Composition

The application fee for the USC Graduate application is $90. Application fee waivers are available to qualified applicants, and must be requested before submitting the USC Graduate Application. If you plan to apply for a waiver of the USC Graduate Application fee, please do so at least two weeks before the application deadline. The deadline will not be extended for applicants who fail to request a fee waiver in time. Details and instructions can be found here.

All Thornton graduate applicants must upload transcripts into both the USC Graduate Application (Liaison) AND Thornton SlideRoom Application. The transcript submission deadline is December 1st. Please carefully read the instructions below.

Step 1– You must obtain official transcripts from the registrar’s office of each of your prior institutions before you can complete and submit the application forms. This may take some time, please plan accordingly.

Step 2– Upload Scans (PDF format) of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended into the “Academic History” section of the USC Graduate application (Liaison).

Step 3– Upload Scans (PDF format) of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended into the SlideRoom application where indicated.

Unofficial transcripts or documents printed from an on-line student system will not be accepted. Failure to upload scans of official transcripts in both application forms may significantly delay the release of a final admission decision.

When completing the USC Graduate application, it is important to pay special attention to the following items that you will find in the “program materials” section of the application:

• Thornton SlideRoom portal – A link to access the Thornton SlideRoom portal will be provided in this section.
• The Documents tab – Documents submitted in this section will not be accessible to the Thornton faculty. Thornton faculty will only be able to review documents submitted via the Thornton SlideRoom portal. In order to complete this section, you must check the box indicating that you do not wish to upload documents in this section.
• The Questions tab – Enter your SlideRoom Confirmation number where indicated (you will receive your SlideRoom confirmation number upon submission of the SlideRoom form).

Click here for important additional requirements and instructions.

A link to the SlideRoom portal is located inside the USC Application for Graduate Admission, in the “Program Materials” Section.

The SlideRoom application fee is $25 (fee waivers are not available). Thornton supplemental materials will not be accepted via mail or email.

The SlideRoom form must be submitted before the USC Application for Graduate Admission (Applicants can start both forms and work on them at the same time). Once SlideRoom is submitted, you will need to enter your SlideRoom confirmation number into the “Questions” tab, also located in the “program materials” section of the USC Graduate application.

Applicants in composition must submit three works that best illustrate the breadth of their artistry. Each submitted work, regardless of genre and style, must include a recording (audio and/or video documentation or demo, MIDI and proof-of-concept is acceptable) and an accompanying document as appropriate (for example: score, performance documentation, lyrics, production explanation, code, etc.).

For pieces with no notated score, it is recommended that the accompanying document briefly contextualize the work and highlight some technical and aesthetic elements involved in the creative process.

Please Note: Compositions and recordings will not be accepted via mail or email for this program. All 3 Compositions with their Recordings must be submitted online through the “Fall SlideRoom portal” by the December 1st deadline. Any application not complete by December 1 may be removed from consideration.

The résumé should list musical, professional, and academic experience and is generally 1-2 pages in length. This should specifically note conducting experience.

For applicants to the composition program, a list of works you have created should be submitted instead of a traditional repertoire list.

Graduate applicants are encouraged to prepare a brief statement of their professional goals, as well as their purpose in applying for the Composition program. The Statement of Purpose is typically 1-2 pages in length.

All Thornton graduate applicants must upload transcripts into both the USC Graduate Application (Liaison) AND Thornton SlideRoom Application. The transcript submission deadline is December 1st. Please carefully read the instructions below.

Step 1– You must obtain official transcripts from the registrar’s office of each of your prior institutions before you can complete and submit the application forms. This may take some time, please plan accordingly.

Step 2– Upload Scans (PDF format) of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended into the SlideRoom application where indicated.

Step 3– Upload Scans (PDF format) of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended into the “Academic History” section of the USC Graduate application (Liaison).

Unofficial transcripts or documents printed from an on-line student system will not be accepted. Failure to upload scans of official transcripts in both application forms may significantly delay the release of a final admission decision.

1-3 recommendation letters are required from graduate Composition applicants (except DMA, see below). Recommendation letters are to be submitted online through the Thornton SlideRoom portal via the “References” section by December 1. We cannot guarantee the review of any material received after December 1.

Special Instructions for DMA Applicants: 

DMA applicants, including current Thornton students, are required to submit 3 letters of recommendation, which should address not only the applicant’s musical talents but their potential to thrive in a rigorous musical and academic environment in which they will construct a path of study that includes three fields in addition to their major area.  At least one recommendation letter should be from a professor who has assessed a major research or analytical paper that the applicant has written.

A “Doctoral Introductory Video” must be submitted through SlideRoom by December 1st.

USC Thornton recognizes that DMA and PhD graduates are expected not only to be elite performers and scholarly experts in their fields, but also exceptional and versatile teachers, inspiring and innovative leaders, and consummate musicians with strong complementary skills. This is a tall order, and it necessitates a well-honed individualized academic portfolio. To this end, USC Thornton requires every Doctoral student to declare, in addition to the major field, an academic field and two elective fields, one of which may be a field outside of music. The purpose of this multidisciplinary approach is to support each student’s personal and artistic development in a way that will be well-aligned with her/his professional goals.

As a reflection of the individualized nature of the USC Thornton Doctoral programs, DMA and PhD applicants are required to submit a single-take, unedited, and preferably unscripted video of no more than four minutes. The DMA program at Thornton aims to nurture and build a community of Artist-Scholars and Scholar-Artists.  What does this term mean to you? And what are your goals in pursuing this degree? What academic and elective areas would you be interested in pursuing beyond your major? 

Information about the DMA curriculum, including academic and elective field options can be found here. 

DMA applicants to Composition must take Thornton’s Graduate Academic Admission Examination. The examination will be administered via an online platform on January 18, 2025 from 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific Standard Time. Applicants will receive materials to be reviewed in preparation for the exam about two weeks prior to the exam date. Additional details will be sent in mid-December to those applicants who are required to take the exam.

This written examination reflects the types of critical inquiry with which graduate-level courses at USC Thornton engage. The examination will be assessed by academic faculty as a measure of an applicant’s readiness for the academic rigors and multi-disciplinary structure of Thornton graduate programs. This assessment will be one of several important components considered by the faculty in order to reach a final admission decision for each applicant.

The examination will be administered in two sequential sections:

1. Conceptual Essay: Applicants will be given an essay prompt about an issue or issues in the music profession today. Applicants will be asked to write a short essay exploring various aspects of the topic(s) introduced by the prompt, responding to specific questions and drawing on their own experience, knowledge, and opinions as appropriate.
2. Analytical Essay: Applicants will be given a scholarly/literary text on a music-related topic. Applicants will be asked to respond in essay form to a series of analytical questions relating to the text provided. The analytical issues may concern basic music theory (possibly with reference to a short example in musical notation), music history, and/or aesthetics.

It is important to note that Thornton’s Graduate Academic Admission Examination is not an examination for which students are generally able to study or prepare. It is not designed to examine factual knowledge, but rather the ability to think analytically and express critical thought in academic language, as this is the type of work that is required for graduate-level academic courses at USC Thornton. While the content of Thornton’s Graduate Academic Admission Examination may be drawn from a wide range of scholarly sources, it may be helpful to refer to the following publications by our own faculty:

• Barrett, Janet & Webster, Peter: The Musical Experience: Rethinking Music Teaching and Learning.
• Brown, Bruce: W. A. Mozart: Così fan tutte (Cambridge Opera Handbook)
• Coppola, William, Herbert, David, & Campbell, Patricia: World Music Pedagogy: Teaching World Music in Higher Education.
• Demers, Joanna: Anatomy of Thought-Fiction: CHS Report, April 2214
• Foster, Kenneth J: Performing Arts Presenting: From Theory to Practice
• Garcia Corona, León: & Wiens, Kathy: Voices of the Field: Pathways in Public Ethnomusicology.
• Gordon, Stewart: Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas: A Handbook for Performers
• Nye, Sean: “Sprockets + Autobahn: Kraftwerk Parodies, German Electronic Music, and Retro Dreams in Amerika.” In Dreams of Germany: Musical Imaginaries from the Concert Hall to the Dance Floor. Neil Gregor and Thomas Irvine, eds.
• Page, Tim: On Music: Views and Reviews
• Russo, Frank, Ilari, Beatriz, & Cohen, Annabel: Routledge Companion of Interdisciplinary Research in Singing
• Simms, Bryan: The Atonal Music of Arnold Schoenberg, 1908-1923
• Sloan, Nate. Switched on Pop (blog with Charlie Harding). http://www.switchedonpop.com.
• Vest, Lisa: Awangarda: Tradition and Modernity in Postwar Polish Music

Applicants to the Thornton School will be required to complete and upload the following form in SlideRoom:

• Consent and Release Form (if applicant is under 18 years of age by December 1, 2024)

For helpful Slideroom media upload troubleshooting tips, please click here.