Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private conservatory of music founded in 1917 and located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, adjacent to Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus. With approximately 1,100 students across undergraduate and graduate programs, MSM is one of the nation's foremost music conservatories, training performers, composers, conductors, and music educators at the highest level of artistic excellence. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in classical performance (piano, strings, winds, brass, percussion), orchestral conducting, opera, composition, jazz, and music education. International students comprise approximately 36% of the student body — with 35% of undergraduates and 38% of graduate students coming from outside the United States — reflecting MSM's global reputation for world-class training in classical and jazz performance. The school's acceptance rate of 40% is competitive for a conservatory, and admission is based primarily on live audition. MSM benefits from its unique location in New York City, offering students immediate access to the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, New York Philharmonic, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and hundreds of performance opportunities. The school also operates a community music school serving young students in the surrounding neighborhood. MSM alumni include Grammy winners, international competition laureates, principal players in major orchestras, and leading jazz artists. The school is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
—
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$57050
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $57,050
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
