Program: Music, M.M.
Composition Option
Program Description
The Master of Music option in Composition offers a full range of opportunities to study the art of music composition at the graduate level. The option is designed for students interested in pursuing advanced studies in contemporary music styles and techniques, as well as composers interested in pursuing a teaching career in higher education.
Program Requirements
A. Application Requirements for the Composition Option
- Bachelor’s degree, including preparation equivalent to the undergraduate Music major.
- Entrance portfolio and interview required. See Composition Audition Requirements.
- Taking the department graduate placement examinations in Theory and History prior to first enrollment. Students failing the placement exams may repeat them once or complete the appropriate review coursework—MUS 500 Music Theory Review and/or MUS 501 Music History Review—with a grade of “C” or better.
- Students must demonstrate the equivalent of an undergraduate recital in composition. Students lacking this prerequisite may be asked to present an undergraduate-level recital during the first year of the graduate program.
B. Admission Requirements for Classified Status
All graduate students in music are accepted to the program as conditionally classified. To achieve classified status in the graduate program, the following are required:
- Completion of University requirements for admission to classified graduate status.
- Completion of any deficiencies that were determined by the Department of Music at the time of admission.
For more information about requirements for admission, graduate classification and requirements for graduation, please consult the Graduate Studies section of this Catalog.
C. Course Requirements
1. Required Courses (12 units)
MUS 601 Techniques of Research and Bibliography in Music (3)
MUS 604 Seminar in Music Analysis (3)
or MUS 604J Seminar in Jazz Improvisation, Arranging, and Composition (3) (required for Jazz Concentration)
MUS 698 Thesis, Artistic Performance, or Graduate Project (3)
One class from the following (3 units):
MUS 603A Seminar in Renaissance Music (3)
MUS 603B Seminar in Baroque Music (3)
MUS 603C Seminar in Classical Music (3)
MUS 603D Seminar in Romantic Music (3)
MUS 603E Seminar in 20th Century Music (3)
MUS603J Seminar in Jazz History and Cultures (3) (Required for Jazz Concentration)
MUS 692A-Z Selected Topics in Music History (3)
2. Area of Concentration—Composition (Minimum of 18 units)
MUS 565 Seminar in Advanced Instrumental Conducting (2)
MUS 605 Teaching Music in Higher Education (3)
MUS 625 Advanced Orchestration (2)
MUS 630 Composition (2,2)
MUS 639A Individual Lessons in Composition (1,1,1,1)
Electives (3 units)
Electives to be chosen as approved by area coordinator and Music department graduate advisor.
3. Culminating Experience
MUS 698 (listed in the core requirements above) includes an oral comprehensive review:
Each graduate student in the Department of Music is required to pass an oral comprehensive review that allows the committee to evaluate their artistic abilities and research skills. The graduate project committee, consisting of the student’s major professor and at least one additional faculty member, will administer the oral comprehensive review. The oral review will be created and scheduled by the student’s major professor in consultation with the area coordinator, and it will cover the student’s major field of study.
If the oral comprehensive review is not attempted or passed, the student will receive an RP (report in progress) in MUS 698, and may attempt the oral review again during any of the subsequent three semesters.
Students may not take the oral review more than twice. Failure of the second attempt of the oral review will result in the student’s disqualification from the graduate program.
Total Units Required for the M.M. Degree: 30
More information
For more information about this program, please contact liviu.marinescu@csun.edu.
Contact
Department of Music
Chair: Lorenz Gamma
Cypress Hall (CY) 116
(818) 677-3181
Graduate Coordinator: Steve Thachuk
(818) 677-2846
Program Learning Outcomes
Students receiving a Master of Music in Music will be able to:
- Continue development of professional and scholarly competence within their area of specialization.
- Continue development of individual talent, musical interests, and philosophies to be used creatively to preserve and extend the cultural heritage of music.
- Continue development of artistic and intellectual rigor in the organization, interpretation, communication, and dissemination of musical knowledge.
- Develop skills fundamental to their area of specialization applicable across a variety of music and music-related professions.
- Develop professional competence in the execution of business processes and practices commonly employed within their area of specialization.