Future film composers flock to Chicago
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Students in Columbia's music composition program. Photo: Courtesy of Kristopher Carter
Chicago is home to a top-ranked graduate program for film composers — an unexpected foothold in an industry dominated by Los Angeles and New York.
Why it matters: "The Hollywood Reporter" named Columbia College Chicago's Music Composition for the Screen MFA program No. 1 in the world in 2025, an honor the school has received three times in more than a decade. The program has helped make Chicago a key pipeline for composers entering the industry.
How it works: A key differentiator of Columbia's two-year program from other schools is its practice-focused approach.
- Students at Columbia score entire films, shows and video games, not just short scenes provided by studios, program head Kubilay Uner tells Axios.
- This allows students to better understand the film's characters, story and flow.
- "You cannot score a scene without scoring the whole movie," Uner explains. "We do seven or eight full-length projects over the course of the two years and the last one, they really do the whole thing."
Plus, Columbia offers an undergraduate degree in film composing.
State of play: The alumni network at Columbia is strong, creating a pipeline for students to the industry. Some come back as composers in residence, like current composer Jesse Nelson, who's been the lead composer for "Star Wars" films.
- Plus, all students complete an internship in LA to gain real-world experience.
Between the lines: The threat of AI is not as drastic as young composers feared, Uner explains, "mostly due to legal considerations and restrictions."
What to listen to: Some recent films and TV shows Columbia alumni have worked on include the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" TV series and NCIS Los Angeles," as well as "LEGO Fortnite" and "How to Train Your Dragon."