Course Description
The Master of Music Studies (Composition) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music is a four-semester coursework degree that focuses on the acquisition of high-level composition technique and incorporates an internship in a 'real world' organisation in your final semester. It provides the opportunity for those interested in composition, or with a background in composition, to develop their compositional style, technique and ideas within a rigorous musical environment.
This degree is based entirely upon coursework components that enable you to gain practical skills in composition. You have weekly composition lessons with a tutor and will take part in a specific composition class geared towards this degree. Composition skills you will acquire in this degree include the areas of compositional style, instrumentation, technology, performance genres and technique.
The Master of Music Studies also provides for the acquisition of skills useful to life as a professional composer, such as conducting, sound recording, research skills and concert curation. You will work on a weekly basis with student performers in the first two semesters, allowing you to try out new ideas and hear them immediately translated into sound.
There are no genre restrictions or guidelines as to music that students may create in this degree: this is negotiated between each student and their tutor. High-level notation and music theory skills are strongly recommended.
In contrast to the Master of Music (Composition) degree, composers in the Master of Music Studies degree are not required to write a thesis or dissertation. The Master of Music Studies (Composition) degree contains a greater degree of practical coursework components specifically relating to composition.
Discover more of the Composition and Music Technology study options at the University of Sydney.
Tuition Fees
Australian Fee Paying (AFP): $28,000 total course cost.
International Students: $33,000 per year full-time
Starting dates
March, July
Graduate Rating
Graduates of Creative Arts postgraduate courses at University of Sydney (USYD) rated their degrees as follows:
Teaching quality: 84.2% (national average 71.4%)
Improved skills: 81.6% (national average 75.2%)
Overall satisfaction: 71.1% (national average 75.9%)
The ratings above refer to the proportion of surveyed graduates who agreed with the statement about their postgraduate degree from University of Sydney (USYD). You can find out more about these results here.
Employment Outcomes
Graduates of Creative Arts postgraduate courses at University of Sydney (USYD) had the following employment outcomes:
Employed full time: (national average 68.5%)
Studying full time: 8.6% (national average 10.4%)
Median full time salary: (national average $63,700)
You can find out more about employment outcome results here.
Course codes
CRICOS Code: 090780K
University of Sydney (USYD) Code: MAMUSCPT2000
