Master of Sacred Music

The Master of Sacred Music (MSM or SMM) degree is a two to five-year post-baccalaureate degree that combines academic and musical studies. The closure of graduate programs in organ performance across America has made the MSM increasingly the de facto degree for advanced studies in church music; MSM graduates who wish to continue their studies have the option of academic (Ph.D. or Th.D.) or applied (DMA) tracks. Most MSM programs are limited to choral conducting and organ performance, as these two applied fields are the primary occupations of church music directors. Piano Performance is usually taught as a subdiscipline or acquired separately.

Master of Sacred Music programs in the United States include:

• Boston University School of Theology, Boston, MA

{{cite web

|url=https://www.bu.edu/academics/sth/programs/master-of-sacred-music/

|title=Master of Sacred Music (MSM)

|website=Boston University

|access-date=10 May 2019

}}

• School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, NY

{{cite web

|url=http://huc.edu/admissions/applications-and-program-requirements/apply-become-cantor/cantorial-ordination-and

|title=Cantorial Ordination and Masters in Sacred Music (MSM)

|website=Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

|access-date=10 May 2019

}}

• Cantorial school of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York, NY

{{cite web

|url=http://www.jtsa.edu/h-l-miller-cantorial-school-and-college-of-jewish-music

|title=H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music

|website=Jewish Theological Seminary of America

|access-date=10 May 2019

}}

• Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

{{cite web

|url=https://www.smu.edu/Perkins/FacultyAcademics/degrees/msm

|title=Master of Sacred Music (M.S.M.)

|website=Southern Methodist University

|access-date=10 May 2019

}}

• Westminster Choir College at Rider University

{{cite web

|url=https://www.rider.edu/wcc/academics/graduate-programs/sacred-music/master-sacred-music-practical-pedagogy

|title=Master of Sacred Music: Practical Pedagogy

|website=Rider University

|access-date=10 May 2019

|date=2018-05-07

}}

• University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN

{{Cite web

|url=https://sacredmusic.nd.edu/master-of-sacred-music/

|title=Master of Sacred Music - MSM

|website=University of Notre Dame

|access-date=10 May 2019

}}

• University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX

{{cite web

|url=https://www.stthom.edu/Academics/School-of-Arts-and-Sciences/Graduate/Master-of-Sacred-Music/Index.aqf

|title=Master of Sacred Music degree

|website=University of St. Thomas

|access-date=10 May 2019

}}

Boston University's program is the oldest (BU is also host to the oldest higher education program in music in the United States) and Notre Dame's{{cite web|title=University of Notre Dame|url=sacredmusic.nd.edu|accessdate=24 January 2017}} is the youngest (admitting its first students for Fall 2005). An MSM program at Union Theological Seminary was dissolved when UTS' Institute of Sacred Music was dissolved and moved to Yale.{{cite web|title=Yale Institute of Sacred Music|url=ism.yale.edu|accessdate=24 January 2017}}

On November 14, 2012, Luther Seminary ended its MSM program; then-current students were permitted to finish out their studies, but no new applicants were accepted following the decision, which was made by President Richard Bliese against the recommendations of the seminary's Educational Leadership Committee (ELC).