Only current NYU Screen Scoring undergraduates can apply to the dual degree.
Earn your Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Screen Scoring in just five years. Apply to the dual degree program starting in your sophomore year, then start coursework that counts toward your master's degree during your junior year. You'll work closely with our faculty of internationally recognized media composers and industry professionals as you prepare for a career in screen scoring.
Degree Details
Official Degree Title
Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Music Theory and Composition: Screen Scoring
Format
Full-time
Credits
146
Start Date
Fall
Application Deadline
During your studies, you will:
- Master the technology required to work in the field of screen scoring (DAWs, sample libraries, synthesizers, game middleware) as you learn the aesthetics and techniques vital for creating music for the screen (film, documentaries, video games, TV and streaming, advertisement).
- Receive robust training in music theory and core classes, including theories for screen music, exploring the application of harmonic and melodic principles through a narrative lens.
- Become proficient in instrumentation and orchestration, taking at least four courses in the area. Practice your skills with guest performers, orchestral ensembles, and recording sessions that serve as laboratories for current industry practices.
- Take private composition lessons with well-respected film composers and industry professionals every semester.
- Participate in multiple performances and collaborations with New York University musicians and ensembles, featuring your live music set to the screen.
- Learn how to record and professionally produce top-quality demos with performing musicians through hybrid recording sessions designed to help you develop the versatile and skillful professional the industry now demands.
- Take more than 20 credits of electives to develop other areas of specialization, or to delve deeper into scoring.
In our program, we believe mentorship is one of the most efficient ways to help you develop your creative voice, skills, and professionalism. We believe in individualized attention to help you forge your unique academic path. This is why you will:
- Meet with an advisor to help you with your academic decisions and guide you through your studies and professional career. Work with them to define your specific career path and areas of interest.
- Have a very dedicated faculty and staff ready to assist you whenever needed. You will be mentored in the recording studio, and receive guidance when preparing portfolios, reels, and pitching as you learn how to network and collaborate. You will put these skills into practice as you meet and collaborate with students from New York’s top film and media programs.
- Have a private lesson every week with a dedicated industry mentor and professional media composer each semester of your studies.
- Have the opportunity to receive weekly feedback on your work from renowned composers, songwriters, publishers, and industry executives in New York City and beyond through our Composers’ Forum Fridays@1 Masterclass Series.
- Take advantage of internships with industry composers, professionals, and companies in New York and Los Angeles that will help you develop your professional skills and expand your career network beyond NYU.
In addition to your classes, our program will provide you with a wide range of opportunities and performances aimed to help you develop and connect you with the professional world:
- Every year, we connect our class with over 300 projects from the top film programs in New York, including the NYU Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, Columbia University School of the Arts, The School of Visual Arts, the Arthur L Carter Journalism Institute, the American University School of Journalism, the CUNY School of Journalism, the Columbia Journalism School, and the NYU Game Center.
- You will form professional relationships that will last beyond your studies, building a network of professional connections that will last post graduation.
- Through our Composers’ Forum Fridays@1 Masterclass series, we bring in professionals every week to discuss their process and critique your work.
- We organize more than 12 recording sessions every semester. You will record with ensembles ranging from soloists to full orchestral ensembles in our program recording sessions, advanced orchestration labs, and readings.
- Every year, we offer several opportunities to have your music performed live through our collaborations with NYU’s Contemporary Music Ensemble and our annual Film Scoring Competition, in which winners have their scores for NYU Tisch films performed live by the NYU Symphony Orchestra.
Our Composers Collective, a student-led organization, presents multiple concerts and informal events every semester designed to help you further connect with your peers and experience an entrepreneurial approach to concert planning.