COURSE CURRICULUM

The Master of Music (MM) in Composition at Wichita State University is a 32-credit-hour graduate program designed to provide advanced training in music composition, theory, analysis, and research, with an emphasis on developing both creative originality and scholarly understanding. Students entering the program are required to complete a music theory assessment and are placed into appropriate entry-level theory coursework, ensuring readiness for advanced study. At least half of the total credits must be completed in courses numbered 700 or above, reinforcing the program’s graduate-level academic rigor. Core requirements for all MM students include MUSC 852 Introduction to Bibliography and Research along with either MUSC 829 Practical Application of Tonal Analysis or MUSC 831 Music Theory Pedagogy, which provide foundational training in research methods and theoretical approaches. Students also complete 7 credit hours of musicology and theory electives, selecting from areas such as musical form and analysis, performance analysis, music in media, popular music studies, aesthetics, global musics, identity studies, and advanced seminars in music theory and history. The composition component includes applied composition study through MUSC 860 Advanced Composition, which is repeatable for credit, along with MUSC 875 Thesis Research and MUSC 876 Thesis, ensuring sustained engagement with original creative work. Students further complete 4 credit hours of specialized composition-related coursework, choosing from topics such as music technology, counterpoint, orchestration, choral arranging, and composition for film and games. An additional 8 credit hours of electives may be selected from approved music or non-music graduate courses, including applied lessons, ensembles, or language study, with advisor approval. A major requirement of the program is the completion of a substantial original composition as a terminal thesis project, which may require public performance and must be submitted in professional notation format. The applied learning requirement is fulfilled through the thesis, ensuring students demonstrate professional-level creative and academic achievement.