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2024 Best Music Schools in North Carolina

15 Colleges in North Carolina
511 Music Degrees Awarded
$22,568 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 looked at 15 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Music Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 511 degrees in music to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in North Carolina 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

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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

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 North Carolina Schools in Music

1
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In NC

Duke University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in music. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.

There were roughly 13 music students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Duke University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Music Degrees Awarded
$25,813 Median Starting Salary

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in music. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #43 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.

There were approximately 50 music students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the music major at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill get $3,245 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
41 Music Degrees Awarded
$21,115 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in music has to look into University of North Carolina School of the Arts. UNCSA is a small public university located in the city of Winston Salem.

There were approximately 41 music students who graduated with this degree at UNCSA in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, music degree recipients usually make around $21,115 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina School of the Arts

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Music Degrees Awarded
$25,186 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of North Carolina at Greensboro if you wish to pursue a degree in music. UNC Greensboro is a large public university located in the large city of Greensboro. This university ranks 12th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 86 music students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent year we have data available. Music degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Greensboro earn a boost of around $2,618 above the typical income of music majors.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina at Greensboro

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In NC
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #378 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNC Charlotte is a great university overall.

There were roughly 24 music students who graduated with this degree at UNC Charlotte in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina at Charlotte

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
41 Music Degrees Awarded
19.5% Growth in Graduates

WCU is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Cullowhee. This university ranks 17th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 41 music students who graduated with this degree at WCU in the most recent data year. After graduating, music degree recipients usually earn an average of $23,792 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in music from Western Carolina University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NC
41 Music Degrees Awarded

ECU is a very large public university located in the small city of Greenville. A Best Colleges rank of #414 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.

There were about 41 music students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from East Carolina University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$19,708 Median Starting Salary
$25,012 Median Student Debt

Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #445 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Appalachian State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 19 music students who graduated with this degree at Appalachian State in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn about $19,708 for their early career.

More information about a degree in music from Appalachian State University

9
Meredith crest
Meredith College
Raleigh, NC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
26th Most Popular In NC

Meredith is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Raleigh. A Best Colleges rank of #517 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Meredith is a great college overall.

There were roughly 4 music students who graduated with this degree at Meredith in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Meredith College

9
High Point crest
High Point University
High Point, NC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
33rd Most Popular In NC

Located in the medium-sized city of High Point, High Point is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 18th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 2 music students who graduated with this degree at High Point in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from High Point University

Best Music Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Music Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 453
Florida 282 1,204
Virginia 274 629
Tennessee 269 803
South Carolina 248 203
Kentucky 244 278
Louisiana 242 315
Mississippi 234 181
Arkansas 234 175
Alabama 233 276
West Virginia 207 93

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 248
Music Performance 232
Musicology & Ethnomusicology 9
Music Technology 8
Voice Performance 5
Jazz Studies 4
Music Pedagogy 3
Music Theory & Composition 1
Other Music 1

View All Music Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 2,174
Fine & Studio Arts 725
Drama & Theater Arts 498
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 261
Dance 125
Arts & Media Management 119
General Visual & Performing Arts 73
Other Visual Art 12
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 10

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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