As a Berklee jazz composition major, you’ll acquire significant technical skills and also begin to develop your voice as a jazz composer. Through the college’s rigorous core music program, you’ll receive the foundational training that will allow you to become a versatile musician. In this major, you’ll engage in critical analysis of a wide variety of music, compose and arrange for a variety of ensembles, and have the opportunity to hear your pieces performed, have access to state-of-the-art music facilities, and work with a large and diverse community of faculty, students, and industry professionals. You’ll gain real-world experience while earning a Bachelor of Music degree.

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Explore the Jazz Composition Program

Get a glimpse of what it's like working with a diverse community of professional jazz musicians, on stage and in the studio, all while gaining real world experience.

  • Financial Aid and Scholarships

    Learn about financial aid, scholarships, and others ways of paying for your Berklee education.

  • Study Abroad

    Study abroad at our Valencia, Spain, campus. It is recommended that jazz composition majors study in Valencia during their third, fourth, fifth, or sixth semester. For specific program information, please see the chair of your major or contact the study abroad office.

Alumni Story

Hiromi Uehara B.M. '03

Born in Hamamatsu, Japan, Hiromi Uehara B.M. '03 started piano lessons at age 6 with a teacher who taught her to focus on the intuitive side of the instrument as well as the technical. When she subsequently studied at the Yamaha School of Music, she had already learned about jazz pianists like Oscar Peterson and had written her own compositions.

Student Spotlight

Students Join Alejandro Sanz for Charity Concert

“Music is a perfect example of how diversity can make a system work better. Each culture has a different approach and complexity, but in all of them you can appreciate beauty." —Nacho González B.M. ‘16, Jazz Composition

Program Details