BM in Composition and Production
Columbia College Chicago — Chicago, IL
About this program
Columbia College Chicago's BMus in Composition and Production is the school's professional degree for composers and producer-composers who want to develop a creative voice at the professional level in both acoustic and digital composition. The program's emphasis is on modern and contemporary compositional techniques — specifically methods used by composers over the past 50 years — alongside arrangement, orchestration, and digital music production using industry-standard technology and equipment. Students complete rigorous coursework in composition, advanced arrangement and orchestration, and digital music production, while receiving private lessons in their primary performance area and participating in required ensembles. By senior year, students have a substantial portfolio of original compositions for various media. They also have the opportunity to interact with graduate students in Columbia's highly regarded **MFA in Music Composition for the Screen** program — led by **Kubilay Uner**, director of the program and a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — and to collaborate with Cinema and Television Arts students, giving their compositions real-world media applications. **Marcus Norris '14** (BA Music Composition; founder and musical director of LA's South Side Symphony) won the **2025 BMI Film, TV, and Media Award** for composing the score for AppleTV's *Lady in the Lake*, demonstrating the program's professional pipeline from undergraduate to industry-level composition.
Audition & application overview
- Requires a live or recorded audition
- Requires a dance audition
In Person
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