College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Music Schools in the New England Region

39 Colleges in the New England Region
2,151 Music Degrees Awarded
$24,789 Avg Early-Career Salary
Music is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #43 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 39 schools in the New England Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of music. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,151 degrees in music during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in the New England Region Your choice of music school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Music School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Music Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Music
Bachelor's Degrees in Music
Master's Degrees in Music
Doctor's Degrees in Music

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Music Schools in the New England Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Music in the New England Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the music degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top New England Region Schools in Music

1
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
141 Music Degrees Awarded
$20,839 Median Starting Salary

Yale University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in music. Located in the city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.

There were roughly 141 music students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the music program make about $20,839 for their early career.

More information about a degree in music from Yale University

2
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In NH

Dartmouth College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in music. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the town of Hanover. A Best Colleges rank of #25 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.

There were roughly 8 music students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Dartmouth College

3
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
109 Music Degrees Awarded
$29,744 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Boston University if you wish to pursue a degree in music. Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 109 music students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the music program at Boston University make $4,955 above the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in music from Boston University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In MA
35.3% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in music needs to look into Brandeis University. Located in the small city of Waltham, Brandeis is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 14th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were roughly 17 music students who graduated with this degree at Brandeis in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Brandeis University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CT
41 Music Degrees Awarded

Located in the large suburb of Storrs, UCONN is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #86 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCONN is a great university overall.

There were approximately 41 music students who graduated with this degree at UCONN in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from University of Connecticut

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
692 Music Degrees Awarded
$22,615 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Boston, Berklee College of Music is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

There were about 691.9999999999999 music students who graduated with this degree at Berklee College of Music in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn around $22,615 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in music from Berklee College of Music

7
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In RI
32 Music Degrees Awarded

Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were about 32 music students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Brown University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
241 Music Degrees Awarded
$15,765 Median Starting Salary

The New England Conservatory of Music is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.

There were about 241 music students who graduated with this degree at The New England Conservatory of Music in the most recent data year. After graduation, music degree recipients generally make an average of $15,765 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in music from The New England Conservatory of Music

9
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In MA
21.7% Growth in Graduates

Tufts is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Medford. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Tufts is a great university overall.

There were about 23 music students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Tufts University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Music Degrees Awarded
$27,530 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Amherst, UMass Amherst is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #81 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMass Amherst is a great university overall.

There were approximately 55 music students who graduated with this degree at UMass Amherst in the most recent year we have data available. Those music students who get their degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst earn $2,741 more than the standard music graduate.

More information about a degree in music from University of Massachusetts Amherst

Best Music Colleges by State

Explore the best music colleges for a specific state in the New England Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Massachusetts 301 1,405
Connecticut 241 420
New Hampshire 210 46
Maine 202 55
Rhode Island 200 72
Vermont 194 63

View All Rankings >

Music is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Music Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Music 585
Music Performance 494
Other Music 361
Music Theory & Composition 248
Stringed Instruments 123
Voice Performance 79
Keyboard Instruments 77
Jazz Studies 54
Music Pedagogy 36
Music Technology 24

View All Music Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 2,034
Design & Applied Arts 1,952
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,367
Drama & Theater Arts 985
Arts & Media Management 393
General Visual & Performing Arts 271
Dance 172
Other Visual Art 69
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art 9
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 6

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options