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2024 Best Music Schools in Tennessee

14 Colleges in Tennessee
831 Music Degrees Awarded
$27,086 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in music, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #43 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 14 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Schools in Tennessee ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 831 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 Tennessee Your choice of music school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for music schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Music Schools in Tennessee list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Music in Tennessee

The schools below may not offer all types of music degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Tennessee Schools in Music

1
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
44 Music Degrees Awarded
$26,788 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Vanderbilt University if you want to pursue a degree in music. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.

There were approximately 44 music students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program state that they receive average early career earnings of $26,788.

More information about a degree in music from Vanderbilt University

2
Belmont crest
Belmont University
Nashville, TN
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Music Degrees Awarded
$21,437 Median Starting Salary

Belmont University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in music. Belmont is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #206 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Belmont is a great university overall.

There were about 112 music students who graduated with this degree at Belmont in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program state that they receive average early career earnings of $21,437.

More information about a degree in music from Belmont University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Music Degrees Awarded
$31,581 Median Starting Salary

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in music. Located in the city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #173 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UT Knoxville is a great university overall.

There were roughly 66 music students who graduated with this degree at UT Knoxville in the most recent data year. Those music students who get their degree from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville make $4,494 more than the standard music grad.

More information about a degree in music from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
148 Music Degrees Awarded
29.1% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Middle Tennessee State University if you wish to pursue a degree in music. Middle Tennessee State University is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Murfreesboro. A Best Colleges rank of #866 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Middle Tennessee State University is a great university overall.

There were about 148 music students who graduated with this degree at Middle Tennessee State University in the most recent data year. Those music students who get their degree from Middle Tennessee State University receive $3,081 more than the average music grad.

More information about a degree in music from Middle Tennessee State University

5
Lee University crest
Lee University
Cleveland, TN

Located in the small city of Cleveland, Lee University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 15th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were roughly 30 music students who graduated with this degree at Lee University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program report average early career earnings of $28,791.

More information about a degree in music from Lee University

6
Lipscomb crest
Lipscomb University
Nashville, TN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In TN
22.2% Growth in Graduates

Lipscomb is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #577 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Lipscomb is a great university overall.

There were roughly 18 music students who graduated with this degree at Lipscomb in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Lipscomb University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In TN
22.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Nashville, TNU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 18th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were roughly 18 music students who graduated with this degree at TNU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Trevecca Nazarene University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
97 Music Degrees Awarded
28.9% Growth in Graduates

UofM is a very large public university located in the large city of Memphis. A Best Colleges rank of #748 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UofM is a great university overall.

There were about 97 music students who graduated with this degree at UofM in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, music degree recipients typically earn an average of $25,029 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in music from University of Memphis

9

UT Martin is a medium-sized public university located in the remote town of Martin. This university ranks 31st out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 17 music students who graduated with this degree at UT Martin in the most recent data year. Those music students who get their degree from The University of Tennessee - Martin receive $4,855 more than the typical music student.

More information about a degree in music from The University of Tennessee - Martin

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In TN
28.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 16th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 14 music students who graduated with this degree at UT Chattanooga in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

Best Music Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 453
Florida 282 1,204
North Carolina 279 488
Virginia 274 629
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 386
Other Music 151
Music Performance 140
Music Technology 87
Music Theory & Composition 16
Musicology & Ethnomusicology 14
Stringed Instruments 10
Woodwind Instruments 9
Brass Instruments 7
Voice Performance 5

View All Music Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Music

Related Major Annual Graduates
Arts & Media Management 602
Fine & Studio Arts 440
Design & Applied Arts 354
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 290
Drama & Theater Arts 251
General Visual & Performing Arts 57
Dance 19

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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