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Best Accredited Universities for Doctoral Phd program in Music Theory and Composition

25 universities offer graduate PHD program in Music Theory and Composition

Check out our exclusive data on scholarships and financial aid offered by universities for the Master's program in Music Theory and Composition. There are also 700+ scholarships available from accredited sources with the amount ranging from $1000-$22k.

Yale University logo
Ranked as:  #3 in Best National University
Tuition:  $44,500 per year
Total Cost:  $89,000 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  Connecticut
Acceptance:  6.53%
Norfolk Chamber Music Festival Yale Summer School of Music. In recent years Music alumni have won Pulitzer Prizes and Grammy and Grawemeyer awards, and have served as composers-in-residence with a variety of orchestras, festivals, and other organizations. The performance-oriented master of musical arts (M.M.A.) program is designed for students who want to further their education beyond an M.M. degree. The intensive doctor of musical arts (D.M.A) program is comprised of a two-year residency followed by a three-year period in which candidates launch their professional careers.
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Yale University admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Yes
  • Research assistantships:  1565
  • Teaching assistantships:  1598
  • Financial Aid: Register to view the details
Columbia University in the City of New York logo
Ranked as:  #4 in Best National University
Tuition:  $51,194 per year
Total Cost:  $102,388 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  New York
Acceptance:  6.66%
The Doctor of Musical Arts degree is awarded by the Graduate School of Arts Sciences. The DMA normally takes five years to complete. One can apply for and enter into the DMA program with an appropriate bachelor or master degree. Students take individual composition lessons weekly for three years.
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Columbia University in the City of New York admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  No
  • Research assistantships:  1081
  • Teaching assistantships:  1757
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Johns Hopkins University logo
Ranked as:  #12 in Best National University
Tuition:  $59,425 per year
Total Cost:  $118,850 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  Maryland
Acceptance:  11.06%
Music Theory Placement Tests are available online in the month of January for applicants for the DMA degree, for applicants to the Master of Music in Music Theory Pedagogy degree, and for those applying for assistantships in Music Theory (classroom, ear training, and keyboard skills). Students whose test scores are less than excellent will be placed into Music Theory 1 2 (Intensive) for their first year at Peabody. We do not accept AP credits in music theory. Graduate students are expected to enter their degree programs with a thorough understanding of tonal harmony.
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Johns Hopkins University admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Yes
  • Research assistantships:  2378
  • Teaching assistantships:  304
  • Financial Aid: Register to view the details
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212 universities offer the Master's program in Music Theory and Composition. Which one best suits your need? We will help make you a decision.

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Cornell University logo
Ranked as:  #15 in Best National University
Tuition:  $30,042 per year
Total Cost:  $60,084 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  New York
Acceptance:  10.71%
The DMA blends scholarship with artistic work. 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. 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.
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Graduate Program in Composition

Cornell University admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Register to view the details
  • Research assistantships:  Register to view the details
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Brown University logo
Ranked as:  #16 in Best National University
Tuition:  $60,363 per year
Total Cost:  $120,726 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  Rhode Island
Acceptance:  7.67%
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. The graduate program in Music and Multimedia Composition offers an array of resources unique to Brown. Students have access to the department Multimedia and Electronic Music Experiments (MEME) studios, and the university Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. These specialized research facilities house recording studios, electronics shops, project studios, exhibition and performance spaces.
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Music and Multimedia Composition

Brown University admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Register to view the details
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Rice University logo
Ranked as:  #19 in Best National University
Tuition:  $47,913 per year
Total Cost:  $95,826 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  Texas
Acceptance:  10.89%
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) Degree in the field of Composition. Demonstrate technical and musical competence in performance or composition at a professional level. Develop highly developed analytical skills in advanced music theory and a profound understanding of how those skills inform music performance. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the relationship between music history and music performance with greater familiarity of a wide variety of historical and contemporary performance practices.
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Rice University admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Register to view the details
  • Research assistantships:  Register to view the details
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University of California-Los Angeles logo
Ranked as:  #23 in Best National University
Tuition:  $28,131 per year
Total Cost:  $56,262 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  California
Acceptance:  14.33%
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.
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The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music - MA PhD

University of California-Los Angeles admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Register to view the details
  • Research assistantships:  Register to view the details
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University of Michigan-Ann Arbor logo
Ranked as:  #29 in Best National University
Tuition:  $49,548 per year
Total Cost:  $99,096 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  Michigan
Acceptance:  26.11%
Designed for students seeking the highest degree in the field, the PhD is a rigorous five-year course of study culminating in a doctoral dissertation. The doctoral program provides specialized training in scholarly method, music theory, and musicology. Students should normally achieve candidacy by the end of the sixth term. SMTD offers a wide variety of courses across all disciplines.
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Doctor of Philosophy in Music Theory

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor GRE score,GPA for masters degree in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Register to view the details
  • Research assistantships:  Register to view the details
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Boston University logo
Ranked as:  #42 in Best National University
Tuition:  $57,666 per year
Total Cost:  $115,332 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  Massachusetts
Acceptance:  20.09%
CFAProgramsSchool of MusicComposition Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition. The Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition at Boston University is a comprehensive professional program in the College of Fine Arts. Composers work to attain a personal compositional aesthetic and the techniques to express it through sound, as well as a broad knowledge of contemporary and historical compositional practices and a mastery of analytic techniques for tonal and post-tonal music. Students develop the skills necessary to navigate the professional world, and the Center for Music presents them with an array of opportunities to hear diverse musical styles.
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Boston University GRE score and admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Register to view the details
  • Research assistantships:  Register to view the details
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University of Wisconsin-Madison logo
Ranked as:  #47 in Best National University
Tuition:  $25,523 per year
Total Cost:  $51,046 * This tuition data is based on IPEDS. For the latest tuition amount, refer to the respective college websites.
State:  Wisconsin
Acceptance:  57.25%
The composition area offers multi faceted and comprehensive degrees in composition, with the opportunity to study with leading composers in the field. With multiple seminars in composition, including those offered on film music, text setting and ensemble writing, as well as intensive orchestration courses, highlighted by end of semester orchestral readings, there are many important and useful course offerings for composers. There are a myriad of opportunities for student composers to hear their works, including but not limited to, guest artist readings, the UW-Madison Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (through the open call for student scores), composition area concerts, as well as area student recitals. Perhaps the most exciting opportunity available to student composers is the concerto competition, which affords the opportunity for one student composer, through a competitive process, to hear their work to rehearsed and performed on regular concert of the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra.
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Mead Witter School of Music - Composition

University of Wisconsin-Madison GRE score and admission requirements for graduate programs in Fine, Visual, Applied and Performing Arts
  • GRE Required:  Register to view the details
  • Research assistantships:  Register to view the details
  • Teaching assistantships:  Register to view the details
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What kind of scholarships are available for Graduate Programs in Music Theory and Composition?

We have 4 scholarships awarding up to $8,600 for Masters program in for Music Theory and Composition, targeting diverse candidates and not restricted to state or school-based programs.

Scholarship nameAmountCredibility
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago Academic Scholarship$4,000Medium
The Anne van Biema Fellowship$2,500Medium
Madison Chautauqua Scholarship for the Arts in Memory of Bob Fourhman$1,100Medium
Support Creativity Scholarship$1,000High

Find scholarships and financial aid for Music Theory and Composition graduate programs

$500 $20000

How can I compare the Music Theory and Composition Graduate Programs?

Compare the GRE score requirements, admission details, credit requirements and tuition for the Master's Program, from 212 universities offering Graduate PHD/Doctoral Programs in Music Theory and Composition. Compare Graduate PHD/Doctoral Programs in Music Theory and Composition

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