UNSW Music Auditions | Arts & Social Sciences

UNSW Music auditions are part of the Music degrees in the School of the Arts & Media. You can register for the auditions by filling out our application form and you can also explore the range of music programs we have on offer. To ensure you're ready for your performance, read the procedure below and contact the School if you have any questions.

At UNSW School of the Arts & Media, Music can be studied in one of our Bachelor of Music programs or as a major or minor within the Bachelor of Arts. To gain entry into the UNSW Music programs, you'll have to apply through UAC, UAC International or directly through UNSW Admissions and then undertake a musicianship test and an audition.

We've also introduced an Advanced Entry Scheme whereby selected applicants may apply for course credit towards their degree based on previous study and experience.

Note: Within the Bachelor of Arts, no audition is required.

Two rounds of auditions will be run for the 2021 entry into the music program.

Early round Auditions will run from 21 August - 7 September, 2020. Results will be sent in late September 2020.

Main round Auditions will run from 5 November - 20 November, 2020. Results will be sent in late December 2020.

Applicants must choose which round they wish to participate in by selecting one on the registration form (link below).

Registrations for the Early round of auditions will close 19 August 2020.

Registrations for the Main round of auditions will close 4 November 2020.

Click here to Register now for Early/Main round Auditions

Once You Have Registered

In addition to registering for the audition, you must also apply entry to the program:

If you are a domestic applicant, please apply through UAC.

If you are an International Baccalaureate applicant, please apply through UAC International.

If you are an International applicant, please apply through UNSW International.

The UAC codes for Music at UNSW are:

Bachelor of Music 422500
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Advanced Science(Honours) 422531
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Arts 422501
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Commerce 422510
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Education (secondary) 422502
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) 422520
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Law 426050
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Media (Communication and Journalism) 422503
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Media (PR and Advertising) 422504
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Media (Screen and Sound Production) 422505
Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Science 422530

Stage 1: UNSW Musicianship Test

Once you are registered for the UNSW Musicianship Test, you will receive an email on with a link and an individual login to the online Musicianship Test.

Early Round Musicianship Test will be emailed on: Friday 21 August 2020.
Main Round Musicianship Test will be emailed on: Thursday 5 November 2020

You will be allowed one attempt only and have 30 minutes to complete the test anytime within 7 days.

Early Round Musicianship Test must be completed on: Thursday 27 August 2020.
Main Round Musicianship Test must be completed on: Wednesday 11 November 2020

Results will be emailed shortly after, along with instructions regarding Stage 2. This test is designed to assess your skills and knowledge in basic music theory, score reading, musical style and general knowledge of music. To prepare for the test it is recommended that you review music theory and general musical knowledge to the level of Grade 5 AMEB Theory. There will not be any history component.

All questions will be multiple choice and cover basics such as all scale constructions, triads, cadences, and basic four-part harmony. Simple score reading will also be included.

If you successfully pass the Musicianship test you will be required to complete Stage 2 and submit the required performance audition materials to UNSW. If you are unsuccessful in passing the Musicianship Test, you may still apply for a Bachelor of Arts program majoring or minoring in Music. This program does not require an audition. Students who then wish to transfer from the Bachelor of Arts to the Bachelor of Music may re-audition the following year, and if successful, can apply to have their credit transferred to the Bachelor of Music degree.

Stage 2: Performance Audition Online

Audition material is submitted online. Applicants will be required to upload their audition material following their successful Musicianship Test. Submitted Auditions will be reviewed by Music staff of the University and will not be viewed or made available to other persons. Please make sure your face and hands are visible in the audition video so that we can identify you are the one performing.

Early Round Auditions: Instruction on how to upload audition materials will be on Friday 28 August 2020
Main Round Audtions: Instruction on how to upload audition materials will be on Thursday 12 November 2020

Auditions can be uploaded in one of the following formats online:

Video: mpeg, mpg, mp4, mov, avi, wmv or m4v

For other required documents within the audition application, the uploader also accepts:

Document: txt, rtf, doc, docx, pdf, xls, xlsx, sib, mus, ppt or pptx
Audio: mp3, ogg, m4a, aiff, wma, wav or aac
Image: jpeg, png, gif or jpg

What to Submit for the Performance Audition

Two Contrasting Works or Two Scores of Contrasting Compositions

Performance: If Performance is your intended specialisation, you must provide two contrasting performances. They can be any two short pieces of your choice, as long as they contrast in some way (tempo, technical difficulty, expression, style, etc.). Each piece must be between 3-5 minutes in length.

Composition: If Composition is your intended specialisation, you must provide two scores of contrasting compositions (Along with the two composition scores we also require accompanying audio files [mp3 is best] – so please also upload audio files that are either MIDI-based recordings or recordings of live performances of your compositions.) You must also submit two contrasting performances on your individual instrument or voice. If not accepted as a composition specialist, you may possibly be accepted as a performer.

Students who will complete or have completed Music Extension/Music 2 for the HSC, or equivalent, and who are interested in the Advanced Entry Scheme for musicology and musicianship, should also submit their final musicology essay.

Short Song to be Sung Unaccompanied

The short song can be any song of your choice. It is for the examiner to test your sense of pitch. A traditional song or folk song would be most preferable and must be minimum of 1 minute in length.

500-word essay about yourself

The essay can be about something that you have enjoyed doing, studying or learning about aside from music. The essay is important because it illustrates what you think and how well you express yourself. It also gives you an opportunity to tell us about who you are beyond your musical qualifications and will help us further distinguish you from other applicants. So try to write your essay in a way that lets your voice come through.

CV/Resume

We do not expect extensive experience; this is merely to give the examiner an idea of what, if any, extra-curricular activities you may be involved with within the sphere of music.

A scanned copy of a Photo ID

This can be anything from a drivers licence or proof of age card to a student ID. This is so our examiner can identify that the performance work you submit to the UNSW auditions is your own work.

Reference

A letter of reference must be uploaded with your performance files. When registering, you will need to provide the name and contact details of your referee so that we may contact them if necessary. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their audition in early December 2020, in time to adjust UAC preferences. Successful applicants who meet certain criteria will be contacted and invited to apply for our Advanced Entry Scheme. Please see below for more detail.

Eligibility

Applicants are expected to have reached 7th Grade AMEB performance or equivalent, and 2 Unit Music course, 2 or 3 Unit extension or 6th Grade AMEB theory or musicianship, or equivalent. These grades are a guideline only.

Advanced Entry Scheme (Advanced Course Credit)

From 2017, the UNSW Bachelor of Music program introduced an Advanced Entry Scheme. Under this scheme, only selected applicants will be invited to apply for course credit towards their program based on previous experience and knowledge.

Potential applicants will be invited to apply based initially on their audition results and must have a minimum ATAR of 80 and an LMus or equivalent qualification, or evidence of outstanding ability and achievement in musicology and musicianship. Applicants are then assessed to determine whether they are eligible for advanced course credit.

Applicants may need to be available to attend a day at UNSW in mid to late December for knowledge testing and interviews. This will allow the School to notify applicants of the outcome before the final UAC preferences deadline.

Applicants will be asked to bring the following documentation:

Cover letter outlining how the applicant fulfils the learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the level one courses in the UNSW BMus and why credit should be granted
Curriculum Vitae with relevant personal details, professional experience
Names and contact of two professionals in the field willing to serve as referees

Guaranteed entry means that if you pass the audition, and meet other requirements, UNSW can guarantee your offer from UAC. Calculate your eligibility and learn more about how you can guarantee your entry.