Master of Composition (Guildhall Artist) | Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Course summary

Studying Composition at Masters level prepares you for professional life as a composer. It allows you to explore and refine your individual artistic voice within the collaborative atmosphere of a busy, modern conservatoire, while also giving you the space for self-reflection. The Master of Music in Composition (MMus) or Master of Composition [Guildhall Artist] (MPerf) is awarded to classical composition and students studying with the Electronic & Produced Music departments.

Guildhall School offers some of the most stimulating and creative training for composers in the UK. Studying composition at Masters level prepares you for professional life as a composer. It allows you to explore and refine your individual artistic voice within the collaborative atmosphere of a busy, modern conservatoire, while also giving you the space for self-reflection.

The programmes centre around weekly one-to-one Principal Study lessons. You will be allocated to one of the department’s distinguished faculty of composers, who will guide your creative participation on core projects across the year. The outcomes of core projects are all workshopped, rehearsed, publicly performed and recorded. Weekly composition seminars and open sessions support technical, aesthetic and professional development, and a choice of elective modules support specific aspects of your development.

Programme Structure
MMus – one year full-time/two years part-time
MComp – two years full-time or two years part-time and one year full-time
MMus/MComp is awarded to classical composition and students studying with the Electronic & Produced Music departments.

see the Electronic Music department page for more details on the principal study options available.

The MMus programme meets all the criteria for a Masters level (level 7) award and a student successfully completing their studies will be awarded a Master of Music (or a Postgraduate Diploma, according to the modules taken). This programme concentrates on the student’s intense activities in Principal Study, but also includes core Contextual Studies and a wide range of Elective opportunities.

The MComp shares the first year with MMus students, with the second year representing progression for the student in terms of depth and breadth of repertoire within a project-based structure that mimics, in a controlled environment, professional practice at the highest level. Students who successfully complete the programme will be awarded a Master of Composition (Guildhall Artist).

Entry requirements

Select a course option at the top of this page to view entry requirement information.

Fees and funding

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Course options

Sponsorship information

The School does its best to ensure that no student who is offered a place on merit is prevented from taking up that place on grounds of financial hardship and so a range of financial support is offered. The School offers a wide range of scholarships to students regardless of domicile. A scholarship award may be made to cover either the full cost of tuition fees or a fraction of them, and may include an element for maintenance. Awards are made by academic staff to individuals on the basis of their talent, their potential and their personal financial need. Applicants may be considered for a scholarship at audition and a scholarship may be given along with an offer of a place at the School. All students who accept a place at the School can also apply for scholarship support.