57 PhD programmes in Music Composition

Discover your own path as a composer. They welcome traditional and innovative composition styles, offering you opportunities to combine instruments and the latest technology to produce new compositions. Learn more at the Musical Composition programme from University of Birmingham.

This Composition programme from Cardiff University, offers an opportunity to study with leading composers with internationally regarded expertise and experience in contemporary music composition.

Graduate with the skills you need to be able to perform, compose or teach at a high professional level with this Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition program from Victoria University of Wellington.

Develop your skills in notated composition, film scoring, music technology or sonic arts to a professional level with a PhD in Composition Arts postgraduate study from Victoria University of Wellington. 

The Composition Department at University of Rochester is devoted to teaching students who wish to pursue a professional and/or academic career in concert and computer music composition. 

The Graduate Composition and Theory Program at the University of California, Davis, provides an invigorating and liberating approach to the art of music composition. 

At the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, we offer our graduate students a DMA degree in Music Composition. 

The Composition Department at University of Rochester is devoted to teaching students who wish to pursue a professional and/or academic career in concert and computer music composition.  

The Ph.D. degree in Music Theory - Composition from Kent State University prepares composers, research scholars and college/university teachers in the areas of music theory and composition. 

The D.M.A. Composition program at University of British Columbia is designed for composers who have already reached a high level of proficiency and artistry in their fields and who may wish to teach at the university level. 

Designed for students seeking the highest degree in the field, the Composition program offered by University of Memphis is a rigorous three-year course of study culminating in a doctoral dissertation. 

The Music Research programme offered by King's College London explores musical cultures, creative practice, composition, performance, and sound traditions from diverse historical and geographical contexts.

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Music - Composition offered by the Schulich School of Music at McGill University is a research-intensive program that emphasizes dynamic and hands-on learning opportunities. 

The Musical Arts - Composition degree from The University of Arizona has emphases in composition, conducting, and performance. In the performance emphasis concentrations are available in bassoon, cello, clarinet, double bass, euphonium, flute, guitar, horn, harp, harpsichord, oboe, organ, percussion, piano, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, tuba, viola, violin, and voice. 

For our Musical Composition PhD at the University of Sussex, you’ll research and develop new musical languages. You achieve this through building a portfolio of works accompanied by a reflective critical commentary.

The Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Music Performance and Composition at the University of Maryland is designed for graduate students who desire advanced professional study in composition, conducting or performance within the context of a major research university.

A superb opportunity to develop your own portfolio of compositions in a professional and supportive environment. We welcome a broad range of styles and approaches in the Music Composition programme offered at the University of Nottingham. 

Prepare to help Music Composition students at University of South Carolina explore their original ideas in a rigorous and creative environment committed to musical excellence. Advance your professional composition skills through one-to-one instruction.

At the Brown University, we offer our graduate students a phd degree in Music and Multimedia Composition.

In the Composition course at Rutgers University individualized qualifying exams prepare students for the dissertation, which consists of a major composition as well as a substantial essay on a subject related to the field of contemporary music.