Applicants for the Ph.D. degree in Composition must hold an M.Mus. in Composition or equivalent and must submit scores and/or recordings of their compositions at the time of application, and a written description (no more than two pages) of the research path(s) they wish to follow.

Applicants for the Ph.D. degree in Music Education, Music Technology, Musicology, Sound Recording, Music – Gender and Women's Studies, or Theory must hold a master's or a bachelor's degree equivalent to a McGill degree in Music Technology, Music Education, Musicology, Theory, or Sound Recording. Applicants with a bachelor's degree will normally be admitted to the M.A. program for the first year and may apply for admittance to the Ph.D. program after the completion of one full year of graduate coursework. Qualified applicants who have already completed an appropriate master's degree will be admitted to the second year of the Ph.D. program.

IBT (Internet-Based Test): 86 overall, no less than 20 in each of the four component scores
PBT (Paper-Based Test): 567
IELTS (International English Language Testing System): a band score of 6.5 or greater (Academic module)

A cumulative grade point average (CGPA) should be 3.0 out of a possible 4.0, or your grade point average (GPA) should be 3.2 out of 4.0 in your last two years of full-time studies.