phd music composition

Graduate Program in Composition

Previous handbook for those entering in 2023 or earlier

The composition program at Cornell combines private lessons and group seminars, with an emphasis on the development of the student’s personal approach to composition. The DMA blends scholarship with artistic work. We require a foreign language and a thesis analyzing the dissertation piece and contextualizing the student’s work, and we expect that all composers will take some seminars in scholarly subjects. One strength of the program is that, like all Cornell doctorates in the humanities, the DMA program in composition offers the adventurous student the opportunity to study many subjects, including topics outside the field of music, and to meld these into a highly individual course of study.

All DMA students are admitted with four full years of funding in the form of two years of fellowships and two years of teaching assistantships. Students who do not already have a master’s degree in music earn the Master of Fine Arts in the course of their study; but the MFA is not normally viewed as a terminal degree at Cornell, and those wishing to earn only the master’s degree are not admitted.

In addition to seminar work and lessons, students will be required to present a public concert of their work comprising a substantial amount of music in various media composed during their study at Cornell. As part of the DMA dissertation, students are required to complete a significant work, the scope of which will be determined in consultation with the Special Committee.

Works by doctoral composers are performed by the student-managed Experimental Sound Series (ESS), typically once per year, and at other events in collaboration with DMA performance practice students. They are also presented by groups invited under the aegis of the Steven Stucky Memorial Residency for New Music. Finally, the Festival Chamber Orchestra (FCO)—a large ensemble modeled on a standard sinfonietta configuration (with or without electronic media)—presents an annual concert of doctoral students’ scores.

Composition Admissions

Academic Requirements:

Students wishing to enroll in the D.M.A. Composition program must have a B.A., B.Mus., M.A. or an equivalent academic background.

Application Deadline:

January 15th for Fall admissions.  (The Fall semester begins at the end of August)

Application Materials:

The following materials must be submitted online via the Cornell University Graduate School  online application system :

Cornell Graduate School Online Application form

Application Fee

• Academic Statement of Purpose
• Personal Statement

Transcripts (and English translations if required)

TOEFL scores (see  Graduate School TOEFL requirements  for further details)

Three letters of recommendation from faculty members acquainted with your work

• An essay, term paper, or honors paper dealing with music composition
• Scores of two or three recent compositions, with audio/video links (no Google drive, please) or MP3 recording

Every student accepted into the DMA program in composition at Cornell receives four years of guaranteed funding, including financial support for three summers. Every student is given a Sage fellowship for the first and fourth years; the latter Sage fellowship may be deferred if outside funding is procured by the student. The remaining two years of funding are in the form of teaching assistantships. Student Health Insurance is provided under fellowship and teaching assistantships. Partners, spouses, and dependents can be included for additional charges.

Ordinarily the DMA program may be completed within four years, though some students may require more time. When possible the department may offer additional semesters of teaching, but such support is not guaranteed. Many students seek outside fellowships beginning in their third year. There are also a few dissertation fellowships available through various Cornell programs. Entering students are encouraged to apply for Javits, Mellon, or other outside fellowships as another means of extending their graduate support. For a list of external and internal graduate fellowships (searchable by keyword, program name, or deadline) see the  Graduate School Fellowship Database.

The Department of Music offers a wide variety of teaching experiences, and the faculty makes every effort to match interest and skill to course offerings.  Click here to learn more  about teaching assistantships.

Program History

The DMA program in composition is uniquely flexible and is developed in close consultation with the student’s Special Committee. Students may combine their study in the Field of Music (music and sound studies, performance) with work in other Fields at Cornell.

“Field of Music,” or “Field” for short, is the official Graduate School designation for the graduate programs and the Graduate Faculty in music. The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), coordinates the activities of the Field, including such concerns as admissions, financial aid, advising, and job hunting, and represents the Field vis-à-vis the Graduate School. Even though it will not have much effect on your program, it is useful to know that the Department of Music and the Field of Music are not coterminous; some faculty members of the Department are not members of the Field, and most graduate Fields, like ours, include faculty members from several departments.

The nature and history of Cornell’s D.M.A. degree.

The current composition faculty includes Kevin Ernste, Elizabeth Ogonek, and Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri, who together offer instruction in an unusually wide range of contemporary musical practices: electroacoustic and computer music, sound art, installation, new media, improvisation, instrument building, and scored composition for traditional instruments, chamber groups, and large ensembles.

The first bona fide appointment in music at Cornell went to a composer, Arthur Farwell, who served from 1899 to 1901. The proper history of the composition program really begins in 1941, though, with the appointment of Roy Harris as Composer-in-Residence under a grant from the Carnegie Corporation. It was Harris who established the first graduate seminar in composition, and Harris who guided John Vincent to the first Cornell PhD in composition in 1942. He was succeeded in 1943 by his own student, Robert Palmer, under whose leadership for the next thirty-seven years the program came to national prominence. In 1954 Karel Husa left Paris for Cornell, replacing Hunter Johnson (1948-54), and Husa’s growing reputation in the 1970s and ’80s further secured Cornell’s prominent role in the training of American composers. Palmer retired in 1980, to be succeeded by his own student Steven Stucky, who was the Given Foundation Professor of Music until 2014; Husa retired in 1992, to be succeeded by Roberto Sierra, who was the Old Dominion Professor of Humanities, Music, until 2022. For many years, electronic music pioneer David Borden (an associate of Robert Moog and founder of the world’s first live synthesizer ensemble, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company) taught electronic music, mostly to undergraduate non-majors, but in 2005 Kevin Ernste came to Cornell as Director of the Cornell Electroacoustic Music Center, bringing computer and electronic music to graduate composition. In 2016, composer, performer, and sound artist Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri joined the composition faculty, and the program welcomed Elizabeth Ogonek in 2021.

Cornell instituted a separate doctorate in composition in 1957. At that time the faculty in music argued for the establishment of the professional degree Doctor of Musical Arts instead of the more scholarly Doctor of Philosophy. In technical terms, the DMA, being a professional degree like JD or DVM, is subject to certain requirements of the State of New York as well as to the jurisdiction of the Graduate School and the Field of Music. In practical terms, the DMA is widely looked upon as emphasizing professional and artistic skills more than scholarship or research, and during the latter part of the twentieth century it became the terminal degree for most composers in US graduate programs.

The situation at Cornell is somewhat different. Here the DMA, while still fundamentally a professional degree in composing, aims at a balanced combination of professional training and scholarly endeavor. This dual emphasis exists in part in response to Cornell’s distinguished tradition of musical scholarship, its eminent faculty in music and sound studies, and its outstanding library system, and in part to a realistic assessment of the state of the profession: composers who hope to enter college-level teaching must be competent not only at composing but also at a broad range of academic musical subjects. Thus it is in the nature of the Cornell DMA that, although each candidate will follow a different course, each will be expected to pursue excellence in both spheres, the professional and the scholarly.

The Master of Fine Arts degree.

Applicants who wish to earn only the master’s degree in composition are not admitted, but those who enter the doctoral program without having already earned a master’s do receive the MFA in the course of their study toward the DMA. The master’s degree requires a thesis consisting of a significant new work.1 The final exam for the MFA, at which the thesis is presented and defended, is combined with the doctoral Admission-to-Candidacy Examination, described below. The Cornell MFA cannot be granted to a student who has already earned any master’s degree in music at another institution.

1 In this respect, it differs from the MA awarded to PhD candidates in musicology upon the successful completion of their A exams. The latter is what the Graduate School calls a “Special Master’s” (i.e., one for which no thesis is required). The MFA awarded to composers, since it does require a thesis, is not “special.”

Program Requirements

The programs and activities in music at Cornell are rich and varied. Only certain aspects of the formal requirements are described here. For other details, and for information about anything else, you should ask your Special Committee Chair, the DGS, other professors, and fellow students. The flexible, decentralized Special Committee system means that, ultimately, the shape of your program and what you get out of it depend primarily on you. The more questions you ask of the greater number of people, the better will be your chances of formulating your own best answers.

The Special Committee.

The Special Committee of a doctoral candidate comprises three or four professors who are members of the Graduate Field. Each of the three regular members of your Committee must represent a particular “concentration,” as defined in the legislation of the Graduate School. In music, these are composition, performance practice, and music and sound studies.

Every Committee includes a chair and two or three “minor members.” The chair always represents the major subject — composition, for our purposes. Two minor members also represent official subjects or concentrations. The minors available to you include composition (again), music and sound studies, and performance practice within the Field of Music, and, of course, countless possibilities in other Fields. One minor fairly often lies outside the Field of Music; you may even elect two outside minors, but only with prior approval of the Field as a whole. (No more than three subjects are ever represented on a Special Committee. If you include a fourth professor, officially they “do not represent a minor subject.”) Retired professors with the status of Graduate School Professor may co-chair a committee if they remain in the Ithaca area.

Your Special Committee, then, will assume the following form:

Chair: composition

Minor member: composition, performance practice, or music and sound studies

Minor member: one of the above, or an outside minor

[Fourth member: Not representing a subject (optional); often used for an “extra” composer]

Other arrangements are possible. For example, you may petition the Field for permission to include as a minor member other members of the Music Department faculty who are not on the Graduate Field.

If you wish formal supervision in a discipline that is not adequately represented at Cornell, you can, with the approval of your Special Committee, petition the Graduate School to permit the appointment of an authority from outside Cornell. You must have three Cornell members on your Special Committee in any case; an outside member would thus become a fourth. All decisions regarding the composition of your Committee are subject to the approval of the entire Committee.

Note: There is understandable confusion about the difference between a “subject” and a “concentration.” As a DMA student, your major subject is “music,” your concentration “composition.” The Special Committee form that you will fill out asks for a faculty member’s “concentration.” This is a category that is recognized and tracked by New York State legislation and that represents our degree programs.

The formation of your Special Committee is an important step, not to be rushed into pro forma. During the transition period in your first year, the DGS, acting as your temporary chair, can sign the necessary forms and can offer advice about forming your Committee. You must have chosen at least a chair by the beginning of your second year; ideally, you will have formulated your entire Committee by then, since to delay this step much further would seriously jeopardize your progress toward the degree. It is important to work with all three faculty composers, if at all possible, during your first year, since before the beginning of classes in the fall of your second year you will have to invite one of them to chair your Committee. You will want to be sure that you are going to be comfortable doing the bulk of your composition study with that person for the remaining three years.

At first, almost nobody will have a clear idea about minor members and minor subjects. The most natural and effective way to get to know the professors in the Field is to take courses with them or work with them independently, and this is a powerful reason to take as heavy a load of courses and other work in your first year as you can manage. When setting up your Committee, do not take a professor’s participation for granted. Any professor may refuse to serve on any Committee. A request to serve should be preceded by extended acquaintance and prior consultation.

You may change your Committee on your own initiative. Although this is not something to be done lightly or frequently, it is a normal procedure and should be considered whenever a substantial benefit seems probable. Unless you have already passed the A exam, no special permission is required except that of the remaining and new members of the reformulated Committee. (The retiring members and the DGS must also sign the form — they may not decline to do so — so that each professor concerned and the Field as a whole understand the reasons for the change.)

From one Committee to another, the substance and style of a chair’s supervision, the relationships among the various subjects, and the extent to which the minor members take an active role, all vary widely. In these as in many aspects of your study at Cornell, it is up to you to formulate your own goals and to suggest ways of achieving them. Moreover, only you can take the initiative necessary to explore the potential connections among your subjects and to stimulate the active interest of your Committee members. You must ensure, among other things, that your Committee formally meet with you as a group at least once every semester. (This is a policy of the Field as a whole.)

The normal minimum residence requirement for the DMA is eight “residence units.” A residence unit is defined as satisfactory full-time study for one semester, with appropriate progress toward the degree. (The Special Committee is required to certify to the Graduate School at the end of each term whether your progress has been satisfactory and your work “full-time,” and to recommend whether you should receive a full residence unit for that term.) The minimum requirement is thus equivalent to eight semesters of full-time study. It is possible to earn credit “in absentia,” while studying away from Ithaca, and to earn partial credit even if you must work more than 15 hours a week. A student who comes with a master’s from another institution may petition for reduction of the minimum requirement, usually to six units. (In practice, however, it is very rare for any DMA candidate to do fewer than eight units, with or without a prior master’s degree.) At least two of the minimum eight units must be spent in consecutive semesters of full-time study in Ithaca. At least two of the eight must follow the passing of the A exam (although this requirement, too, can be waived upon petition).

The minimum Field requirement for composers is reading knowledge of one foreign language. In consultation with your Special Committee, you should settle as early as possible the question of which language or languages you are expected to know. Native speakers of other languages are a special case. Sometimes their native language is appropriate for their dissertation research, and that’s fine; if not, though, the Field or the Special Committee might insist on yet a third language more closely connected to the work at hand. The Field considers computer coding languages to be equivalent to other languages. 

The requirement should be satisfied as soon as possible, preferably during the first year of residence. (In any case, the language requirement must have been completed before you will be permitted to attempt “A’s.”) Both the usual undergraduate language courses and special courses meant for graduate students preparing for exams are available to you. The Field administers its own exams in French, German, and Spanish at the beginning of each semester, and in other languages as needed. At the end of your first year, certification that you have made satisfactory progress toward the degree will hinge in part on your having passed the language requirement by then, or at least having demonstrated that you are close to doing so.

Courses and independent work.

You and your Committee decide on your courses and other activities each term. Ideally, each semester’s decisions fit into your long-range program, whose goals become increasingly clear from term to term. Although every composition student is encouraged to take all available composition seminars, you must take at least one seminar with each composition faculty member.

You will also be expected to take Composition (Music 7111) every semester, and to attend the composers forum and all rehearsals, workshops, and conferences related to the ESS, FCO, and Stucky Residency. Whatever your stated minors, most Special Committees will expect you to do some work in music and sound studies and computer and electroacoustic music. In the Composition program, Committees often expect students to take a minimum of six to eight 4000 (or higher)-level courses outside of 7111, ensembles, and performance lessons; these might also include courses in a minor subject outside the Field of Music.

In addition to formal work in composition and analysis, Committees expect at least two formal seminars in music and sound studies, for several reasons: to create opportunities to explore the interconnections among subjects and the relationships between scholarship and creative work; to strengthen academic credentials with a view to winning a college teaching position; and to provide practice in academic thinking and writing. One of these two seminars may be taken outside of Music, with the prior permission of the Special Committee.

PhD students in music and sound studies are generally considered to carry a full-time load if they take three seminars for credit and do a modest amount of independent work. For composers, the notion of full-time load is sometimes treated more flexibly, owing chiefly to the demands of composing. Indeed, the general expectation is that you will present new work on the concerts of the Experimental Sound Series and the Stucky Residency ensemble at least twice a year, and that you will write a work for the FCO at least once during your four-year residence, and taken together these expectations already represent a formidable commitment of time and energy even before formal courses are added to your load. In general, formal participation in courses will be greatest during the first two years, when students usually sample widely within the Field, satisfy the language requirement, and explore minor subjects within the Field or outside. In later years, less and less time is spent in seminars, as students prepare for exams and write theses. Moreover, the Field feels strongly that all candidates in music, DMA and PhD alike, should have teaching experience. Other things being equal, every graduate student in music will be offered teaching assistantships beginning in the second year. A good rule of thumb for composers is to take about three courses each term in year 1, two courses each term in years 2 and 3 (always including Composition as one course every term). This pace would produce a total of eight courses besides Music 7111, and the faculty considers that to be about right.

The Field as a whole offers about three to five graduate seminars each term. Composition is offered every term. In general, Music 6201 (Introduction to Bibliography and Research) is offered every fall for first-year students. An attempt is made to offer every other “active” course at least once every second or third year. But there is no guarantee that any particular course will be offered within any given period of time, or that any particular pattern of courses will be maintained without change. At the beginning of each year, the graduate courses to be offered that year and, where possible, in succeeding years are described in a general meeting of graduate students and Graduate Faculty.

Many important topics, and even whole areas of study, are not covered by formal courses. The faculty believe that this price is worth paying for the benefits of a small, intimate program, including high-level research seminars and a great deal of individual attention. The chief responsibility for filling in the gaps lies with you. The techniques you learn in formal courses should carry over to your independent work. Your professors will expect you, on your own, to keep up with recent acquisitions in the Music Library, to read articles and reviews in current journals, to study and listen to music, to attend meetings, conferences, and festivals when feasible, and so on.

As for composing, it is impossible to generalize about what constitutes an acceptable level of productivity; this is a matter for you and your Special Committee, and it depends on many variables. But it is important that, at a minimum, you be represented (preferably by new work) on the concerts of the Experimental Sound Series and the Stucky Residency ensemble at least twice a year. Much depends on these concerts, since they provide the only opportunity for the Field as a whole to assess your progress. In your first or second year (determined by your Special Committee), you will be expected to present a new work for the Festival Chamber Orchestra (instrumentation: 1111 - 1110 - 1 percussionist - keyboard - string quintet, with the option of electronics and mixed media).

The Admission-to-Candidacy Examination

Every DMA candidate must pass a general examination in composition, analysis, and twentieth- and twenty-first-century music, called the Admission-to-Candidacy Examination, or “A exam” for short. (The term candidacy refers to acceptance into doctoral status.) The A exam may not be attempted earlier than the beginning of the third semester, nor later than the beginning of the seventh semester of full-time study. Most students take them during the fifth and sixth semesters. The date is jointly agreed between you and your Committee. For composers, the A exam comes in two stages. Stage I comprises analysis of an assigned work and the composition of a new piece, followed by an oral exam in which the student presents their analysis to the committee and the committee discusses the composition. Stage II comprises written questions in recent music history and analysis, followed by an oral exam on these questions, as well as on the student’s dissertation proposal.

Stage I of the A Exam is typically taken over 72 hours (Friday to Sunday) during the 5th semester and Stage II over 72 hours (Friday to Sunday) in the 6th semester, but there is no reason they cannot be taken closer together. You will find the dates that make the most sense with your Special Committee.

Before you can prepare for Stage II, you and your Committee must first agree in advance on a subject list, typically by the end of the 4th semester. The subject list usually consists of ten twentieth- and twenty-first-century composers distributed into three tiers:

Tier I. One composer, about whom you will become as thorough an expert as possible.

Tier II. Three composers, whose works you know in considerable detail and about whom you know the scholarly and analytical literature well.

Tier III. An additional six composers, for each of whom you know a handful of important works well and about whose work you have a good working knowledge, both of the works and the analytical and historical issues associated with them.

In consultation with your Special Committee, composer slots may be substituted by up to five general topics within the overall list.

The oral exam for Stage I will typically take 90 minutes. You will present your analysis of the assigned work for 30 minutes, then answer questions from the Committee. The second half of the oral exam will be devoted to discussion of the composition assignment.

The oral exam for Stage II will typically take two hours, and will cover your responses to the essay questions about your composer list, as well as a dissertation plan for a significant work, which is due along with the essays for Stage II. 

In principle, your subject list merely gives a framework around which you organize your study; your Committee can ask you anything it considers necessary for your professional credentials. Only the oral exam of Stage II is scheduled formally through the Graduate School, and this must be done at least one week in advance, on a form signed by your Committee and by the DGS. Any member of the Graduate Faculty is entitled to attend the orals and to ask questions, but only your Special Committee votes on your performance. A unanimous vote is required to pass; you will be informed of the result immediately. Should you fail, your Committee may choose to give you a second chance after another semester or two. Most students who prepare conscientiously pass the first time.

For students earning an MFA (i.e., any DMA candidate who does not already hold a master’s degree in music from another institution), the final exam for that degree is held concurrently with the A exam, and the student presents a master’s thesis consisting of a substantial new work.

The D.M.A. recital

At some time during your study, usually after the A exam but always before the B exam, you must present a public concert comprising a substantial amount of music (in consultation with your Special Committee) in various media composed during your study at Cornell. Selecting the program, procuring performers, and rehearsing are your responsibility.

The Department of Music provides financial support toward the cost of hiring performers. This amount must include performance fees, housing, transportation, meals, instrument rentals, and any other cost associated with the concert.

The performers must be contracted in advance of the performance using Cornell’s official artist contract. Housing is often available on campus. Receipts must be submitted for all expenses, and certain requirements must be followed for items like truck rental and travel reimbursement. The Events Manager can assist in administering these details.

The date and time of the recital and any rehearsal time should be scheduled with the Events Manager as early as possible to avoid departmental conflicts. The candidate is responsible for moving any needed instruments and equipment to and from the performance space and should coordinate those moves with the Events Manager. The Events Manager will set deadlines for the candidate to provide their program content, including any program notes, etc.

The D.M.A. presentation

In your final semester, you will deliver a public presentation on your compositional work and its intellectual and artistic context. The presentation should last between 75 and 90 minutes, and should include recordings, score excerpts, and/or other documentation as supporting material. Your talk will be followed by questions from the Committee and the audience, and should be scheduled within a week before the DMA defense (colloquially known as the “B Exam”), which is only attended by you and your Special Committee. You should coordinate the scheduling of your DMA presentation with your Committee and the Events Manager of the Department.

The D.M.A. thesis and defense

Part I of the thesis is a significant work, the scope of which will be determined in consultation with the Special Committee. Like all aspects of your thesis, the DMA composition should be discussed with your Committee well in advance.

Part II consists of a written analysis and explication of the Part I dissertation work, with historical and cultural contextualization as necessary; this document should be no longer than 10,000 words, and must be submitted to your Committee and accepted as finished before you will be allowed to schedule the final oral defense (often referred to as the “B Exam”).

On matters of general style, follow the latest edition of the University of Chicago Press Manual of Style (also available online) for Part II. Follow, too, the published instructions distributed online by the Graduate School, and consult the Thesis Secretary frequently. 4 It would be reasonable to spend a whole year doing little else but writing the thesis essay, completing and polishing the composition portfolio, presenting the DMA recital, and preparing the B Exam presentation. Thus a student who succeeds in finishing within four years will usually have followed approximately the following timetable:

• Take about four seminars (in addition to 7111 Composers Forum, for a total of about six)
• Pass the language requirement
• Compose works for the ESS, Stucky Residency ensemble, and/or FCO 5
• Take about two seminars (in addition to 7111 Composers Forum, for a total of about four)
• Propose the A exam composer list
• Compose works for the ESS, Stucky Residency ensemble, and/or FCO
• Take about two seminars (in addition to 7111 Composers Forum, for a total of about four).
• Complete the A exams
• If eligible, submit the MFA thesis composition
• Complete Parts I and II of the thesis
• Deliver the DMA presentation
• Present the DMA recital
• Complete the B exam

It is important to finish on time, because the days when an ABD (“all but dissertation”) could get a teaching job seem to be over, as do the days when additional financial aid was sometimes available for extra years of residence beyond the four-year guarantee.

4 Rules and standards change; do not simply model your format on old theses in the library.

5 Students typically compose for the FCO in their second and fourth years, but with other expectations, such as writing for the Experimental Sound Series and the Stucky Residency ensemble, available opportunities will surely continue to evolve. The basic principle is this: you are expected to write a substantial amount of music in each of your four years, covering a wide range of performing forces and formal types. The Department of Music and Field will endeavor to provide performance opportunities for many but probably not all of these projects.

The final examination (dissertation defense)

This examination is oral, based on complete and polished versions of your DMA composition (Part I) and written analysis and explication (Part II), in their final form save for minor corrections arising during the exam itself. It focuses primarily on the thesis itself, but broader issues may arise out of the thesis topic or the DMA composition(s). The examination must be passed and the thesis accepted by unanimous vote of your Committee. (The provisions for visitors are the same as for A’s: any member of the Graduate Faculty may attend and ask questions, but only your Special Committee will vote.)

The final examination must be passed within seven calendar years of the date of your matriculation. (You need not be in residence at the time, however.) If your thesis is submitted after this deadline, the B’s may not be scheduled until a petition, endorsed by your Committee and by the DGS, is approved by the Graduate School.

Composers' Forum

The Composers’ Forum is part of the 7111 composition seminar and is curated by the composition faculty. It is also often combined with masterclasses and studio critique sessions led by the guest composer. Students are expected to attend all sessions and actively participate in the forum conversations.

Forum meetings take place on select Fridays at 1:25 PM in the Alfred E. Kahn Seminar Room, room 316, within the  Sidney Cox Library of Music and Dance  (main entrance at 220 Lincoln Hall), except where noted. All meetings are open to the public.

General Program Calendar

Week before classes

• Orientation
• Language exams
• Diagnostic conversation with DGS and Department Chair
• Choose courses for the fall

Fall semester

• Seminars/composing/performances
• Language study, as necessary
• Choose courses for the spring
• Meet with the DGS at least once

Spring semester

• Begin thinking about Special Committee Chair
• Participate in prospective student visits

Second year

• Special Committee Chair must be selected by the beginning of the semester, and the rest of the committee by the end
• Complete language exams
• Meet with Special Committee at least once
• Seminars/composing/performances (double check seminar distribution requirements: one with each composer, two with other Music Field faculty)
• A Exam planning
• Choose course(s) for the fall
• A Exam preparation
• Seminar(s)/composing/performances (double check seminar distribution requirements: one with each composer, two with other Dept faculty)
• Thesis research and preparation of proposal
• Choose course(s) for spring
• A Exam; Phase II oral exam must be scheduled at least seven days in advance, and the final report must be filed within three days of completion – check with the grad field assistant for help (see  http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/forms  for required schedule and reporting forms)
• Seminar(s)/composing/performances

Fourth year

• Possible seminar/composing/performances
• DMA recital (or Spring)
• Thesis research and writing
• Possible Randel fellowship
• DMA recital (or previous Fall)
• Possible seminar/composing/performances 
• Thesis defense; defense (B Exam) must be scheduled at least seven days in advance and the final report must be filed within three days following the defense– consult the grad field assistant for help (see http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/forms for required scheduling and reporting forms)

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• Music Library

• Ph.D. in Composition

Doctor of Philosophy Degree Requirements: Composition

The five-year doctoral program in Composition at Duke includes a Master of Arts degree (A.M.) en route to the Ph.D. Admission to the Ph.D. program is not automatically granted upon the student’s completion of the requirements of the A.M. degree, but is restricted to those students who have demonstrated the ability to do substantial and original work in composition. After passing the Qualifying Examination, the student will be notified regarding acceptance into the doctoral program. Upon successful completion of the en route A.M., a diploma can be requested.

Course Requirements

• One course in Musical Analysis: MUS 560 or 562
• Seven Composition courses: Two semesters of MUS 690S-1 (Seminar), 697, 698, 699, 797, 798
• Two courses in either Ethnomusicology or Musicology: MUS 790S-1, and one course selected from MUS 551, 552, 553, 554, 555, 556, 790S-2
• Seven elective graduate courses (500 level or above , excluding Applied) NOTE: 500 and 600 level Applied Music Courses do not count towards the Ph.D.

After the first year, graduate electives can be taken outside the Department of Music as approved by the DGS, who will consider the student’s academic record within the Department and his/her reasons for enrolling in extra-departmental courses.

• Registration Requirements

The Graduate School requires six semesters of “full-time” registration regardless of the number of courses taken or residence. No more than one semester may be waived for a completed Master’s degree.

Teaching Requirement

Classroom teaching is an integral part of the doctoral program. All graduate students will be required to complete eight semesters of teaching as a Teaching Assistant or Instructor of Record.  In special circumstances students may apply to the DGS for a waiver of one or more semesters of their required teaching.    

Sample Program of Study in Composition

The following represents a typical program for students entering the doctoral program in Composition, which begins with en route A.M. requirements and then proceeds to Ph.D. requirements:

Examinations and Dissertation

• Diagnostic Examination
• Foreign Language Examination
• Ph.D. Qualifying Exam
• Ph.D. Composition Portfolio
• Preliminary Examination
• Dissertation Article of publishable quality, submitted within six months after Preliminary Examination
• Dissertation Composition : a large-scale work
• Final Examination  (the dissertation defense in Composition will take the form of a presentation by the composer on the Dissertation Composition).
• Statement of Values & Standards of Conduct
• Antiracism Working Group
• Facilities & Resources
• Current Exhibit
• Videos & Photos
• Faculty Books
• Faculty Projects
• Major In Music
• Music Major, Performance Concentration
• Pathways to the Major
• Minor In Music, Score-focused
• Minor in Music, Listening-focused
• Where Our Students Go
• Performance Opportunities
• Undergraduate Research
• Graduation with Distinction
• Global Education
• Service Opportunities
• Trinity Ambassadors
• Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology
• Performance Practice Track
• Prior Graduate Work
• Campus Visit
• Living in Durham
• Career Paths
• Foreign Language Requirement
• Qualifying Examination
• Preliminary Exam
• Previous Ph.D. Dissertations
• Teaching Assistantships
• Facilities and Services
• Lectures, Concerts, Ensembles, and Collections
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Music PhD in Composition

Questions for Admissions? 617-495-5315 [email protected]

PhD programs

The Harvard Department of Music does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classification.

Musicology at Harvard offers intensive training in historical and cultural approaches to the study of music. While our program has an emphasis on Western music, students increasingly explore wide-ranging geographies and subjects. We take an expansive view of the field and encourage our students to do the same. Most graduate courses in musicology are research seminars; many treat specific topics and theoretical approaches, while others deal with methodology and recent trends in the field. The musicology faculty also offer proseminars that are open to both graduate and undergraduate students. At the end of two years of study, graduate students take a General Examination. In year three, having passed the General Exam, students begin to teach and craft a Ph.D. dissertation proposal; subsequent years are devoted to teaching, research, writing, and professional development. An important aspect of the Harvard program in musicology is its interdisciplinary breadth, which includes training in ethnomusicology and music theory. Students often also take seminars in other departments – and are encouraged to do so. Accreditation in secondary fields is available through many programs, such as  American Studies ,  Critical Media Practice ,  Medieval Studies ,  Romance Languages and Literatures , and  Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality , to name a few.

Special Resources

The deep holdings of the  Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library  include a substantial recording archive, and the  Isham Memorial Library  houses rare original books, scores, and personal archives ranging from the Randy Weston Archive to Sir Georg Solti’s annotated conducting scores. Additional resources on campus include the Special Collections at  Houghton Librar y and the  Harvard Theater Collection , one of the largest performing arts collections in the world. The department also maintains a selection of musical instruments for study and performance, including early keyboards and a consort of viols. The  Mahindra Humanities Center ,  Film Study Center ,  Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies , Harvard University  Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti  (Florence),  Hutchins Center  for African & African American Research,  David Rockefeller Center  for Latin American Studies,  Charles Warren Center  for the Study of American History, and several other campus institutions provide additional intellectual resources and funding for graduate student research. Faculty and graduate students hold conferences each year on a variety of topics; artists in residence and visiting artists often enrich coursework, and some courses provide opportunities for students to perform.

Language Requirements for Musicology

Two languages are required. The languages will be chosen in consultation with the program’s graduate advisor, and wherever possible should be relevant to future research. We encourage students to pass both languages before taking the general exam. In the event this is not possible, both languages need to be passed by the end of the fall semester of the third year.

Ethnomusicology at Harvard offers intensive training in ethnographic method as well as study of theories, problems, and approaches relevant to the study of any living musical tradition in its cultural setting. By the end of the second year of study, students select primary and secondary fields of specialization, which may be defined by region (for example, Turkish or West African music); by musical styles (such as jazz or popular music); or by topic or theoretical approach (organology or aesthetics). The Harvard program has particular strengths in regions stretching from the Mediterranean to India, in Africa and African diasporas, and in urban America. There are excellent resources both in the music department and across the disciplines at Harvard in critical theory. Collaborations are encouraged among ethnomusicology and  other music department programs in historical musicology, music theory, composition, and creative practice and critical inquiry. Six to eight ethnomusicology courses—usually four seminars and four proseminars or undergraduate classes—are offered each year as part of the regular curriculum. Graduate seminars explore ethnomusicological methods and theories as they are applied to the study of music, as well as a wide range of issues and materials, while proseminars focus on music styles or distinctive musical settings. An important aspect of the Harvard ethnomusicology program is that students receive training in Western music and its history as well as exposure to the methods and theories of historical musicology and music theory. A vital aspect of ethnomusicological training at Harvard is exposure to other disciplines, with particular emphasis upon anthropology, history, area studies, linguistic training, and theoretical frameworks related to the student’s specialization.

The Ethnomusicology laboratory ,  Archive of World Music , special library collections,  Peabody Museum , musical instrument collection (India, Iran, Mali, Zimbabwe), extensive sound and video archives (including the Archive of World Music and  Hiphop Archive & Research Institute ). The  Asia Center ,  Reischauer Institute ,  Center for African Studie s,  Center for Middle Eastern Studies ,  Hutchins Center  for African & African American Research, South Asia Institute,  David Rockefeller Center  for Latin American Studies, and several other campus institutions provide additional intellectual resources and funding for student research and language study. Faculty and graduate students hold conferences each year on a variety of topics; music faculty, artists in residence, and visiting artists often enrich coursework and provide opportunities for students to perform. 

Language Requirements for Ethnomusicology

The PhD in music theory is characterized both by a deep involvement in the inner workings of music and by an engagement with the wider philosophical, cultural, and psychological questions surrounding music. The program reflects this interdisciplinary interest of our students, and its structure is designed to explore the links of music theory to other areas of critical engagement. The graduate curriculum in music theory was fundamentally revised in 2018 with the view to the specific needs of professional music theorists in the twenty-first century.  The diverse dissertation projects that our doctoral students propose reflect the unique combination of interests. Recent and current PhD topics include microtonality and colonialism in the 19th century, musical forgery and forensics, the practice of recomposition in music theory, Scandinavian death metal, transformation theory and Hollywood film, and musical and visual lines in the early 20th century. Many of our students establish their interdisciplinary credentials by taking formal qualifications in a  secondary field  outside of music. Students receive a solid basis for their research by honing their musicianship and analytical skills, particularly during their first year in the program. All students take courses on Schenkerian theory and on a range of tonal and post-tonal analytical practices, as well as an introductory course to explore current issues in the field. At the same time, the program also encourages students to build a framework in which to place these techniques and to reflect on the underpinnings of music theory. Regular courses on questions in psychology, temporality, history of music theory, hermeneutics, and aesthetics round off our course offerings and often take music theory into interdisciplinary territory. In addition to studying canonic repertories, graduate courses on challenging repertoires—e.g. modal theory, non-Western music, or very recent composition—expand the field in new directions.  Our course offerings are complemented by a regular workshop in music theory, currently called Theory Tuesdays, in which faculty and students discuss current work, practice analytical techniques, or engage disciplinary and transdisciplinary questions in an informal setting. Our faculty are actively engaged in Harvard’s numerous interdisciplinary centers ( MBB ,  Medieval Studies ,  CES ,  HUCE , etc.). Harvard’s state-of-the-art  Sound Lab  provides the tools and expertise for digital and media-based research, and provides a conduit for music theory to the field of sound studies.

Language Requirement for Theory

Theorists must pass translation exams in two relevant research languages. The languages will be chosen in consultation with the graduate advisor, and should reflect, wherever possible, languages that will be useful to future research. One language requirement must normally be completed before generals, and the second must be completed in the fall semester of the third year.

Harvard’s program in composition is designed to give students the time and opportunity to develop as composers by offering general musical guidance as well as specific individual criticism of their works. The program is centered around the students’ achieving clarity of expression through developing their command of compositional technique. In addition, acquaintance with the literature of the past and present through analysis and performance is considered indispensable. Most courses are seminars and deal with specific topics or student works.PhD candidates in composition take 16 courses throughout their first two years. Students get a weekly individual composition lesson, and choose from composition and electronic music courses and other offerings within the department in theory, historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and CPCI, or graduate courses from other departments at Harvard. When needed, in the first year there is also a remedial course in harmony and analysis. Students of all years are required to attend the weekly composition colloquium.

The third, fourth, and fifth years are devoted to work on the dissertation and teaching, as well as active participation in composition colloquia and Harvard Group for New Music concerts. Composers may spend one term during their 4th year at another art institution or university if a particular research project or artistic residency can be obtained.

On the completion of preparatory training and the passing of the General Examinations (during the summer before the third year), PhD dissertations comprising a substantial portfolio of between five and seven pieces of varied scoring and length may be submitted.

Language Requirement: once enrolled, Composition students must pass a language exam in German, Italian or French unless an alternative language is approved in writing by the graduate advisor.

The program in  Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry  is designed as a special opportunity for exceptional, engaged artist-scholars. Such individuals might frame themselves as composer-performers whose work is driven by a research sensibility, or as committed scholars whose concurrent active involvement in music-making informs and propels their intellectual projects. Candidates interested in this category should clearly lay out their academic interests and musical experience, including research goals and a portfolio of creative work. They should present a clear rationale for the integrated, cross-disciplinary nature of their work.

In the first two years of coursework, students survey multiple fields of intellectual inquiry while nurturing and refining their creative work. Students in the program may take any of the graduate courses offered by the Department of Music, and occasional courses in other departments and programs with approval from the graduate advisor, as well as practice-based music-making courses (composition, improvisation, creative music, and interdisciplinary collaborations). 

During the summer after the second year of study, candidates will take three to four exams, to be determined in close consultation with the faculty. These include a preliminary portfolio of creative work, written exams on theoretical/analytical and historical/cultural topics relevant to the candidate’s individual research goals, and an oral exam encompassing all of the above.

The dissertation should offer original research and creative work that strikes a balance within this unique combination of interests.

Language Requirement: Once enrolled, CP/CI students must pass a language exam in a language relevant to their research interests, to be approved in writing by the graduate advisor.

Admission to the Graduate Program: Frequently Asked Questions

The Music Department does not require applicants to submit GRE scores. Submission of scores is permitted, and when submitted, GRE scores are taken into account during the admissions process. But those who do not submit such scores will not be penalized.

Note: Those who choose to take the GRE and submit their results do not need to take the Music GRE test, and should take the general GRE (math/language).

We take GRE scores into consideration along with the entire dossier, not as a single factor that determines the outcome of an application.

The annual deadline is usually January 2 for entrance the following fall term. Check the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin GSAS website for each year’s deadline.

Yes. If you are accepted into our PhD program, the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will offer you a financial package that guarantees funding for six years, and includes both tuition and living expenses. Teaching stipends may make up part of the package from the student’s third year on. There are also opportunities for additional funding. The Department (and Harvard Griffin GSAS) awards prizes, fellowships, stipends, and grants each year to graduate students for language study, dissertation completion, research assistance, and travel, among other pursuits.

Yes. You need to support your application with samples of your work, be it scholarly or creative.

Students whose native language is not English or who do not have an  undergraduate  degree from English-speaking university are required to take and pass the TOEFL. The recommended passing score is 80.

While many of our entering students do have degrees in music, backgrounds and degrees vary widely. We look at all-around preparation of our applicants and their overall excellence. As a Music Department, we do look for training and expertise in one or more music traditions and an ability to deal successfully with a curriculum that has requirements across the music subdisciplines as well as interdisciplinary studies.

The Harvard graduate program in Music is a doctoral program. The subdisciplines of musicology, ethnomusicology, composition, creative practice/critical inquiry, and music theory do not admit candidates for the Master’s Degree only.

We permit transfer of credit for no more than two courses. Students are allowed to request transfer credit if they are in good standing after the first year of coursework at Harvard and on submission of details about the course for which credit is requested. Graduate courses taken as an undergraduate student may not be presented for credit if those courses counted toward the undergraduate degree.

Our programs both require and encourage coursework in other sub-disciplines of music.

We have graduate programs in historical musicology, ethnomusicology, theory, creative practice/critical inquiry, and composition. Our programs are small, so it is important that you apply to the program closest to your major interests. If the faculty feel your application would be better served in another sub-discipline, they will direct it there.

Harvard has extraordinary course offerings across the disciplines and we encourage our graduate students to take courses that will enhance their knowledge.

You can enroll in language courses to meet the language requirements of our programs, but these courses do not count toward credit for the PhD.

The Harvard Griffin GSAS offers admitted Music students six years of full funding, in the form of stipends, teaching fellowships and finishing grants (this amount covers living expenses as well as tuition). Departmental resources include special funds for summer research and some additional fellowships.

Although we encourage performance, our graduate program is an academic one and performance activities do not count towards a degree (with the exception of creative practice/critical inquiry). As a Department of Music which does not have a performance faculty, we are not able to provide vocal or instrumental lessons. There is a lively musical scene on campus and graduate students are welcome to join many University ensembles, including those sponsored by Dudley House. Graduate student musicians sometimes perform on the special noontime University Hall Recital Series. The Harvard Group for New Music performs student compositions. Boston is home to an active musical world and many students participate as performers in music traditions ranging from early music to jazz.

No. Unfortunately, faculty are not usually available to meet with prospective students.

Prospective graduate students can email [email protected] to ask questions. If you visit the campus you may be able to talk with other students, sit in on a class, or attend a concert or lecture; email ahead to see what is possible.

Admissions Requirements

Phd program.

To apply to the PhD program in musicology, ethnomusicology, theory, composition or CPCI, you must make an application to the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). All applications are online, and may be found (along with all the requirements, fee information, and procedures) at  http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/apply All recipients of a four-year college degree or its international equivalent may apply (students with and without master’s degrees may apply). If you are unsure whether you are eligible, please read the Harvard Griffin GSAS guidelines. Admissions decisions are made by Music Department faculty, who weigh a combination of factors such as past academic record, strength of scholarly (or compositional or performance) work, and recommendations. The TOEFL test may be required if English is not your first language (recommended minimum score is 80). Detailed information pertaining to requirements for admission are on the Harvard Griffin GSAS site listed above. The GRE General Examination is optional for all applicants.

Samples of previous work

Applicants to the all programs must submit, along with their applications, samples of their previous scholarly work (for composition applicants, this means scores and recordings; see below). The online application will allow you to upload up to 20 pages of material.

Applicants to the Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry PhD program must also submit 20 to 30 minutes of original creative work, in the form of links to online audio or video streams (Soundcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) or links to a file download (via Dropbox or similar). You may upload or share accompanying scores in PDF format to SLATE. Students should include a one page PDF containing links to online recordings. Applicants to the composition PhD program must submit three compositions in the form of links to online audio or video streams (Soundcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, etc). Recordings can be submitted as links to SoundCloud or other online resources. Students should include a one page PDF containing links to online recordings and PDF scores where applicable. The year of composition must be marked on all scores and recordings.

Submitting an Application

Harvard Griffin GSAS handles the admissions materials. All questions about the admissions process, as well as all application supplementary materials, should be sent to them by December 31 for candidates who seek entrance in the following fall term.

Admissions and Financial Aid Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Harvard University 1350 Massachusetts Avenue Holyoke Center 350 Cambridge, MA 02138-3654

Download an application electronically:  http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/apply You are required to upload all supporting documents (transcripts, writing samples, recommendations, etc) to the online application. If you have questions about your application, call 617-496-6100 (2-5pm EST) or write  [email protected] For financial aid questions call  617-495-5396  or email  [email protected] NOTE: Please do not call the Music Department about the status of your application or the return of your materials. Application materials only come to the Music Department at the very last stages of the process, and are held here in complete confidentiality until admissions recommendations are made.

We have a robust graduate student community, including through the Graduate Music Forum, weekly colloquia and lunch talk series, and performances ensembles in the GSAS Student Center. For more information about community activities happening in the music department, please consult the resources for graduate students page .

Visiting the Department

You are welcome to visit the Department at any time, although we in no way require or expect you to make the trip. We regret that we are not able to make appointments with individual faculty members during a pre-admissions visit.

If you do decide to make a visit prior to the admissions deadline there are optimum times to visit, such as between October and our December holiday break. If you visit at another time of the year, check the academic schedule to avoid reading/exam periods and semester breaks. It is not necessary to visit, nor should you see it as a way to improve your chances of admission.

Rather, a visit is simply a good way to learn about our Department’s intellectual environment and infrastructure. We urge you to consult the  course schedule  so that you can plan to sit in on one or more graduate seminars (please ask permission of the instructing professor first: music professors can be reached via email at [email protected]). This is the best way to get to know the professors and students.

You may also want to attend any colloquia, lectures, or faculty seminars that coincide with your visit (check our  calendar ), or to tour the Music Library and other Harvard libraries. It may also be possible to chat informally with some of our current graduate students, who are apt to be working in the department and library during the academic year.

Admitted students  are invited to visit as part of our admissions process (usually in March). At that time, admitted students meet with faculty, get to know our current students, and are introduced to other students who have also been admitted. This is not required, but is a good way for admitted students to get a sense of the program before they make their final decision.

Secondary Field in Musicology/Ethnomusicology

• Completion of a minimum of four courses in Music. • One of these courses must be an introductory course: Music 201a: Introduction to Historical Musicology, Music 201b: Introduction to Ethnomusicology, or Music 221: Current Issues in Theory. • The remaining three courses may be chosen from other graduate courses (200 level: “Primarily for Graduates”) or intermediate courses (150 level or above: “For Undergraduates and Graduates”). (No more than two courses may be chosen from the 150 or above level.) • Neither Pass/Fail nor audited courses will count towards a secondary PhD field. Contact the advisor in Ethnomusicology or in Musicology in the Department of Music for additional information on a secondary PhD field.

Declaring a Secondary Field

Students interested in declaring a secondary field in music should submit the “GSAS Secondary Field Application” to the Director of Graduate Studies as evidence of their successful participation in four appropriate courses in the Music Department. Once they obtain the approval of the DGS they and the registrar will receive certification of successful completion of secondary field requirements.

For further information contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Harvard University Department of Music, Music Building, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138  617-495-2791   [email protected]

For additional information  click here

Music Composition

Master of arts / phd.

Write Your Future

The school of music’s highly competitive graduate-level composition program welcomes students who demonstrate extraordinary intellectual curiosity and whose primary goal is to communicate with others on a profoundly human level. Above all, our faculty of renowned composers seek students whose personal voice is clearly discernible.

Students in the M.A. and Ph.D programs can specialize in Composition or in Composition for Visual Media. The cross-pollination between the specializations distinguishes the program. All students are expected to acquire and master advanced skills, which involves continued intensive study of music theory, counterpoint, orchestration, analysis, technology, performance, the traditional Western canon and its history, in tandem with the study of popular, jazz, rock, folk, and non-Western traditions.

Both the M.A. and Ph.D programs emphasize the collaborative relationship between composers and performers in such a way that a simulated professional experience is achieved. Composition students have the opportunity to take film music courses and world music for film. Film music composers have the opportunity to broaden their horizons by being part of a true composition program, and this gives composers stylistic depth and breadth.

By the end of the M.A., students will be thoroughly prepared to enter the professional arena, graduating with the tools they need to compose music for multiple purposes, be it for a concert piece, a film, or an opera. The Ph.D. program is designed in a two-fold manner: graduate composers are trained to become both practicing artists in their field and to become mentors for the next generations of artist-scholars.

Meet Our Graduate Composition Students

Jake Heggie ’84, M.A. ’05

B.a. composition ’84, m.a. composition ’05.

Jake Heggie  is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestral and chamber music. He is best known for his operas and art songs, as well as for his collaborations with internationally-renowned performers and writers. Hailed by the Associated Press as “one of the pre-eminent contemporary opera composers,” Heggie is most known for his contributions to the American operatic repertoire, which includes “Dead Man Walking,” “Moby-Dick,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and “Three Decembers,” among others. His work has been produced on five continents at some of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. In September 2021, “Dead Man Walking” received its 71st production at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet in Oslo, Norway, making it the most widely performed American opera of the 21st century.

Read more to learn about his experiences at UCLA, the silver linings of challenges throughout his career and advice for young musical artists.

Composition Faculty

Related news, upcoming events, explore other degrees.

Graduate Studies

Certificate Recital: Nina Shih, Violin

Sun, Apr 28, 2024 8:00 pm

Steeped in tradition and charting new pathways

at the intersection of the creation, performance, and study of music.

Our graduate program invites students to earn a Ph.D. in composition or musicology , advancing their craft and research within the inspiring interdisciplinary, immersive spirit of the Princeton University campus. With an average of 24 students in each area of study at a time, our graduate program allows for fully-funded, focused study with a stellar faculty, and within an intimate community that celebrates the intersection between the creation, study, and performance of music. Regardless of their area of concentration, all students are welcomed and encouraged to take courses with world-renowned composers, musicologists, and musicians; take instrumental or voice lessons in the private studios of top professionals; and enjoy or even participate in the vibrant performance scene across campus. As an extension of this integrative approach, graduate students can also apply for a joint doctoral degree through the Interdisciplinary Humanities program, or through the Neuroscience program .

Long at the vanguard of the art of music composition, Princeton’s Graduate Program in Composition considers it essential for composers to build their own vision based on their strengths and passions, while remaining actively open to new musical experiences shared by the community. The program embraces many kinds of musics, engaging with diverse musical languages and creative practices. At the heart of our creative endeavor is the public concert series Princeton Sound Kitchen, in which both faculty and graduate students have their new works workshopped and premiered by some of the world’s finest professional musicians and ensembles, including the Cone Artist Ensemble in Residence, Sō Percussion . The program also provides cutting edge resources for computer/electronic music research, facilitates interaction with visiting composers through the colloquium series, and supports collaborations involving dance, theater, and film through the Lewis Center for the Arts . 

With a long tradition of excellence and innovation, the musicology program at Princeton University encompasses historical, theoretical, cognitive and ethnographic approaches. Graduate students become part of a vibrant scholarly and artistic community. In addition to working closely with our renowned  musicology faculty  as seminar leaders and advisers, musicology students can explore Princeton’s rich offerings in the humanities and sciences, have access to the excellent  Mendel Music Library , and—with subsidized  private studio i nstruction  and the opportunity to participate in the Music Department’s superb  ensembles —are encouraged to make performance an integral part of their lives.  With  Sō Percussion  in residence, the  Princeton University Concerts  series,  Princeton Sound Kitchen , and the many performances by our many ensembles, musicology students can partake of a rich and eclectic concert life.  

Questions? Contact:

Gregory Deane Smith

Academic Administrator

Composition

The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) program, known as the C.V. Starr Doctoral Program, is the most advanced course of study at Juilliard. It is designed for gifted and accomplished musicians who also possess a broad range of knowledge about music, a keen intellect, a natural curiosity for a wide variety of disciplines, and the potential for pursuing high level performance, scholarly, and teaching careers. A generous endowment grant from the C.V. Starr Foundation allows candidates accepted into the program to pursue their resident studies on a full-tuition scholarship basis.

Find Your Application Requirements

Let us help find your exact application and audition requirements. Our Applications Requirements Wizard will tell you everything you need to know about applying to Juilliard.

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http://music.uoregon.edu

The University of Oregon offers a Doctor of Philosophy in Data-Driven Music Performance and Composition, Music Composition, Music Education, Music Theory, and Musicology.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• The doctoral degree program in composition stresses creative activity emphasizing the development of a personal aesthetic expressible in sound.
• Competencies also include a broad knowledge of historical and contemporary compositional practices, music theory, history and criticism, and creative approaches to relationships of these to the compositional process.

Doctor of Philosophy in Music Composition Requirements

Musicology/ethnomusicology courses.

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Doctor of Philosophy Music Performance and Composition: Composers

Conduct cutting-edge research in music and music composition, develop and complete a dissertation, and present a final recital of your compositions. Working closely with our faculty of internationally recognized composers, you will create a highly personalized program of study tailored to your specific interests and goals.

Degree Details

Official degree title.

PhD in Music Performance and Composition: Composers

What You’ll Learn

Your academic experience.

PhD Students in Composition and Performance will personalize their course of study around individual research interests, taking courses that support their areas of specialization. They will be able to

• Perform artistic research by developing quantitative and qualitative research methods appropriate to their field of inquiry.
• Engage in a variety of collaborative environments with artists and professionals in related fields
• Broaden their perspectives and relate their own music-making activities to diverse cultural contexts and intellectual traditions
•  Develop foundational knowledge in disciplines applicable to yet outside their field of specialization, including psychology, performance studies, historical musicology, ethnomusicology, media, arts education and technology, and the social sciences.
• Communicate the results of their original research orally and in writing, in conference presentations and academic publications.

You'll be actively involved in the scheduling and performance of your own works, in concerts and readings by NYU performance groups in residence, school performing ensembles, as well as chamber groups specially hired for specific composition concerts. You will have countless opportunities to collaborate with performers, dancers, actors, and multimedia applications. Within our department, there are very active collaborations with the Music Technology, Jazz Studies, and Instrumental and Vocal Performance programs. In addition, we collaborate often with musicians and other artists in New York City.

Through our department's weekly Composers Forum, you'll have the opportunity to meet and work with world-renowned composers and performers and attend highlights in the New York City new music concert season.

You must have a master's degree in order to be considered for admission to this program.

If you have any additional questions about our degree, please feel free to contact [email protected]

Funding for Full-Time PhD Students

NYU Steinhardt offers a competitive funding package for PhD students who study full time.  Learn more about our funding opportunities .

Collaborations and Networking

Our students work with filmmakers in a variety of different contexts forging many successful and long-lasting relationships.

Recording and Performance

Students participate in recording sessions that serve as our laboratory for current scoring practices.

Masterclasses

Our Friday@1 series presents conversations with some of the most renowned composers, songwriters, publishers, and industry executives in New York City and beyond.

Screen Scoring Conference

The 20th iteration of the annual Music and the Moving Image Conference invites abstracts for paper presentations (20-min. limit) that explore the relationship between the vast universe of moving images (film, television, streaming media, video games, and advertisements) and that of music and sound.

Take the Next Step

Advance your personal and professional journey – apply to join our community of students.

The Department of Music at Berkeley is one of the oldest and most prominent in the country, bringing together a renowned group of composers, scholars, and performers. The graduate program is ranked among the top in the nation. The department offers the MA/PhD and the PhD degrees (for those who have previously completed the masters degree) in composition and scholarship, the latter with options in musicology and in ethnomusicology. The Music Department does not offer a terminal MA degree. The program provides graduate students with a solid mastery of their discipline while cultivating a sense of intellectual and creative independence. Students are free to explore related fields of study both within the music program itself and in the larger university. Graduates of the Music Department play prominent roles in distinguished musical institutions across the nation and abroad.

Students are supported by both fellowships and teaching opportunities. A typical funding package consists of tuition plus an income of at least $34,000 per year guaranteed for five years (MA/PhD) or four years (PhD), as well as funding for one summer. Additional support for summers and research travel is available by application.

Concentration Areas

Composition.

Students in composition are encouraged to create music that is personal both in style and content while building a firm technical foundation. Composition is taught through seminars and independent studies by all composers on the faculty. Opportunities exist for public performances of student compositions, including chamber, vocal, and orchestral works. Facilities are available for work in electronic and computer music.

Ethnomusicology

Students in ethnomusicology prepare for ethnographic research, through the study of cultural theory and methodology from various disciplines. Each students program is individually designed in consultation with an adviser, including opportunities for drawing on Berkeleys considerable resources in related disciplines and area studies.

Students in the musicology program gain skills for historical research while developing a sense of critical inquiry and intellectual independence. The MA program introduces students to musicological methods and techniques and at the same time seeks to broaden their horizons through a variety of courses, including analysis and ethnomusicology. The PhD involves more detailed work in research seminars and special studies. Dissertation topics at Berkeley have run the gamut of scholarly approaches and subjects, from source studies to theoretical or critical works, and from early medieval chant to the music of the present day.

The Master of Arts Degree

The period of study in all areas of specialization is from three to (more typically) four semesters ending with the MA comprehensive examination. The general course requirement for the MA is 24 units, at least 12 of which must be in the graduate series in music.

The Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Since the PhD degree is awarded for original, creative achievement, not for the mere completion of a course of study, course and unit requirements are not rigidly prescribed. There is an academic residence requirement of two years. The amount of time needed to complete the PhD varies considerably from one student to another, but students are encouraged to proceed as fast as they can and as the nature of their doctoral project allows. It is expected that the typical student (having obtained an MA degree) will have pursued sufficient course work, fulfilled all the supplementary requirements, and taken the qualifying examination, advanced to candidacy, and completed a prospectus for the doctoral project by the end of two years. After this time the only requirement is that the student satisfactorily completes the doctoral project.

Contact Info

[email protected]

104 Morrison Hall

Berkeley 94720-1200

At a Glance

Department(s)

Admit Term(s)

Application Deadline

December 11, 2023

Degree Type(s)

Doctoral / PhD

Degree Awarded

GRE Requirements

School of Music

Doctor of philosophy in composition, earn your phd in composition.

The composition faculty teach individual composition lessons at two levels: undergraduate composition for students working toward the  Bachelor of Music degree  and graduate composition for composers in the MA and PhD programs.

The  Center for New Music , directed by  Professor David Gompper , presents a number of concerts of contemporary music each semester, often including thesis compositions by student composers.

Professor Jean-Francois Charles  directs the  Electronic Music Studios , and teaches a two-course sequence in composition with electronic media (MUS:4250 and MUS:4251). All composition students participate in a weekly composition seminar (MUS:3230), a forum for occasional guest speakers and for student presentations. Both the student-run Composers Workshop and the Electronic Music Studios present concerts of works by composition students. Composition students and faculty also participate in the Midwest Composers Symposium, which meets annually at one of several member institutions for two days of concerts of music by student composers.

How to apply to the program

Specific admission requirements.

• A minimum grade-point average of 3.0 in previous graduate study, documented by official copies of transcripts.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• A current resumé, including a list of compositions, performances of compositions, and a summary of composition study listing composition teachers.
• In addition to the UI Graduate College application
• Applicants must submit a portfolio of three scores and recordings (mp3/wav/aiff) of original compositions; materials should be sent directly to  David Gompper .

Admission to the composition degree program requires a favorable evaluation of the portfolio by the composition faculty, and approval by the Head of the Composition/Theory Area and the Director of Graduate Studies. Students applying for fall admission must submit a complete application by the application deadline; later applications will be considered if openings remain.

View full requirements and apply

Requirements and program planning

This information is intended to assist in your course planning but is not intended to serve as an official guide to graduation requirements. To confirm progress toward graduation, you should consult your advisor.

Download course checklist

Course offerings

General requirements.

• Introduction to Graduate Study in Music (MUS:5300), 2 semester hours

Music theory requirements

Students exempt from MUS:5200 through the advisory examination in music theory must complete 9 semester hours from the following:

• Counterpoint Before 1600 (MUS:4200), 3 semester hours
• Counterpoint After 1600 (MUS:4201), 3 semester hours
• Jazz Theory (MUS:4730), 3 semester hours
• Tonal Analysis (MUS:5235), 3 semester hours
• Non-Tonal Analysis (MUS:5236), 3 semester hours
• Analysis of Popular Music (MUS:5237), 3 semester hours
• Special Topics in Theory and Analysis (MUS:5240), 3 semester hours
• History of Ideas in Music (MUS:6210), 3 semester hours
• Theoretical Approaches to Music (MUS:6211), 3 semester hours
• Theory Pedagogy (MUS:6215), 3 semester hours
• Advanced Tonal Theory and Analysis (MUS:6250), 3 semester hours
• Advanced Non-Tonal Theory and Analysis (MUS:6251), 3 semester hours
• Advanced Theory and Analysis of Popular Music (MUS:6252), 3 semester hours

Music history requirements

Only one 4000-level course (taken at the University of Iowa or equivalent transferred in from another institution) may count toward the 9 semester hours required. Up to 6 semester hours can be counted from the master's degree, upon written approval of the Director for Graduate Studies.

Select from the music history courses in the following list:

• Music and Gender (MUS:4320), 3 semester hours
• Medieval and Renaissance Music (MUS:4325), 3 semester hours
• Baroque Music (MUS:4330), 3 semester hours
• 18th-Century Music (MUS:4335), 3 semester hours
• 19th-Century Music (MUS:4340), 3 semester hours
• 20th-Century Music (MUS:4345), 3 semester hours
• Advanced Jazz History (MUS:4350), 3 semester hours
• American Music (MUS:4355), 3 semester hours
• Jazz Matters (MUS:4360), 3 semester hours
• Studies in Film and Music (MUS:4610), 3 semester hours
• Teaching Music, History, and Culture (MUS:6305), 3 semester hours
• Topics in Musicology (MUS:6310), 3 semester hours
• Historical Approaches to Music (MUS:6312), 3 semester hours
• Topics in Ethnomusicology (MUS:6314), 3 semester hours
• Foundations of Ethnomusicology (MUS:6315), 3 semester hours
• Renaissance Music Notations (MUS:6326), 3 semester hours
• Music Editing (MUS:6375), 3 semester hours

Composition area requirements

• Note:  Four semesters required
• Composition: Electronic Media I (MUS:4250), 3 semester hours
• Electronic Music Production (MUS:5820), 3 semester hours
• Composition: Electronic Media II (MUS:4251), 3 semester hours
• Interactive Music (MUS:5800)
• Orchestration (MUS:4220), 3 semester hours
• Composition PhD Thesis (MUS:7960), 1 to 4 semester hours

Choose 6 semester hours from the following:

• Note:  Repeatable course
• Spectral Nature of Sound (MUS:3280), 3 semester hours
• Creating New Musical Instruments (MUS:3285), 3 semester hours
• Advanced Non-Tonal Theory and Analysis (MUS:6251), 3 semester hours

Foreign language or computer programming language proficiency

French, German or Italian proficiency (other languages must be approved by the composition area) or the substitution of relevant computer programming language proficiency. Students can satisfy the proficiency requirement in one of the following ways:

• Completion of the fourth semester of the language at the undergraduate level with at least a grade of B, within the last 10 years.
• Testing out of the fourth semester of the language at the University of Iowa. Placement exams in French, German, and Italian are offered each semester by the UI Examination Service, 300 Jefferson Building.
• Written examination administered by the composition faculty. The exam will consist of a short article in the designated language, about which the student will answer a series of questions and of which she or he will translate a short excerpt.
• Two semesters of one or more programming languages with a grade of B or above.
• A research project that employs one or more programming languages (C, Java, Pure Data, MAX, Csound, or SuperCollider, etc.) that produces compositionally, musically, or pedagogically useful source material. Students wishing to pursue such a project should discuss their ideas with their professor and the area head. The project is submitted as a short, written document with relevant examples.

Area keyboard examination

Demonstrate basic keyboard ability in one of two ways:

• Take and pass Keyboard Harmony (MUS:4210) with a B or better
• Take and pass the final examination for MUS:4210, by arrangement with the organ faculty

PhD qualifying examination

Each student is required to sit for this exam no later than the end of the first year of study (end of the second semester). Its purpose is to test foundational knowledge of the western classical repertoire in three areas:

• Score identification
• Theoretical knowledge

The exam has two components:

• 4-hour written portion
• 1-hour viva voce a week later, where the student meets with the faculty of the composition/theory area to review answers.

If the student fails, they can retake the exam no later than the end of the following semester. If they fail a second time, they are no longer considered a candidate for the PhD degree and must leave the program. If the student fails any portion of the exam, they must retake that section by the beginning of the following semester.

In order to prepare for this exam, the student is asked to generate a list of ten compositions that covers the breadth and depth of the western classical repertoire, starting with early medieval forms (Machaut) and running through the mid-twentieth century (mid-1950s, post WW2). The student must seek approval of their list by the faculty of the composition area early in the semester, because the purpose is to become acquainted so well with these works that they should be able to answer any question regarding form and content.

Two hours will be given over to analytical questions based on these 10 pieces. The exam also includes a listening portion of 10 compositions, where any work of the standard western classical repertoire would be played (1-minute on/1-minute off) in a “drop-the-needle” format. The student must identify composer, title, and date of composition. Finally, the exam includes a score ID, where 10 works are chosen and the student must identify composer, title, and date of composition based on a single sheet from within the piece.

Create your academic path

You'll find degree overviews, requirements, course lists, academic plans, and more to help you plan your education and explore your possibilities.

Current course list

The MyUI Schedule displays registered courses for a particular session and is available to enrolled students. The list view includes course instructors, time and location, and features to drop courses or change sections.

Add a minor

Any student admitted to a graduate degree program in the School of Music may add a theory pedagogy minor by completing the required courses.

Composition faculty

Joshua Albrecht

Matthew Arndt

Jean-François Charles

David Gompper

Practice and perform

Need to book a music room, request an accompanist, check out audition information, rent a locker, or use a recording studio? Visit the Music Callboard for all scheduling and policy information.

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• Academic Programs >

Music Composition PhD

College of arts and sciences, program description.

The Department of Music has—for decades—enjoyed a reputation as one of a handful of departments in North America dedicated to contemporary musical creation at the highest level. Composition at the University at Buffalo flourishes today, by providing a wide range of stimulating musical and intellectual experiences, within a program that allows students the space to develop and mature. In an atmosphere that encourages musical and technological experiment, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the development of authentic creative character, graduate composers at UB take advantage of a number of resources and opportunities.

Maria Portera 380 Academic Center Buffalo, NY 14261 Email: [email protected] Phone: 716-645-6242 Fax: 716-645-3808

Instruction Method

• In Person   (100 percent of courses offered in person)

Full/Part Time Options

Credits required, time-to-degree, application fee.

This program is officially registered with the New York State Education Department (SED).

Online programs/courses may require students to come to campus on occasion. Time-to-degree and number of credit hours may vary based on full/part time status, degree, track and/or certification option chosen. Time-to-degree is based on calendar year(s). Contact the department for details.

Composition

Doctor of philosophy (phd) in composition.

PhD Composition students receive individual lessons and participate in group seminars, and both the School of Music and the Twin Cities offer a wide range of new music performance opportunities. The Contemporary Music Workshop provides ongoing interaction between composition and performance students. Composition faculty represent national and international profiles in a variety of media and seek to nurture students’ original creative interests and knowledge.

Students applying to this program should have completed basic professional preparation, defined as the equivalent of a minimum of one year of orchestration, one semester of counterpoint, and three years of theory and analysis (tonal and post-tonal).

For your PhD, you will be expected to meet the following requirements, including your post-baccalaureate study from other institutions:

• 24 credits of composition lessons
• 18 credits in Creative Studies and Media, including music information technology and informatics
• 12 credits in musicology/ethnomusicology and music theory
• 4 credits of ensemble participation
• 6 credits of elective coursework
• Reading knowledge in 2 languages or mastery of 2 research tools
• Completion of written and oral preliminary exam
• Completion of thesis or final project
• Completion of final oral examination

Requirements for the Music PhD

Resources for:

Apr 28, 2024 12:00pm

Sheldon Frazier, conducting

Galvin Recital Hall

Apr 28, 2024 2:30pm

Minghao Liu, clarinet

McClintock Choral and Recital Room

Apr 28, 2024 3:00pm

Symphonic Band

Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

• Lectures & Interviews
• Master Classes
• Recitals & Chamber Music
• Visiting Artists

Main Resources

Main utility, composition & music technology.

The composition and music technology program is among the most vibrant and progressive in the country, featuring internationally recognized faculty members whose works are regularly performed by top orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists throughout the world.

Because of the program’s emphasis on individuality, the student body is impressively diverse, representing a wide range of stylistic interests, techniques, notations, performance venues and audiences. Students draw upon the excellent resources of the Bienen School of Music, comprising premier researchers and performers, a music library that houses the largest collection of post-1945 music in the world, and the thriving cultural community in nearby Chicago.

The school’s Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition provides a special dimension to the program, as prizewinners—thus far John Adams, Oliver Knussen, Kaija Saariaho, John Luther Adams, Aaron Jay Kernis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Steve Reich, Jennifer Higdon, William Bolcom, and Tania León—spend two weeks on campus, closely interacting with students and faculty.

The graduate student support provided to PhD students includes year-round tuition and stipend and fully subsidized health insurance.

Composition & Music Technology Faculty

Coordinator; Associate Professor

Dean and Professor

Associate Professor

About the Composition and Music Technology Program

Performance opportunities.

The performance of student compositions is a central focus of the program. Numerous opportunities exist for collaborative work with graduate and undergraduate performance majors, both in solo and ensemble settings, including:

three Student Composer Concerts per year

performances and readings by visiting artists, who in recent years have included Claire Chase, Ensemble Recherche, Eighth Blackbird, ICE, Ensemble Linea, Callithumpian Consort, JACK Quartet, Spektral Quartet, Ensemble Dal Niente, Lucas Fels, Fonema Consort, Third Coast Percussion, and loadbang

annual performances and reading sessions by large Bienen School ensembles, including the Contemporary Music Ensemble, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and Symphony Orchestra

200+ solo and chamber ensemble recitals presented annually by performance students

Course Offerings

Undergraduate and doctoral student composers regularly take cutting-edge, upper-level courses in subjects such as:

Phenomenology of Sound

Sound Installation Art

Contemporary Opera

Materials of Music Since 1945

The Art of Noise

Technology-Based Performance

Aesthetics for Composers

Producing in the Virtual Studio

Current Compositional Praxis

Additionally, all students participate in the Composition Colloquium, a weekly forum where students and faculty present and discuss their current work. The Colloquium regularly hosts guest composers of international renown.

Institute for New Music

New music plays a vital role in Northwestern’s musical life. Student composers regularly work with guest performers under the aegis of the Institute for New Music, the nerve center of all contemporary music activities at the Bienen School.

Undergraduate Program

The composition and music technology faculty believes that a successful composer is not merely a master of craft and technique, but rather someone with curiosity and a broad knowledge in diverse fields across the arts, sciences, and humanities. An intensive composition curriculum, therefore, is paired with the broad academic and cultural resources available at an elite research university.

Students construct a flexible course of study that best matches their musical and career goals. Most students pursue the Bachelor of Music, a professional degree, but the liberal arts-oriented Bachelor of Arts in Music and Bachelor of Science in Music degrees are also available. Many composition and music technology majors take advantage of the dual degree program ; the ad hoc, or self-designed degree; or a double major within the Bienen School of Music, such as the pairing of a major in composition with one in performance. Another option that BM composition students have undertaken is combining their composition studies with a minor in music technology .

See Undergraduate Admission Requirements

PhD Program

Students in this program are strongly supported in their efforts to build not only technical proficiency but also a unique and original musical voice. As a result, they are surrounded and enriched by colleagues of a wide diversity of perspective. All students are actively assisted in developing relationships with professional soloists and ensembles outside of the University setting, both locally and internationally.

The composition program provides significant support to students for the purposes of travel and logistics for performances, research, and other professional development activities. Funding level is based on merit of the project, with 10-20 proposals funded each year.

Note: Graduate students interested in pursuing the PhD degree may enter either after the completion of a master's degree or, for especially gifted students, after earning an undergraduate degree.

See PhD Admission Requirements

Music Library

Among the largest music collections in the U.S., the Northwestern University Music Library has an unmatched strength in 20th century and contemporary classical music, and holds at least one copy of nearly every new score published since 1945. The library’s notable John Cage collection documents the life and work of one the 20th century’s most revolutionary composer.

Alex Mincek - Pendulum VII

Contemporary Music Ensemble

Hans Thomalla - Harmoniemusik

Composition Showcase, Fall 2020

Institute for New Music Student Profile: Noah Jenkins

Jennifer Higdon: Nemmers Prize Residency

Institute for New Music Student Profile: Kitra Razin

Alex Temple - The Man Who Hated Everything

Alex Mincek - Chamber Concerto

Marcos Balter - Pan

Claire Chase

Nemmers Prize

The Bienen School's Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition honors classical music composers of outstanding achievement. Winners participate in two nonconsecutive weeks of residency at the Bienen School of Music interacting with students and faculty.

Learn More  

After Northwestern

Composition program alumni have gone on to establish notable careers as composers, performers, educators, and scholars. Their achievements include:

performances at major international festivals including Gaudeamus, Huddersfield, ISCM World Music Days, Donaueschingen, SEAMUS, and Wien Modern

courses and residencies at Darmstadt, Royaumont, Acanthes, June in Buffalo, DAAD Künstlerprogramm, Tanglewood, and Aspen

performances by such ensembles as Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Modern, ensemble recherche, Apartment House, Neue Vocalisten Stuttgart, Champ d’Action, ASKO Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus, Ictus Ensemble, the Bozzini, Diotima, and Kairos String Quartets, and numerous soloists

teaching positions at colleges and universities throughout the U.S.

Current Composition PhD Students

Lisa Atkinson

PhD Candidate

[email protected]

Lisa Atkinson is a Chicago-based composer whose work explores interiority through the tactile nature of live performance and the emotional context of gesture while examining issues of fragility, memory, and perception. 

Atkinson's works have been performed by ensembles such as Wet Ink, loadbang, the Amaranth String Quartet, and the International Contemporary Ensemble and by soloists Ammie Brod, Gregory Oakes, and Amber Evans. She has participated as a composition fellow at the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, the Cortona Sessions for New Music, New Music on the Point, and Ensemble Evolution at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity.

Atkinson is pursuing a PhD in Composition at Northwestern University under the guidance of Alex Mincek, Hans Thomalla, and Jay Alan Yim. She completed her MA at Montclair State University, working with Marcos Balter and Nathan Davis, and her B.Mus. at Arizona State University.

Carlos Bandera

[email protected]

Carlos Bandera is a composer whose music searches for a feeling of transcendence and reflects on aspects of the human experience. He often draws on a deep appreciation of the music of the past and experiments with the interplay of seemingly disparate musical materials.

Carlos received the Underwood Commission to write a new work for the American Composers Orchestra after his piece Lux in Tenebris was performed at the 2018 Underwood New Music Readings. His music has been performed by groups such as the Illinois Philharmonic, Hastings Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Dogs of Desire, Hotel Elefant, Earspace, Hebrides Ensemble, Nebula Ensemble, Omnibus Ensemble, and Now Hear This. He has attended Composers Conference, Copland House’s CULTIVATE program, the Delian Academy for New Music, and Time of Music.

In 2015, Carlos earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Montclair State University, where he studied with Elizabeth Brown, Dean Drummond, and Marcos Balter. Carlos received his Master of Music degree in 2017 from Peabody Conservatory, where he participated in masterclasses with Christopher Rouse and Georg Friedrich Haas and studied privately with Kevin Puts. Carlos is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition and Music Technology from Northwestern University.

Konstantinos Baras

3rd Year PhD

[email protected]

Konstantinos Baras, a Greek composer with a passion for complex and saturated sound, embarked on his musical journey following a diagnosis of HanDL syndrome at the age of 18. Baras is recognized for creating works that convey intense emotions and delve into the complexities of trauma, employing visceral, chaotic sounds marked by a continuous energy flow and aggressive gestures.

Utilizing digital signal processing, noise, distortion and live interactivity, Baras extends the timbral profile of traditional instruments and seamlessly blends disjunct materials into unified structures. With interest in site-specificity and interdisciplinary collaboration, he works often with dancers and movement artists and engages creatively with space, lights, and visual effects.

His continued entanglement with black metal and techno contributes to an arrestingly distinctive sound palette, exploring the potential of repetition and bodily mechanics to intensify a sound’s impact on the listener. Toward that aim, Baras organizes his compositions through various processes of iteration and fragmented circularity, manipulating duration and density, often utilizing repetitive material but subtly altering it with every reappearance. The end result is driving, gripping, and grave.

His music has been performed and commissioned by Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain Moscow Contemporary Ensemble (MCME), Ensemble Nikel, and Ensemble Multilaterale, with performances in festivals and conferences such as, IRCAM ManiFeste, MIXTUR, Darmstadt, reMusik, ilSuono, Ticino Musica, and DICE.

Currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at Northwestern University, Baras holds a Masters degree from Boston University, and Bachelors degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. 

https://soundcloud.com/baras_composer

Pedram Diba

2nd Year PhD

[email protected]

Pedram Diba (b.1993) is an Iranian-American composer of acoustic, acousmatic, and mixed music residing in Chicago, IL. Diba's music has been showcased in festivals and conferences such as, SEAMUS, IRCAM Forum, CIRMMT-ACTOR Symposium, Festival Temporel, NOVA Contemporary Music Meeting, and New Music Gathering among others.

Since 2019, Diba has been a member of the Analysis, Creation, and Teaching of Orchestration (ACTOR) Project. Through ACTOR, Diba has participated in and initiated various research-creation projects such as the CORE Ensemble Project, Musicians Auditory Perception (MAP) and Space As Timbre (SAT). 

Diba completed his B.M. in composition at the University of Oregon where he received the prize of Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar in Composition. Later, he received the Max Stern Fellowship in Music to attend McGill University, where he completed his M.M. in composition under the supervision of Philippe Leroux. Currently, Diba is pursuing his Ph.D. in composition and music technology at Northwestern University with Alex Mincek, Hans Thomalla, and Jay Alan Yim. He is also one of the selected composers to participate in the Cursus de composition et d’informatique musicale at IRCAM in Paris for 2023-2024, where he will be a resident composer of the Cité internationale des arts. 

Diba's music is published by BabelScores in both digital and printed formats.

www.pedramdiba.com https://www.babelscores.com/PedramDiba https://www.ircam.fr/person/pedram-diba www.soundcloud.com/pedram-diba-865722734

Megan DiGeorgio

1st year PhD

[email protected]

Megan DiGeorgio is a composer, violist, vocalist, educator, and arts administrator based in Chicago. As an artist, Megan believes in collaboration and community over competition, and strives for full integration of her various artistic pursuits into one comprehensive creative practice.

Megan is pursuing a PhD in composition and music technology at Northwestern University. She has been commissioned by Duo Entre-Nous, Natalie Groom, Bryan Young, Concertia, University of Maine Farmington, Joanna McCoskey Wiltshire, and Fear No Music, among others. Her music has been performed across the United States by ensembles and performers such as the International Contemporary Ensemble, Duo Entre-Nous, Syracuse University Singers, Bryan Young, Trio Lunaire, Hypercube, Artifice, TURNmusic, Fear No Music, Jackie Glazier, Invoke, the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, the Pennsbury Community Band, Kylwyria, loadbang, and the Euphonic Syndicate, and at events such as Boulanger Initiative’s WoCo Fest, SCI’s Region II Conference, International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, TURN UP Multimedia Festival, Fear No Music’s HEARINGS, District New Music Coalition’s New Music DC Conference, and Megan’s own composer-performer show, Equilibrium.

She has been selected for opportunities such as the Out of Our Shells project, facilitated by American University’s Humanities Truck, and Concertia’s Emerging Composer Fellowship for 2021-2022. Megan is the former Director of Education Advancement for Boulanger Initiative, a Washington, DC-based organization that advocates for women and gender marginalized composers. She was also part of the leadership team of District New Music Coalition, an organization that works to facilitate the new music community in the Washington, DC area. And, she was a founding member of Artifice, a contemporary music choir in the Washington, DC area.

She holds degrees in music composition and viola performance from Vermont College of Fine Arts, University of Delaware, and The Catholic University of America.

Visit Website

Jack Hamill

[email protected]

Jack Hamill (b. 1999) is a multimedia artist primarily focused on sound. His creative practice ranges across a variety of art forms, spanning electro-acoustic music, noise, experimental film, digital visual art, and more. He has worked with a broad variety of aesthetic media, such as computer-generated scores, Disklaviers, DIY electronics, an ultrasound fetal doppler, video projections, and acoustic ensembles. His recent work tends to focus on disparate modes of expressive intensity: seriousness and irreverence, deliberation and intuition, jibberish nonsense and vigorous manifestos. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Oberlin College, where he received a BM in Technology in Music and Related Arts and a BA in philosophy.

www.jackhamill.digital https://soundcloud.com/jack_hamill

4th year PhD

[email protected]

Born in South Korea, Wan Heo is a composer and a violinist whose works have been performed in South Korea, Italy, Singapore, Spain, and the United States by artists including Tony Arnold, Keuris Quartet, John Pickford Richards, Philippe Spiesser, and yMusic. Her percussion solo piece Unveiled Future has been selected to be published by Alfonce Production. Wan’s recent commissioners include line upon line, New Music On the Point, highSCORE festival, VIPA (Valencia International Performance Academy), among others. Her works frequently explore timbre and spatiality along with non-traditional notation that realizes her interest in the linear approach to each part and their combination.

Recently, she began her own research on Korean ancestors’ appreciation to nature by touring and recording sounds at historical sites in South Korea, which are located in mountains. Her first work on this project, From Air to Mind , was presented at Composition In Asia conference at University of South Florida.

Wan holds B.M. in Composition from Ewha Womans University in South Korea and M.M. in Composition from Florida State University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition and Music Technology at Northwestern University under the guidance of Alex Mincek, Hans Thomalla, and Jay Alan Yim.

Wookhyun Kwon

[email protected]

Wookhyun, a Korean composer currently residing in Chicago, focuses on the artistic translation process between what she sees and what she composes, between experience and music, and between conception and sound. By exploring the possibilities of the musical parameters and adjusting them in the music, she acts as a mechanic.

Wookhyun is pursuing a PhD in Composition and Music Technology at Northwestern University. She holds an M.M. degree in composition from Manhattan School of Music and B.M. degree in composition from Kookmin University in Seoul. She is currently working on two new compositions for accordion duo and saxophone quartet. Concerts will take place on April 12, 2024, at Tenri Cultural Institute in New York, USA; on April 16, 2024, in Berlin, Germany; and in the winter of 2024 at Northwestern University in Evanston, USA.

[email protected]

Yi-Ting Lu is a Taiwanese composer. Her music focuses on exploring the experience of timelessness evoked through fragmented musical materials. She has received numerous prizes, awards, scholarships, and commissions, including the 2021 William T. Faricy Award for Creative Music, 2021 Nief-Norf International Call for Scores, 2021 Transient Canvas Composition Fellowship program, 2020 Thailand New Music and Arts Symposium Call for Scores, 2020 Talea Ensemble Emerging Composer Commissioning Program (finalist), 2019 Ilsuono Contemporary Music Academy’s Choice to be published by AltrEdizioni Casa Editrice, 2019 nominated exchange composer of the Académie Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont), and the 2018 Representative Piece of Taiwan in the 66th International Rostrum of Composers, among others.

Her compositions have been performed, awarded, and/or commissioned by ensembles such as the Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Suono Giallo, Ensemble vocal Les Métaboles, Ensemble Mise-en, Mdi Ensemble, Mivos Quartet, Orkest De Ereprijs, PushBack Collective, Quatuor Tana, Yarn/Wire, 3 People Music, Clarinetist Vasko Dukovski, MSM Orchestra (under the baton of George Manahan), National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and many others. 

Yi-Ting is currently pursuing a PhD in Music Composition at Northwestern University under the tutelage of Alex Mincek, Hans Thomalla, and Jay Alan Yim. She completed a master's degree in Music Composition at the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Reiko Füting and Susan Botti. Prior to her graduate studies in the United States, she studied with Tsung-Hsien Yang and Wan-Jen Huang, and received her bachelor's degree in Music Composition and Theory at the Taipei National University of the Arts.

Elliott Lupp

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Elliott Lupp is a composer, improviser, visual artist, and sound designer whose work often invokes images of the distorted, chaotic, visceral, and absurd. This aesthetic approach as it relates to both acoustic and electroacoustic composition has led to a body of work that, at the root of its construction, focuses on the manipulation of noise, extreme gesture, shifting timbre, and performer/computer improvisation as core elements. 

Elliott has received a number of awards and honors for his work, including a 2019 SEAMUS/ASCAP Commission, the 2019 Franklin G. Fisk Composition Award for Chamber Music, and Departmental and All-University awards in Graduate Research and Creative Scholarship. His music has been performed at a variety of electroacoustic festivals including N_SEME, CHIMEfest, Electronic Music Midwest, MOXsonic, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, SEAMUS, and Electroacoustic Barn Dance, and by such ensembles as the Dutch/American trio Sonic Hedgehog (flute, clarinet, and electric guitar), the Atar Piano Trio, Found Sound New Music Ensemble, various members of MOCREP, The Chicago Composer's Orchestra, Fonema Consort, and Ensemble Dal Niente. 

Elliott received his MM from Western Michigan University, where he studied composition and music technology under Christopher Biggs and Lisa R. Coons, and his BM from Columbia College Chicago, where he studied under Eliza Brown and Kenn Kumpf.

Benjamin J. Penwell

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Benjamin J. Penwell is a composer and sound artist based in Chicago. His music often deals with long, sustained textures that shift and breathe over time, revealing the small, individual details that make up the larger sound. He likes to investigate how small changes to or manipulations of the details of alignment, timbre, tuning, and volume can make for interesting and meaningful combined textures. He produces work in a mixture of acoustic and electroacoustic contexts. A side interest of his is metal scholarship, and that interest led him to develop and teach a course on the History & Aesthetics of Metal Music in Fall 2022 at Northwestern University, where he is currently working on his PhD in Composition & Music Technology. He also holds a master’s in composition from Boston University and a bachelor’s in composition from the University of Oregon.

Catherine Phang

3rd year PhD

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Catherine Phang is a composer and educator currently based in Evanston, IL. She has collaborated with artists and ensembles including Vasko Dukovski, Unheard-of// Ensemble, Either/or Ensemble, New Asia Chamber Music Society, Mise-en Ensemble and Tactus Ensemble. Her orchestra pieces were conducted by David Hoose and Kalena Bovell. 

Catherine received her MM from Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Richard Danielpour and Reiko Fueting, and her BM from University of Hartford - the Hartt School, where she studied composition with Larry Alan Smith and Ken Steen, and piano with David Westfall, Paul Rutman and Susan Cheng. Catherine was selected for a Kountz Fellowship 2013-14 based on her commendable work during the course of studies as a BM composer at the Hartt School.

Catherine is currently pursuing a PhD in Music Composition and Technology at Northwestern University under the guidance of Alex Mincek, Hans Thomalla, and Jay Alan Yim.

2nd year PhD

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Gen Tanaka is a Japanese composer, producer, and sound artist. He firmly believes in the social function of art as that which loosens and subverts the status quo.  In recent years, his work has been characterized by just-intonational frameworks and a desire to portray or facilitate transpersonal experiences. Gen’s fascination with nature, American counter-culture, pharmacology, and theosophy serves to inform his musical activity. The visceral and embodied qualities of sound are of utmost importance to his creative approach.

Jasmine Thomasian

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Originally from Astoria, Oregon, Jasmine Thomasian (they/them) is a Chicago-based composer passionate about sound, identity formation, and the interpersonal dynamics of Western art music. While their artistic output spans a range of musical aesthetics, they particularly enjoy taking on projects that challenge them to think and create in new ways.

Jasmine’s compositional process is driven by their love of collaboration. Current and recent collaborators include Katie Amrine (trumpet) and Ford Fourqurean (video), Lane Champa (violin), Claire DiVizio (poet & soprano), Fuse Quartet (saxophones), and Zhen Piao (organ). Jasmine has been commissioned by the American Guild of Organists and OSSIA New Music, and their music has been performed on programs by Chicago Fringe Opera, I/O Fest, Atlantic Music Festival, New Music on the Point, and  malai  ensemble.

In addition to their work as a composer, Jasmine is an experienced arts administrator. Jasmine is currently Board Operations Manager for Thompson Street Opera Company, a Chicago-based organization which exclusively performs works by living composers. Jasmine has also been a Chair of the Student Composers Committee (NU), Co-Director of the Graduate Composers Sinfonietta (Eastman), and Co-Producer of “Music Matters,” a new-music radio show on WAYO FM (Rochester, NY). Jasmine holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (MA), Union Theological Seminary (MA), and Williams College (BA). In 2020-2021, Jasmine is teaching 2nd-Year Aural Skills.

Alissa Voth

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Alissa Voth (she/her) is a composer and adaptive arts educator who creates conceptual works inspired by intersections of language, data, and music. Her composition and teaching practices are guided by exploration, playfulness, collaboration, and facilitating connection through shared musical experiences. She composes mainly for soloists, chamber ensembles, and experimental theater projects.

Her music has been performed at the UT Contemporary Music Festival, Cortona Sessions for New Music, Harvard Music Festival, Isador Bajic School, Rivers School Conservatory, and the Longy Divergent Studio by performers including Loadbang, Sarah Brady, and Antonina Styczén. A frequent collaborator with Boston-based collective Sparkhaven Theater, she has composed, performed, and directed music for multiple original productions both in person and virtually. Upcoming events include performances with the Boston New Music Initiative and the Montreal Creative Music Lab, as well as premieres by Nightingale Vocal Ensemble and cellist Seth Parker Woods.

Alissa is a fourth year PhD student at Northwestern University under the mentorship of Alex Mincek, Jay Alan Yim, and Hans Thomalla. She holds a master's degree from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee where she studied with Marti Epstein and Felipe Lara, and was awarded the Roger Sessions Memorial Composition Award. She completed her bachelor's degree at Oral Roberts University in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Alissa also teaches music to students with autism and other cognitive, physical, and behavioral disabilities virtually in the Boston Public School system through Open Door Arts.

Carlos Zárate

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Carlos Zárate is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music. He was born and raised in Mexico City and is interested in live electronics, audiovisual art, and exploring different ways in which other artistic expressions can foster musical ideas.

Carlos is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition and Music Technology at Northwestern University, under the guidance of Alex Mincek, Hans Thomalla, and Jay Alan Yim. He holds a MM in Interdisciplinary Digital Media Composition from Arizona State University, where he studied as a Fulbright fellow with Fernanda Aoki Navarro and Gabriel Bolaños. Carlos got a Bachelor's Degree in Composition and Music Theory at Centro de Investigación y Estudios de la Música.  He dances to cumbias, trains bjj, and is sick of gentrification, the voracity of capitalism and (self) exotization of Latin American artists.

Contact the Office of Music Admission, Financial Aid and Graduate Services: [email protected]  or  847-491-3141 Request Information

Department of Music

Music & multimedia composition.

• Graduate Programs

Music & Multimedia Composition

Students in the Ph.D. program in Music and Multimedia Composition produce, analyze, and perform original works that may include the use of electronic music, acoustic composition and sound in combination with video, performance, installation and text.

Students conduct advanced inquiry into the cultural, theoretical, technical, and aesthetic issues surrounding music and multimedia production in close collaboration with faculty researchers strongly invested in real-time, interactive sonic and visual media, sound art, instrument design, and acoustic composition. The program welcomes students working from diverse influences and methods, expanding their creative practices and underlying technical knowledge to spur artistic innovation. In addition to faculty mentorship, students can collaborate with a broad array of professional performing ensembles and visiting artists presented on the Brown University campus.

Fall 2023 Open House

Open House events for the Music & Multimedia Composition Program take place online on Friday, October 27, and Friday, November 10. The events are designed to help applicants learn more about the PhD program and will provide prospective candidates with an overview of our research, curriculum, production resources, and an introduction to our faculty and students. Registration required.

Diverse Resources

The graduate program in Music and Multimedia Composition offers an array of resources unique to Brown. Students have access to the department’s Multimedia and Electronic Music Experiments (MEME) studios, and the university’s Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. These specialized research facilities house recording studios, electronics shops, project studios, exhibition and performance spaces. Regular opportunities exist to interface with the larger arts and digital media communities at Brown, at the nearby Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence and the New England region. Music and Multimedia Composition students also partake in the many scholarly offerings of the Musicology and Ethnomusicology PhD program, with faculty specialties in technoculture, sound studies, copyright, improvisation and organology. A Brown doctoral degree in Music and Multimedia Composition leads to a career in college and university teaching, or to a position to applied work outside of higher education.

All PhD students receive full funding for 6 years, including costs for tuition and health insurance, plus stipends for fellowships and teaching assistantships. 

Anthony Cheung

Review the program's application requirements  here .

For more information, please consult our  Graduate Program FAQ .

Apply to the Music & Multimedia Composition program through the Brown University Graduate School website.

Exams, Dissertations and Other Scholarly Work

During the first two years of the program students undertake the majority of their coursework, which involves writing and research in addition to creative practice. During this time they prepare their Masters project (a substantial performance, installation, or work in other formats) for presentation in the second year accompanied by an essay of thirty to fifty pages that describes the aesthetic concepts, historical background, and technical realization of the work.

In the third year students continue their coursework and must prepare for and pass their Qualifying Exams. This consists of three essays on topics that lead into their dissertation work and an oral exam on these essays. Once this is complete students develop a formal dissertation proposal in which serves as a clear and detailed outline of the areas of creative and scholarly research to be undertaken over the next two years.

The dissertation itself has two parts. The dissertation project is an original creative work that makes a substantial contribution to knowledge in the field. This is accompanied by a detailed paper that describes the project’s overall concept, technical methods, and the historical, theoretical, and artistic frameworks that inform and support it. The paper is completed after the dissertation project has taken place and requires a formal oral presentation and defense before it is approved.

See the MMC Graduate Handbook for specific details on these requirements.

Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo

James moses.

Eric Nathan

Joseph Butch Rovan

Todd winkler, affiliated faculty, shawn greenlee, peter szendy.

• Orwig Music Library
• Brown Multimedia Labs
• Brown Arts Institute
• Granoff Center

Community Resources

• Community MusicWorks
• Machines With Magnets
• Verdant Vibes

Additional Information

Music and multimedia composition program, graduate courses.