The Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles offers scholarships to students from music schools in Slovenia. These scholarships are from the following Trust Funds:

1) Therese Kerze Cheyovich Endowment Fund and

2) Frank Kerze and Florence Kerze-Dunphy Scholarship Fund for the Study of Music.

Both funds were established by the immigrant family Kerže who were extremely proud of their Slovenian origin and wanted in this way to honor their ancestry. The goal of the funds is to provide an opportunity for Slovenian students to receive education and training at the USC Thornton School of Music, to familiarize them with U.S. culture and to provide opportunities to gain U.S. exposure of their musical talents.

The scholarship(s) from Frank Kerze and Florence Kerze-Dunphy Scholarship Fund for the Study of Music will be awarded to one or more qualified students of music to support their graduate-level studies leading to a certificate, Master’s and/or doctoral degree in the field of music. Once awarded, a returning candidate may continue to receive the scholarship each year until s/he completes his/her academic program. Scholarship funds may be awarded for tuition, fees, and other expenses.

The scholarships from Therese Kerze Cheyovich Endowment Fund will be awarded to one or more qualified students of music to support their undergraduate or graduate studies leading to a certificate and / or a Bachelor’s, Master’s and/or doctoral degree at the USC Thornton School of Music. Once awarded, a returning candidate may continue to receive the scholarship each year until s/he completes his/her academic program. Scholarship funds may be awarded for tuition, fees, and living expenses. The donor of this particular scholarship preferred that recipients play the cello as their primary musical instrument.

In order to be granted a scholarship, candidates must apply for and be accepted into the applicable degree and/or certificate program pursuant to the policies of the USC Thornton School of Music.

The application deadline to be considered for admission to the fall semester of 2017 is: December 1, 2016.

Please note that the application and audition requirements differ from program to program. For specific department application and audition requirements, please select the appropriate program. You can find all requirements by program at the USC website: https://music.usc.edu/admission/appreqs/

In general, the requirements include:

- online application for admission

- prescreen recording

- resumé which should list musical, professional and academic experience

- repertoire list – to be submitted with online application

- supporting documents (e.g. academic transcripts, SAT scores for undergraduate students etc.)

- statement of purpose – motivation letter

- letters of recommendation

The undergraduate application fee is $80, with an additional $25 upload fee for the prescreen recording.

The graduate application fee is $90, with an additional $25 upload fee for the prescreen recording.

The following additional application materials are required from international applicants:

- Confidential Statement of Financial Support (please refer to the possible funding from the Kerže Trust Funds)

- English Language Test Requirement- TOEFL/IELTS

- Transcripts and Certified English Translations from all schools attended

- Certified copy of English translation of all relevant documents

- certified copy of passport

For accurate list of requirements and department applications please double check the USC website at: https://music.usc.edu/admission/

The first selection done by the Selection Committee will be based on the prescreen recording submitted by the applicant by the December 1, 2016 deadline. Following this initial review, an invitation will be extended to a select group of applicants to perform a live audition on the USC campus in Los Angeles; Live auditions typically take place in late January and early February. The successful applicants may be offered a scholarship in the spring.

For any additional queries you may contact Ms. Darinka Trček at at the Slovene Human Resources and Development Fund: EducationUSA@sklad-kadri.si or Ms. Nuška Zakrajšek at the Embassy of Slovenia in the U.S.: Nuska.Zakrajsek@gov.si or contact USC directly: Ms. Kit Bellamy, Associate Director for Graduate Admission at keb@thornton.usc.edu or Ms. Brittany Seits, Associate Director for Undergraduate Admission at seits@thornton.usc.edu.

We also kindly ask to inform the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Washington about the submitted application at: Nuska.Zakrajsek@gov.si.