Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List

Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and experiential learning in its 2025 ranking.

November 25, 2025

By

Tara Bellucci

Image by Kelly Davidson

The Hollywood Reporter has released its 2025 ranking of the worlds best music schools, and Berklee College of Music is once again featured in the list's top tier. The publication ranked the college number two among 20 schools and highlighted Berklee's Screen Scoring Department, led by chair Sean McMahon, as a leading program for students pursuing careers in film, television, and game composition.

The list also spotlights the Red Bull Scoring Challenge, which offers students the chance to create orchestral music for Red Bull's global music catalog. From hundreds of demo reels, seven Berklee students were selected to travel to Austria earlier this year, where their scores were recorded in Dolby Atmos at Vienna Synchron Stage. The resulting tracks appear on The Orchestrals II, an album distributed worldwide through BMG Production Music.

It means the world that Red Bull has opened its doors to Berklee, creating such a positive environment for creativity, said Teesa D'Agostino BM '25, one of the composers selected for the scoring challenge. This experience has been incredibly inspiring, and I am excited to continue collaborating with brands through composing, producing, orchestrating, and content creation as I move forward in my career.

To decide the rankings, the Hollywood Reporter polled the music branches of the Motion Picture Academy and Television Academy, Composers Diversity Collective, and the Society of Composers and Lyricists.

Listen to Sounds of Red Bulls The Orchestrals II:

Tara Bellucci is Berklees director of content strategy. She has been a writer, editor, and digital media consultant for over a decade.

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