Part of the Department of Music Studies, the Music Composition program encourages in its students the development of creative musical thought and expression in all media, including electronic music, through studies of innovation and craft, research and expressive effect. Students become versed in contemporary practices, theories, and techniques through the study of contemporary music literature. Creativity, the development of personal expression through music, and assessment of music’s viability in contemporary society are focal points for composition majors.

Student composers receive high-quality performances and recordings of their music by a wide range of ensembles, including the New Music Ensemble and the Temple Composer’s Orchestra. Regular concerts of new compositions provide the essential experience of hearing their works performed, and allow them to gauge their own progress in relation to that of their peers.