Overview

Over eight semesters, while completing the college’s core music curriculum, you’ll develop a creative approach to contemporary music compositions. Using the college’s state-of-the-art facilities, you will work with a diverse community of musicians, faculty, and industry professionals, gaining real-world experience while earning a bachelor's degree.

As a student majoring Songwriting at Berklee College of Music, you will develop skills in melody, harmony, and arranging as well as creative approaches to musical composition, lyric writing, and an individual writing style. You will choose a curriculum that focuses on both songwriting and performance, culminating in a portfolio of your original songs. If you are interested in writing songs for other artists, you will have the option of taking more arranging courses and you will learn studio and MIDI demo production techniques.

Key facts:

To demonstrate mastery of songwriting skills and concepts, you will complete a portfolio of several songs that typify various current practices of contemporary songwriters. The portfolio will include lead sheets, lyric sheets, and demonstration recordings of each of the songs, equivalent in production quality to those typically presented to music publishers, record producers, and record companies by professional songwriters.

Through the study of acknowledged masterpieces of the songwriter's art, you will develop the critical skills necessary to recognize and discuss quality elements in musical and lyrical structure. Interpersonal and situational skills will develop through the many collaborative situations that exist in the professional environment, such as cowriting songs both as composer and as lyricist, working with vocalists and instrumentalists in the production of demo recordings, and working with engineers, artists, and producers in the studio environment.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

Keyboard Techniques

Songwriting

Lyric Writing

DAW for Songwriters: Pro Tools

Guitar Techniques for Songwriting

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 48 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-01-20 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-07-01 00:00:00
Starting 2027-09-02 00:00:00
- Apply before 2027-01-15 00:00:00

Language

English

Duolingo English Test

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Credits

120 SCH

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Boston, United States

Disciplines

Music Creative Writing View 2679 other Bachelors in Music in United States

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

Duolingo English Test

120

Take A Free Practice Test!

TOEFL^® IBT

Schedule TOEFL®

PTE Academic

Schedule a PTE test!

IELTS

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

Application Form

Supporting Materials. Official transcripts from any high schools and colleges you’ve attended. If you are applying to the Bachelor of Arts program, you also must send a portfolio consisting of a résumé and cover letter.

Audition and Interview

Interested students should note that they must complete HR-112: Harmony 2 in order to take SW-211: Songwriting 1.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

52440 USD / year

≈ 52440 USD / year
Out-of-State

52440 USD / year

≈ 52440 USD / year
Domestic

Applies to you

In-State

52440 USD / year

≈ 52440 USD / year

Additional Details

Summer: $22,900

Living costs

Boston

United States

1560 - 3239 USD / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find Bachelor's scholarship opportunities for Songwriting.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

About

Overview

Key facts:

Programme Structure

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic

Additional Details

Living costs

Boston

Funding

Need help with your student visa?

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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