Composition
Bachelor of Music
All of the materials listed below must be received by the December 1st deadline. Any application not complete by December 1 may be removed from consideration.
Required items:
- USC Undergraduate Application- the following documents will also be submitted online with the USC application:
- Résumé
- Statement of Objectives
- Materials to be delivered to USC Admission (click here for the "USC Contact Us" page, then select "USC Office of Admission" to obtain the correct mailing address)
- Official transcripts
- SAT or ACT test scores
- TOEFL score report - required from all applicants for whom English is a second language, regardless of educational background or immigration status)
- Three original compositions with recordings to be mailed directly to the Thornton Admission Office (see address below)
USC Thornton Office of Admission
927 West 35th Street- PIC 212
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0021
**Please do not send any additional materials to the USC Thornton Office of Admission.
Additional Information
Admission to the BM in composition is highly competitive and limited to approximately eight new students per year. The program is a four-year program to which transfer students are rarely admitted.
Students are required to submit scores and recordings of three contrasting pieces of varying instrumentation. Students should submit works that best represent their creative abilities. Pieces in a popular music or jazz idiom may be submitted as an extra element of the application, but the primary focus of the USC Thornton composition department is concert music (contemporary classical music).
Undergraduate applicants may be contacted for an on-campus interview before an admission decision is reached. Interviews would be held on the USC campus in Los Angeles in February or early March 2010. The composition faculty will reserve the right to make a final admission decision whether or not they have interviewed a particular applicant.
Admission to programs in composition is limited to fall semesters only.
Master of Music
All of the materials listed below must be received by the December 1st deadline. Any application not complete by December 1 may be removed from consideration.
Required items:
- USC Graduate Application to be submitted with the following documents online
- Résumé
- Statement of Objectives
- 1-3 Letters of Recommendation (see the USC online application for instructions on how to submit)
- Materials to be delivered to USC Admission (click here for the correct mailing address)
- Official transcripts
- TOEFL score report - required from all applicants for whom English is a second language, regardless of educational background or immigration status.
- Three original compositions with recordings– to be mailed directly to the Thornton Admission Office (see address below)
USC Thornton Office of Admission
927 West 35th Street- PIC 212
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0021
**Please do not send any additional materials to the USC Thornton Office of Admission.
Additional Information
Students are required to submit scores and recordings of three contrasting pieces of varying instrumentation. There is no requirement for a specific medium. However, graduate applicants are encouraged to submit a piece for large ensemble such as orchestra or wind ensemble. Students should submit works that best represent their creative abilities. Pieces in a popular music or jazz idiom may be submitted as an extra element of the application, but the primary focus of the USC Thornton composition department is concert music (contemporary classical music).
In most cases, as determined by the composition faculty, graduate applicants under consideration for a scholarship or teaching assistantship will be called for an interview on the USC campus in Los Angeles. These interviews would be held on the USC campus in Los Angeles in February or early March 2010. The composition faculty will reserve the right to make a final decision whether or not they have interviewed a particular candidate.
Admission to graduate programs in composition is highly competitive and limited to approximately six new students per year.
Admission to programs in composition is limited to fall semesters only.
Doctor of Musical Arts
All of the materials listed below must be received by the December 1st deadline. Any application not complete by December 1 may be removed from consideration.Required items:
- USC Graduate Application to be submitted with the following documents online
- Résumé
- Statement of Objectives
- 3 Letters of Recommendation (see the USC online application for instructions on how to submit)
- Materials to be delivered to USC Admission (click here for the correct mailing address)
- Official transcripts
- TOEFL score report - required from all applicants for whom English is a second language, regardless of educational background or immigration status
- GRE score report (general test only) – the applicant must submit a copy of his/her personal score report to the Thornton Admission office, as well as arrange for ETS to send an official score report directly to the USC Admission office
USC Thornton Office of Admission
927 West 35th Street- PIC 212
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0021
**Please do not send any additional materials to the USC Thornton Office of Admission.
Additional Information
Students are required to submit scores and recordings of three contrasting pieces of varying instrumentation. There is no requirement for a specific medium however graduate applicants are encouraged to submit a piece for large ensemble such as orchestra or wind ensemble. Students should submit works that best represent their creative abilities. Pieces in a popular music or jazz idiom may be submitted as an extra element of the application, but the primary focus of the USC Thornton composition department is concert music (contemporary classical music).
In most cases, as determined by the composition faculty, graduate applicants under consideration for a scholarship or teaching assistantship will be called for an interview on the USC campus in Los Angeles. These interviews would be held on the USC campus in Los Angeles in February or early March 2010. The composition faculty will reserve the right to make a final decision whether or not they have interviewed a particular candidate.
Admission to programs in composition is limited to fall semesters only.
Admission to graduate programs in composition is highly competitive and limited to approximately six new students per year.
