Both programs have a number of courses in common, especially in the first two years, and become much more specialized in the junior and senior years.

Studio composition students focus on the craft of composing. Studio production majors go into a more technical route, focusing on technology, capturing and manipulating sound, etc., with the expectation of working on the control room side of a recording studio setting.

Both programs are offered at the undergraduate level, but only studio composition is offered at the graduate level.