Screen Scoring tops ranking in The Hollywood Reporter for second year

USC Thornton’s Screen Scoring program has once again topped The Hollywood Reporter’s annual poll of the “Top 25 Music Schools for Composing for Film and TV.” Last year, the report placed Thornton at #1. This year, the school has swapped positions with last year’s #2, Julliard, noting, “Running virtually neck-and-neck with Juilliard is USC.”

“It’s probably one of the best in the country,” said legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier, a former USC Thornton faculty member. “It has so many applicants and the people that come there are really talented. We turn away hundreds of people every year because they’re very strict about who they [accept], and their teaching is very rigid, [so] the people who want to be there have to be there talent-wise and have to have love and dedication.” The article goes on to highlight USC’s direct access to the film and music industry, “making it a destination not only for local music students, but also for anyone seeking a path toward working in Hollywood.”