Graduate Programs
Sacred Music at Notre Dame offers two terminal degrees: the Master of Sacred Music and the Calvin M. Bower Doctor of Musical Arts.
Our Margot Fassler Master of Sacred Music degree is geared toward students with undergraduate degrees in music who seek additional training in theology/liturgical studies, music performance, and music scholarship. Our faculty specialize in training students for professional careers as organists, vocalists, conductors, church music directors, and music educators for public and private schools, and we prepare students for additional graduate studies at the doctoral level. We welcome applicants with backgrounds in performance, music education, theory/history, and composition.
Our Calvin M. Bower Doctor of Musical Arts Program offers a DMA degree. This is a professional performance training program aimed at students studying choral conducting and organ performance. Applicants with prior masters degrees in conducting or organ performance are preferred. Our students study advanced performance practices and comprehensive music theory and history. Graduates of the DMA program serve as Music Directors in Catholic and Protestant cathedrals and teach at universities and seminaries.
Students in the MSM and DMA programs receive full funding, health insurance, and competitive assistantship stipends by serving as church musicians in community parishes or the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and as co-directors with the Notre Dame Children’s Choir.