Music Theory and Composition

A program that focuses on the study of the principles of sound manipulation as applied to the creation of music, and the techniques of creating and arranging music. Includes instruction in aural theory, melody, counterpoint, complex harmony, modulation, chromatics, improvisation, progressions, musical writing, instrumentation, orchestration, electronic and computer applications, studies of specific musical styles, and development of original creative ability.

Degree Statistics

This program is offered at 149 institutions across the United States, with a total of 3722 degrees awarded annually.

Certificates Below Bachelor's

certificates awarded

Associate Degrees

degrees awarded

Bachelor's Degrees

707

degrees awarded

Post-Baccalaureate Certificates

certificates awarded

Master's Degrees

344

degrees awarded

Doctoral Degrees

degrees awarded

Other Awards

2,488

awards given

Top Schools for Music Theory and Composition

These institutions offer the most degrees in this program, ranked by total annual completions.

Rank	Institution	Degrees
1	Berklee College of Music Boston, MA	615
2	Los Angeles Film School Hollywood, CA	507
3	New York University New York, NY	165
4	California Institute of the Arts Valencia, CA	108
5	Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA	99
6	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	90
7	Manhattan School of Music New York, NY	84
8	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	78
9	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	66
10	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	63
11	Vermont College of Fine Arts Montpelier, VT	60
12	The New England Conservatory of Music Boston, MA	57
13	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	51
14	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	51
15	University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO	48
16	The New School New York, NY	48
17	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	42
18	SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY	39
19	Musicians Institute Hollywood, CA	39
20	University of Hartford West Hartford, CT	39
21	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	36
22	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	36
23	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	36
24	The Juilliard School New York, NY	36
25	Western Connecticut State University Danbury, CT	33
26	Longy School of Music of Bard College Cambridge, MA	33
27	Stark State College North Canton, OH	32
28	West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA	30
29	Los Angeles College of Music Pasadena, CA	30
30	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH	27
31	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	27
32	Lawrence University Appleton, WI	24
33	University of Georgia Athens, GA	24
34	Belmont University Nashville, TN	21
35	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	21
36	Yale University New Haven, CT	21
37	Boston University Boston, MA	21
38	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	21
39	University of North Texas Denton, TX	21
40	SUNY at Fredonia Fredonia, NY	18
41	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	18
42	University of Redlands Redlands, CA	18
43	Valley City State University Valley City, ND	16
44	Lewis & Clark College Portland, OR	15
45	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI	15
46	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	15
47	Baldwin Wallace University Berea, OH	15
48	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	15
49	San Francisco Conservatory of Music San Francisco, CA	15
50	Washington State University Pullman, WA	15
51	Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL	15
52	Stetson University DeLand, FL	15
53	University of Idaho Moscow, ID	15
54	Nazareth University Rochester, NY	12
55	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	12
56	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	12
57	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC	12
58	Wheaton College Wheaton, IL	12
59	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	12
60	Houghton University Houghton, NY	12
61	Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH	12
62	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA	12
63	Baylor University Waco, TX	9
64	Boise State University Boise, ID	9
65	California Baptist University Riverside, CA	9
66	DePaul University Chicago, IL	9
67	Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL	9
68	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	9
69	The Catholic University of America Washington, DC	9
70	Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais, IL	9
71	Ball State University Muncie, IN	9
72	Stanford University Stanford, CA	9
73	Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music San Juan, PR	9
74	Loyola University New Orleans New Orleans, LA	9
75	Portland State University Portland, OR	9
76	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	9
77	Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City, OK	9
78	University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA	9
79	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN	9
80	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	9
81	St Olaf College Northfield, MN	9
82	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	9
83	Rice University Houston, TX	9
84	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	9
85	Amarillo College Amarillo, TX	9
86	Ithaca College Ithaca, NY	9
87	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	9
88	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	9
89	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	9
90	Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA	9
91	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	9
92	Millikin University Decatur, IL	8
93	Cedarville University Cedarville, OH	6
94	Biola University La Mirada, CA	6
95	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	6
96	Chapman University Orange, CA	6
97	Lynn University Boca Raton, FL	6
98	Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, IL	6
99	Roosevelt University Chicago, IL	6
100	Butler University Indianapolis, IN	6