BA Music | Composition

Basel Academy of Music

Institut Klassik | Study Composition in the cultural city of Basel in the border triangle of Switzerland, Germany and France! As a platform for composition, contemporary performance, open creation, audio design and new music theory, sonic space basel offers an inspiring, collaborative environment with a wide range of networking opportunities and space for artistic creation.

Factsheet

Degree: Bachelor of Arts FHNW in Musik, Studienrichtung Komposition
Study mode: Full-time
Learning mode: Onsite
ECTS credits: 120
Duration: 6 semesters
Teaching language: B1 level in German required
Stay abroad: Possible
Application fee: 200 CHF
Semester fee: 750 CHF (CH) | 1000 CHF (EU/EFTA) | 1250 CHF (Not-EU/Not-EFTA)

At a glance

Composing with a view to numerous performance options and the best conditions for composer-performer collaborations
Developing and reflecting on your own language on the basis of a sound artistic education
Closely coordinated subjects and many elective/specialisation options

Why study this?

The FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major lays the educational foundations for a career as a professional composer.

The aim of the study programme is to nurture and produce versatile and multifaceted musical personalities. To this end, students will gain extensive experience in all areas of composition, learn to master different compositional techniques, and acquire the ability to critically assess their own artistic processes and output.

In addition to solid general music education knowledge and skills, students will be able to demonstrate the ability to analyse, as well as write and speak competently about the practice of music in general. They will also acquire a range of other skills that will qualify them for a career as a professional composer. A FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music constitutes pathway to postgraduate study, e.g. a Master’s degree programme.

The Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major is not a professional qualification. Those wishing to pursue a career as a professional composer must follow up their undergraduate studies with a Master’s degree programme in Composition or another programme that leads to the necessary professional qualification.

The FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major is an undergraduate degree programme aimed at students who wish to pursue a career as a professional composer.

Oleksandra Katsalap: Surface for Performer, Sound and Video (2024)

Winner Eduard Brunner Composition-Competition 2024

Oleksandra Katsalap: Surface für Performer:in, Sound und Video (2024)

Structure and programme contents

Students of the FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major acquire experience in all important aspects of composition. The study programme encompasses analyses of contemporary music and the reflective teaching of compositional techniques, as well as practical work in a variety of projects, such as workshops and concert performances of the students’ own works.

Modules and Reglements

The BA and MA degree programmes at the Basel Academy of Music are based on modules.

The legally binding structure provides an initial guide to the content and weighting of the subjects on the degree programme.
The detailed content and modalities of the individual subjects can be found in the module descriptions.
The study regulations come into force together with the study and examination regulations of the Basel Academy of Music FHNW and form the legal framework.

Structure

Module descriptions

Study Regulations

Lecturers

Composition

More details

Institut Klassik

HSM_Klassik_Dozierende_Hände_auf_Klavier_mit_Orchester25_Susanna-Drescher.jpg

All Lecturers

Requirements, admission, entrance exam

In order to enter the FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music programme with a Composition major, applicants must hold a school-leaving qualification (Baccalaureate, Professional Baccalaureate or equivalent) as well as they have to have passed the entrance exam and were offered a free place at the Academy (limited places). Applicants who have submitted all the necessary registration documents in time will be invited to the written exam by mail and the video meeting.
For further information on the admission criteria, please see the Study regulations of the Bachelor of Arts FHNW in Music (in German).

We expect students to have very good German language skills at the beginning of the studies. Students who are not German native speakers must present at least a B1 German language certificate according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) at the beginning of the studies. This certificate must be complete, i.e. all modules (reading, listening, writing, speaking) have been tested separately and passed at least at level B1 overall. Only certificates certified with the ALTE-Q-Mark seal of approval (e.g. the B1 certificate of the Goethe-Institut or the telc certificate) are accepted.

General Registration Procedure All about Studying in Basel