Our program is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to thrive as a composer in both acoustic and electronic styles. Your coursework will include:
- Private Composition Lessons: Composing is a combination of science and art. You'll learn the science of counterpoint, harmony, form, texture and melody. Your imagination takes craft and transforms it into beautiful artistry.
- Music Performance: You’ll continue studying your principal instrument or voice and perform in various musical ensembles throughout your undergraduate degree.
- Piano Skills: Even if piano isn't your primary instrument, greater study of it will add depth to your musical toolkit and opens doors to new creative possibilities.
- Music Theory and Music History: Your required coursework will give you a solid foundation for placing your own musical creations in context.
- Capstone: Your capstone project will center on composition, allowing you to demonstrate your creative vision and artistic voice.
Tailor this major to your interests by taking one of these courses as you pursue your degree:
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MUSC 116:
Music in World Cultures
Examination of music from various cultures (e.g., Native America, South India, Japan, Africa) within their cultural contexts.
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MUSC 336:
Introduction to Digital Audio Workstation
Principles of Digital Audio Workstations. Students will be introduced to the key audio and MIDI concepts required to complete a DAW project from set-up to final mix-down.
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MUSC 358:
Experiential Music Ensemble
Small music ensemble that will explore a variety of global music. (May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credit hours.)
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MUSC 364:
Popular Music Analysis Seminar
This course examines the use of music in film and video games. Students analyze film and video game music with techniques learned in previous levels of theory and new techniques specific to this genre. They also utilize composition to get a hands-on understanding of how media composition works.
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MUSC 365:
Songwriting: Composition and Analysis
Students learn the craft of songwriting in this course. Students analyze selected songs from the 1700s to the present to understand the way the process of songwriting developed. They also study the ways in which the natural accents of speech and poetry line up with musical accents, learning how to effectively set text to music.
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MUSC 415:
Music Publishing
Development, commercial methods, scopes, and practices of the music publishing industry; copyrights acquisition, advancement, and protection. Topics include: history of the music publishing and related copyright regulations; royalties and licensing; performing rights; music publishing and television, film, commercials, musicals, video games, and other media; music publishing agreements; international music publishing.
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MUSC 459:
Film and Video Game Composition
Media composers are storytellers. Whether in film, television, podcasts, or video games, music and sound bring our digital worlds to life. This class explores approaches to producing work digitally for linear and non-linear mediums, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration with game designers, programmers, film directors, and other creative partners.
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ART 486S:
Intermediate Game Design
Key concepts that students explore are interactive and game design in three-dimensional spaces within both the physical computing and purely digital media. Students will establish a critical awareness of computer-controlled environments through programming, interactions development, game design, and game theory.
Take advantage of special options related to this major:
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Honors
Expand your curiosity — and enhance your curriculum — through the WVU Honors College. Two programs are offered: Honors Foundations for first-
and second-year students and Honors EXCEL for third- and fourth-year students.
Explore Honors
