Bachelor of Music in Music Composition

Create the new classics

Learn to compose tomorrow’s classics in our music composition major.

Get the thrill of hearing your work performed live during your first year. We hold a composers’ concert each semester devoted to student-created work.

Our music department is collaborative yet competitive, pushing you to grow as a musician and composer.

You’ll explore a variety of musical styles, conduct student ensembles, and become well-versed in music literature and theory.

We’re one of a few undergraduate-only institutions to offer a music composition degree program. It’s small and selective, giving you plenty of chances to work one-on-one with faculty who are experienced educators and active performers.

Be ready for graduate school

Although music composition is one of our newest degrees, it’s already thriving. In fact, one of our first graduates is studying at the famed Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

Adding one of our interdisciplinary minors, like arts administration, helps you gain a better understanding of important topics in today’s world.

You’ll be more than ready to go to graduate school and then onto a career as a composer, arranger, or teacher of composition.

Our students thrive, and you will too, as you are mentored by professors who are both experts in their fields and exceptional teachers. Coursework at Susquehanna is intense — you will enjoy personalized attention from your faculty as they help you learn and develop the skills you need to be a job and/or graduate school ready.

Many schools talk about study abroad but at Susquehanna, everyone does it. We are nationally recognized for our commitment to global experiences and cultural competence through our innovative Global Opportunities (GO) program.

Mission

We educate students for productive, creative, and reflective lives of achievement, leadership, and service in a diverse, dynamic and interdependent world.

Academics

You'll choose from more than 100 majors and minors, as well as pre-professional programs and an interdisciplinary honors program.

The School of the Arts, School of Humanities, School of Natural & Social Sciences and the AACSB accredited Sigmund Weis School of Business offer Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Music degrees.

You'll benefit from our exceptional faculty and small classes that facilitate participation. Our innovative curriculum encourages breadth and depth of study as you develop your skillset, and participation in our Global Opportunities program develops your cultural competence.

In essence, the world is open to you when you choose Susquehanna University.

Susquehanna is an accredited, not-for-profit institution which means that our programs are both certified and recognized for their excellence. Our accreditations include the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), the American Chemical Society, and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. We're also a member of the Annapolis Group, an organization of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges.