Bachelor of Music in Composition

Cultivate creativity, refine your personal expression and study music’s viability in 20th century societal context with Temple University's Bachelor of Music (BM) in Composition-Music. Develop your musical thought in all media, including electroacoustic music and visual music. Temple’s Boyer College of Music and Dance fosters innovation, collaboration and trains students as they advance their craft and expressive effect.  

Immerse yourself in contemporary practices, theories and techniques through the study of postromantic music literature. The Department of Music Studies provides essential learning experiences for music students. The small student body enables close mentoring relationships to form with the composition faculty who are internationally performed composers. Hear your works performed through regular new student composition concerts. Listen to works of established 20th-century composers being performed by the New Music Ensemble and the Contemporary Music Ensemble. The city of Philadelphia offers tremendous opportunities to explore musical composition and performance year round.

Students seeking this full-time, 124-credit academic degree within the Boyer College of Music and Dance will have to complete Temple’s General Studies curriculum and take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses. In culmination, create a portfolio of musical compositions demonstrating notational fluency and talent in composing convincing and intelligible music.

Classes & Curriculum

The Bachelor of Music in Composition degree curriculum includes courses in

  • Composition,
  • Conducting,
  • Secondary Piano and
  • Theory.

Learn more about course specifics for the Bachelor of Music in Composition degree.

Related Graduate Degrees

Related Graduate Certificates

A student with a pencil in hand and sheet music in their lap.

Tuition & Fees

In keeping with Temple’s commitment to access and affordability, the Bachelor of Music offers a competitive level of tuition with multiple opportunities for financial support.

Tuition rates are set annually by the university and are affected by multiple factors, including program degree level (undergraduate or graduate), course load (full- or part-time), in-state or out-of-state residency, and more. You can view the full Cost of Attendance breakdown on the Student Financial Services website.

These tuition costs apply to the 2023–2024 academic year.

Pennsylvania resident: $20,616.00 per year
Out-of-state: $36,216.00 per year

BC-COMP-BMUS

Additional Program Information