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
Review the full requirements by clicking the button below. Note that some credit requirements include credits taken towards the Master's degree.