphony orchestras—you will learn from some of the top musicians in the world.
With one of the largest early music programs in the country, UNT offers you access to period instruments and private instruction with specialized faculty who have the skills to develop virtually any repertoire.
Unparalleled Resources
You may have the opportunity to study and perform music abroad, as well as the ability to explore distant cultures through on-campus world music ensembles.
You will have access to on-campus instrument repair shops for wind, brass and stringed instruments that provide low-cost quick fixes or major repairs.
Over 300,000 volumes of books, hundreds of reference works, a wide variety of online materials and an estimated one million sound recordings will be available to you through the UNT Music Library, one of the most extensive music collections in the United States.
Your dreams are within reach
UNT provides the quality of a private university at an affordable cost. We’ve been named one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 24 consecutive years.
See our cost of attendance information to discover how affordable a world-class music school education at UNT's College of Music really is.
College of Music Scholarships
The College of Music awards competitive music scholarships based on audition/portfolio review and interview. Your admission application and audition/portfolio/interview serve as your application for music scholarships.
Out-of-state tuition waiver
If you are an out-of-state student and you are awarded a UNT competitive scholarship or music scholarship of $1,000 or more during the fall (or fall plus spring), you are able to attend UNT at the resident tuition rate for the academic year—including the summer term. Learn more.
*The preferred deadline to submit applications and additional materials (if applicable) for fall admission consideration is the first Monday in December. Applications received after that date will be reviewed and auditions will be scheduled on a case-by-case basis depending upon space availability.
Fast-track your degree for less
Texas residents, you can choose the Save and Soar tuition plan and lock in your tuition rate. Finish your degree faster and focus on what’s next by taking advantage of exclusive tuition savings on summer and winter sessions.
By the numbers
About 75% of UNT students receive financial aid and scholarships totaling more than $390 million annually. This includes more than $50 million in scholarships. To receive first consideration, submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) before UNT’s Feb. 1 priority deadline for scholarship consideration.
Types of assistance:
- Scholarships - funds awarded based on merit and/or need; no repayment required
- Grants - funds awarded based on need; no repayment required
- Loans - funds that must be repaid at some point
- Student employment - 3,200 jobs on campus and 8,500 off campus
Learn more at the UNT Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships website.
Finding Success
Soprano Latonia Moore, a UNT alumna, has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera and the Hamburg State Opera in iconic roles including the title roles in Aida and in Madame Butterfly.
The path to musical success
UNT is located in Denton, a friendly college town with a thriving music scene that has gained recognition from The New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine, among others. Located 40 miles north of Dallas and Fort Worth, Denton is a part of one of the nation’s largest metropolitan regions and has an abundance of jobs, internships and performance opportunities. Learn more about local opportunities in the arts.
College of Music students have placed as national winners or finalists in a wide variety of competitions, including the Fischoff Competition, Naumburg Competition, North American Saxophone Alliance Competition, International Tuba and Euphonium Competition, Leonard Falcone International Tuba and Euphonium Festival, BMI Composers Awards, International Clarinet Competitions, International Trombone Society Competitions, National Flute Association Competitions, North Sea Jazz Festival (Rotterdam), the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest, and National Organ Playing Competition.
Our graduates hold positions across the spectrum of the music profession, and around the world, including:
- teachers and scholars in schools, colleges, universities and conservatories
- performers in orchestras, bands, opera, choruses, jazz and recordings
- employees in the music industry
- composers in the concert hall, television and film
Notable alumni of the UNT College of Music include:
Adolfo Acosta, trumpeter, Tower of Power
Christopher Adkins, principal cellist, Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Robert Blocker, dean, Yale University School of Music
Keith Carlock, drummer for Sting and Steely Dan
Kristopher Carter, composer, Emmy Award winner for the Batman Beyond cartoon series
Jeff Coffin, saxophonist for Dave Mathews Band, founder of Jeff Coffin & the Mu'tet and three-time Grammy Award winner
Michael Daugherty, composer, four-time Grammy Award winner
Clint Foreman, flutist, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Don Henley, singer/songwriter, producer, drummer and two-time Grammy Award winner
Mark Jenkins, euphonium section leader in “The President’s Own” Marine Band
Norah Jones, vocalist, nine-time Grammy Award winner and UNT Presidential Medal of Honor recipient
Tom "Bones" Jones, jazz musician, former member of "The Blues Brothers" and "Saturday Night Live" bands
Anthony Molinaro, pianist, winner of the Naumburg International Piano Competition
Patricia Racette, soprano with the Teatro alla Scala and the New York Metropolitan Opera
Snarky Puppy, jazz and funk collective, two-time Grammy Award Winner
Duain Wolfe, chorus director, Chicago Symphony Chorus
See more notable and famous musical UNT alumni.
View more alumni and student accomplishments.
Explore career development resources for musicians.