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PhD Music (Composition) at University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania, United States

Programme overview

The Ph.D. program in Composition stresses training in the craft of composition, contemporary repertory, and theory and analysis. Instruction in composition comprises much of the course requirement; such instruction takes the form of private lessons.

Faculty: School of Arts and Sciences  |  Duration: 19 course units  |  Study mode: full-time  |  Location: Philadelphia, PA, United States

What you will study

Requires 19 course units in total. Listed required courses include MUSC 6200 Creative and Compositional Approaches; MUSC 6500 Ethnographic and Anthropological Approaches; MUSC 6220 Composing with Electronics; MUSC 7210 Composition Studio and Forum (Complete; MUSC 7200 Seminar in Composition (Complete; MUSC 9950 Dissertation Additional Requirements Language Requirement Students must demonstrate proficiency in two languages.

Career pathways

Composition instructors are assigned on a rotating basis to assure that all students are exposed to a variety of approaches and have the opportunity to work with each member of the composition faculty during the period of coursework.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

First-year exams will be evaluated based on the following structure: Pass: A Pass on all portion of the examination is required for admission to the Ph.D. Partial Pass: The student must take some portion of the examination again before the question of admission to the doctoral program is decided.

USD 46,540 a year (2026-27). Full tuition rate for PhD programs for 2026-2027 (Annenberg, Arts & Sciences, Design, Education, Social Policy & Practice, Engineering, Nursing, Wharton and Biomedical Sciences share this rate). Most PhD programs fully fund students for at least 4 years, Source

Each graduate and professional programme has its own admissions process and entry terms; applicants apply directly to the programme of interest.

Graduate and professional programmes are housed in 12 schools; each programme has a separate admissions process and applicants apply directly to the programme of interest.

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