Musical Creators’ Graduate Certificate
The Musical Creators’ Graduate Certificate program is a full-time, two year intensive for emerging and aspiring musical theatre writers and multi-hyphenates.
We empower early-career musical theater creators by providing unique tools and insights into musical theater form from highly-experienced, top-level industry professionals.
With a cohort between 12 - 20 students, our boutique program is small enough to provide tailored attention and mentorship and large enough to provide ample collaborative opportunities.
We are committed to making our program as accessible as possible to creators with a range of backgrounds and resources.
Why MCI?
Ideal program size (12 - 20)
Fostering unique and exciting creative collaborations
Supporting individual artistic voices while providing a robust understanding of musical theatre form
Cultivating meaningful connections with top industry professionals
Highly competitive pricing
Providing students a rich understanding of “the business” and tangible tools to take control of their careers
Graduate with 2 completed works and culminating with a Tier I reading of your full-length musical
Viewing students as active partners in their education and curriculum
Faculty
Our faculty are highly-respected artists committed to creating what’s next in musical theater and passionate about teaching the next generation of musical theater creators.
Faculty includes: Adam Gwon, Zina Goldrich, Heath Saunders, Andrea Daly, Sam Carner, Kevin Hammonds, Marlo Hunter, Kent Nicholson, Emily Maltby, Andy Collopy, Michael Kooman and others.
Alumni Success
We are so proud of our students and alumni who are already out there making a splash in the theatre industry.
TAYLOR FAGINS - Write Out Loud Winner 2021
CHLOE GELLER - Write Out Loud Winner 2021, Some Like It Hot Broadway 2022, Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project Winner 2023, Harmony Broadway 2023
HAYLEY GOLDENBERG - NAMT Featured Lyricist 2023, Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project Winner 2023, NAMT Directing Observership 2022, Co-Founder of Women & Theatre Project
JONATHAN HOGUE - Off-Broadway & International Hit Musical Stranger Sings
JULIA SONYA KOYFMAN - NAMT Featured Lyricist 2023, Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project Winner 2023, NMI Search for New Musicals Winner 2022
MAKENA METZ - Songwriter of Hamster & Gretel (Disney)
IAN YAN - NMTC Eugene O'Neill NMTC Finalist 2022, The Harder They Come
JOE BARSANTI - Dramatists Guild Fellowship Recipient 2024
Program Philosophy
We believe in fostering a shared language between artists with diverse areas of specialization.
We prioritize creating a supportive, non-judgmental environment that encourages investigation, deep collaboration, and pursuit of artistic passion.
We value a rich exploration of musical theatre aesthetics and structure while encouraging students to test the limits of the form.
We consider all show concepts as viable and view our role as helping students to express their ideas with greater clarity and to build greater drama around their themes.
We commit to setting our students up for success by arming them with logistical tools and strategies as well as writing-adjacent skills that will help them take control of their careers.
Sam Carner (he/him)
- Program Director
Frequently Asked Questions
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We are centrally located in Midtown Manhattan with easy access to all major subway lines at the Dramatists Guild of America @ 1501 Broadway.
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$18, 500/year
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Students seeking financial aid and/or scholarships to attend MCI will have the opportunity to apply at the time of admission.
Financial Aid at MCI is determined based on a combination of need/merit. We welcome everyone to apply but special consideration will be given to BIPOC.
Further questions about financial aid & scholarships can be directed to scarner@musicalcreatorsinstitute.org
To apply, you will need to provide:
Last two years of taxes
Personal bank account balances
Parent/guardian last two years of taxes
Let us know whether you will need to relocate to attend the program
Write an essay (500 words or less) or create a video expressing need and interest
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Not at the moment, but we do have a network of alumni who are able to help our students find suitable housing. Many of our students choose to room together, and we can help students find roommates well in advance of the start of the program.
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Yes. However, MCI is able to connect students virtually in special/temporary circumstances.
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Yes. However, we recommend that students keep their hours under 20 per week as the MCI program is academically rigorous and requires 15 - 20 hours in-class and an additional 15 - 20 hours outside of class. We understand that many students need to work full-time in order to pay to live, so if that is your situation, we would love to strategize with you to figure out a way to make the program work for you.
Additionally, we encourage students to take advantage of meaningful professional/artistic opportunities when they come up and do what we can to help students balance their educational and career goals.
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The most successful of musical theatre creatives in the business come from a wide variety of backgrounds and we wish to reflect that at MCI.
MCI is not accredited because it allows us to:
Keep costs down for students
Hire musical theatre professionals with a variety of backgrounds and experiences
Remain agile and adapt to the needs of our students swiftly without the obstacle of bureaucracy
Make the program accessible to students who may not have had the access/opportunity to study in a post-secondary institution
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MCI follows a traditional academic calendar. The program will take place from September 2024 - May 2026.
Curriculum
Year One
Students take approximately 6 - 8 courses each semester (15 - 20 in class hours) in Musical Theatre Composition, Lyric Writing, Bookwriting and Collaboration (Core). Past classes have also included: Business of Musical Theatre, Comedy Writing, Orchestration, Storytelling and Song Structure, Point of View: Who Am I As An Artist, Working with Performers, Award Submissions, Musical Direction, Keyboard Skills, and others. The specific courses are tailored to the students’ individual interests and artistic needs.
In Core, our collaboration workshop/masterclass, students are paired with a variety of collaborators and write 8 - 10 songs and receive feedback from program director, Sam Carner and our rotating faculty panel (past panelists include: Laurence O’Keefe, Lonny Price, Kate Wetherhead and others)
In the second term, as a part of Core, students write a short musical. The first year of the program culminates with a reading presentation of these short musicals for invited industry professionals and friends of the program.
Students work 1-on-1 with a mentor each semester.
Year Two
Students take approximately 4 - 6 courses each semester (10 - 15 in-class hours) in Musical Theatre Composition, Lyric Writing, Bookwriting and Collaboration (Core). The specific courses are tailored to the students’ individual interests, and artistic needs.
In Core, our collaboration workshop/masterclass, students work with one team to create a full-length thesis musical.
The second year of the program culminates with a Tier-1 Industry reading presentation of thesis musicals for invited industry professionals and friends of the program.
Students work 1-on-1 with a mentor each semester.
Admissions
Admission Requirements
Everyone applying to MCI will need to provide us with:
A short bio
Statement of interest (500 words or less) OR a video expressing why you wish to join the program. If you are submitting a statement, this should be in pdf format and if you are submitting a video, please send us an unlisted Youtube link.
COMPOSERS & COMPOSER/LYRICISTS
3 - 4 contrasting songs reflecting the scope of your work
Submit demos in mp3 format
Please provide 1 - 2 sentences of context
If the song was a collaboration, please be clear about which parts are yours.
Optional: Please include scores if you have them. We encourage everyone to apply, regardless of aptitude with notation software. Notation ability will have no bearing on whether students are admitted to MCI.
LYRICISTS
3 - 4 contrasting lyrics reflecting the scope of your work
Submit the lyric in pdf format
Please provide 1 - 2 sentences of context
If the song was a collaboration, please be clear about which parts are yours.
Please include demo tracks if you have them.
BOOKWRITERS
10-page excerpt in pdf format
Please provide 1 - 2 sentences of context about the musical
MULTI-HYPHENATES
Please submit material in both categories (for example, if you are a bookwriter/lyricist, please submit 3 - 4 lyrics and a 10 page excerpt)
Important Dates & Timeline
February 16 - Online Info Session
3:00pm - 4:30pm
Click here to register!
February 19 - Online Info Session
7:00pm - 8:30pm
Click here to register!
March 4 - Online Info Session
7:00pm - 8:30pm
Click here to register!
March 10 - In-Person Meet & Greet
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Click here to register!
March 15 - Early Admission Deadline for Students
April 1 - Early Decision Application Deadline
April 30 - MCI Early Decision Day
June 1 - Regular Admission Deadline
June 30 - MCI Admission Decision Day
Want to know more about the MCI program? Join us at one of our info sessions to meet program director Sam Carner along with other students and alumni.
Online Info Sessions:
February 16 - 3:00pm - 4:30pm ET
February 19 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm ET
March 4 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm ET
In-Person Meet & Greet: March 10 - 7:00pm - 10:00pm ET @ the Dramatists Guild in NYC
Click here to register for an info session
Have Questions?
Let’s Chat.
Click here to set up a 1 on 1 call with program director, Sam Carner or program coordinator Hayley Goldenberg.