Media Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler, [email protected], (818) 677-2130
Once again, The Hollywood Reporter has named California State University, Northridge one of the top 20 music schools in the world, alongside such institutions at The Julliard School, Berklee College of Music, University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and Royal College of Music in England.
The publication singled out the media composition program as among the reasons why CSUN made the list, noting that students in the program “regularly record with top Los Angeles session players at professional studios … gaining real-world experience in the heart of the entertainment industry.”
“CSUN Music is thrilled to once again be honored by the Hollywood Reporter for our outstanding instruction in commercial and media music composition,” said A.J. McCaffery, chair of the Department of Music. “Our Director of Media Composition, Kyle Simpson, along with a team of experienced faculty, dedicate themselves tirelessly to our students and their success with care and enthusiasm. This recognition of the time, energy, and resources that the program provides for our composers-in-training is both humbling and heartening.”
To compile this year’s rankings, The Hollywood Reporter polled members of Hollywood’s Society of Composers and Lyricist, the Composers Diversity Collective and the music branches of both the Motion Picture Academy and Television Academy.
“Students gain invaluable educational experience through professional recording sessions, writing and arranging for the CSUN Studio Ensemble, and through the internships they complete during their final year,” said Kyle Simpson. “Our students are dedicated, curious, and driven, and it is a pleasure to watch them grow as musicians and composers throughout the program. We are also fortunate to have a host of inspiring educators to help guide our students.”
The Department of Music, part of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, offers more than a dozen different programs, each tailored to specific curricula to accommodate the different interests of the programs’ students. In addition to media composition, the department offers studies in performance, jazz studies, composition, and music industry studies, as well as music therapy and music education.
Just last month, Billboard included CSUN among its list of 2025’s top music business schools from across the country and around the world for the fourth consecutive year. The publication chose its top music business schools based on industry recommendations, alumni information by honorees on its power lists, years of reporting on educational options and information requested from the schools themselves.
In its listing for CSUN, Billboard singled out the university’s Music Industry Studies Program, which “offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to prepare students for diverse roles in the music industry.”
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