Professional Studies Certificate in Composition

Department

Program Overview

Boston Conservatory at Berklee offers a Professional Studies Certificate (P.S.C.) for advanced musicians who want to spend a year focused exclusively on compositional study. This specialized program provides high-level training for students who have completed their bachelor’s or master’s degree, and wish to continue honing their artistry through intensive-study portfolio building. By design, the curriculum does not include classroom work, so that students may dedicate their time to composing, studying, securing performances, and professional networking.

Performance Opportunities

P.S.C. composition students receive weekly personalized lessons with their Conservatory instructor and are expected to attend the weekly composition seminar. They are also expected to meet the same artistic requirements as all of our degree candidates, and have access to the same performance opportunities for their work, including the composer recital series, large ensembles, and guest ensembles and performers. In addition, P.S.C. students have a number of elective credits that can be applied to a wide array of course offerings.

In addition, P.S.C. students are encouraged to take advantage of the Conservatory’s prime location in Boston by auditioning for local ensembles and participating in music competitions and professional music societies. This provides an excellent opportunity for students to build real-world experience and strong professional networks, so that they are better poised to land the roles they desire upon graduation.

Course Requirements

What You Will Learn

Upon successful completion of the P.S.C. in Composition, students will:

communicate clearly and effectively as creative musical artists, as a result of private instruction, coursework, and artistic collaborations with their peers and guest artists, along with exposure to a wide variety of contemporary styles;
clearly and accurately notate their musical ideas using conventional musical notation as well as unconventional and graphic notation;
present a portfolio of video and audio recorded performances of their music; and
speak and write clearly and concisely about their work to audiences of varying familiarity with new musical compositions (i.e., speaking during performances, creating program notes, and presenting work to their peers in seminars and studio classes, as well as to the faculty during juries).

How to Apply(Opens in a new window)

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