MFA: Music Composition for the Screen
Program Overview
The Columbia College Chicago Music Composition for the Screen program offers one of the nation's few advanced degrees in music composition for film, television and other visual media.
Music Composition for the Screen offers the training needed to enter the profession with with creative and technical skills which would otherwise have to be acquired on the job, providing a genuine point of entry into this highly competitive field. Students will:
• learn from working professionals
• learn on industry-standard equipment
• build a professional portfolio of film scoring samples

The final semester in Los Angeles offers students a real-world experience in preparing an original film score for live recording with a studio orchestra, augmented by intensive tutorials in conducting to picture, video game scoring, and career development. The workshop experience is enhanced by direct exposure to the profession through industry internships and enlivened by face-to-face encounters with representatives of the craft, including composers, agents, and studio executives. Among those who have contributed to our program in the past are composers Danny Elfman, Don Davis, and David Newman, studio music heads Chris Montan, Robert Kraft and Paul Broucek, and composer agents Robert Messinger and Maria Machado. The thesis is a score for an advanced level Columbia College film or video project, written, produced, and conducted by the graduating composer with the assistance of industry veterans.
Using an interdisciplinary curriculum that draws upon the resources of five academic departments (Music, Film and Video, Audio Arts and Acoustics, Theater and Television), the program incorporates all related aspects of music production from composing and orchestration to in-studio recording and mixing. It is a fifty-four credit hour program that full-time students can finish within two years.
Application materials and college information may be obtained from:
The Graduate Office
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60605-1996
Phone: 312-344-7260
Email: gradsch@colum.edu
Web: http://www.colum.edu/Academics/Graduate_Study/
To hear an example of what can be accomplished as an MFA Music Composition for the Screen candidate, click on these MP3 links:
1. Daniel Vendt (Twilight Zone: Little Girl Lost)
2. Erin Poovey* (Twilight Zone: Little Girl Lost)
*Erin Poovey is the winner of the 2007 ASCAP Henry Mancini National Scholar Award.
The Columbia College Chicago Music Composition for the Screen program offers one of the nation's few advanced degrees in music composition for film, television and other visual media.
Music Composition for the Screen offers the training needed to enter the profession with with creative and technical skills which would otherwise have to be acquired on the job, providing a genuine point of entry into this highly competitive field. Students will:
• learn from working professionals
• learn on industry-standard equipment
• build a professional portfolio of film scoring samples

The final semester in Los Angeles offers students a real-world experience in preparing an original film score for live recording with a studio orchestra, augmented by intensive tutorials in conducting to picture, video game scoring, and career development. The workshop experience is enhanced by direct exposure to the profession through industry internships and enlivened by face-to-face encounters with representatives of the craft, including composers, agents, and studio executives. Among those who have contributed to our program in the past are composers Danny Elfman, Don Davis, and David Newman, studio music heads Chris Montan, Robert Kraft and Paul Broucek, and composer agents Robert Messinger and Maria Machado. The thesis is a score for an advanced level Columbia College film or video project, written, produced, and conducted by the graduating composer with the assistance of industry veterans.
Using an interdisciplinary curriculum that draws upon the resources of five academic departments (Music, Film and Video, Audio Arts and Acoustics, Theater and Television), the program incorporates all related aspects of music production from composing and orchestration to in-studio recording and mixing. It is a fifty-four credit hour program that full-time students can finish within two years.
![]() | For Further Information: Program Office Music Composition for the Screen Columbia College Chicago 600 S. Michigan, Chicago, IL 60605-1996 Phone: 312-344-6457 Email: gradmusic@colum.edu Web: colum.edu/screenmusic |
The Graduate Office
Columbia College Chicago
600 S. Michigan, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60605-1996
Phone: 312-344-7260
Email: gradsch@colum.edu
Web: http://www.colum.edu/Academics/Graduate_Study/
To hear an example of what can be accomplished as an MFA Music Composition for the Screen candidate, click on these MP3 links:1. Daniel Vendt (Twilight Zone: Little Girl Lost)
2. Erin Poovey* (Twilight Zone: Little Girl Lost)
*Erin Poovey is the winner of the 2007 ASCAP Henry Mancini National Scholar Award.


















MFA: Music Composition for the Screen

