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2024 Best Music Schools in Kentucky

6 Colleges in Kentucky
303 Music Degrees Awarded
$28,080 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.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 6 schools in Kentucky to determine which ones were the best for music students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 303 degrees in music during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in Kentucky The music program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Music rankings. 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.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Music Degree Level

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

The music school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Music Schools in Kentucky. 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 Kentucky

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.

Top Kentucky Schools in Music

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 Music Degrees Awarded
16.7% Growth in Graduates

University of Kentucky is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in music. Located in the large city of Lexington, UK is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #230 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UK is a great university overall.

There were approximately 72 music students who graduated with this degree at UK in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the music degree program at University of Kentucky get $13,819 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in music from University of Kentucky

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Music Degrees Awarded
$18,907 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in music needs to look into University of Louisville. UofL is a very large public university located in the large city of Louisville. A Best Colleges rank of #338 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UofL is a great university overall.

There were about 46 music students who graduated with this degree at UofL 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 wages of $18,907.

More information about a degree in music from University of Louisville

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Music Degrees Awarded
24.3% Growth in Graduates

Morehead State University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Morehead State University is a moderately-sized public university located in the remote town of Morehead. This university ranks 18th out of 38 schools for overall quality in the state of Kentucky.

There were roughly 37 music students who graduated with this degree at Morehead State University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the music program at Morehead State University get $11,715 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in music from Morehead State University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In KY
34 Music Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Eastern Kentucky University if you want to pursue a degree in music. Located in the distant town of Richmond, Eastern is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 38 schools for overall quality in the state of Kentucky.

There were approximately 34 music students who graduated with this degree at Eastern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Eastern Kentucky University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$29,528 Median Starting Salary
$26,731 Median Student Debt

Murray State is a moderately-sized public university located in the remote town of Murray. This university ranks 9th out of 38 colleges for overall quality in the state of Kentucky.

There were about 26 music students who graduated with this degree at Murray State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn around $29,528 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in music from Murray State University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Music Degrees Awarded
7.9% Growth in Graduates

WKU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Bowling Green. This university ranks 7th out of 38 colleges for overall quality in the state of Kentucky.

There were about 38 music students who graduated with this degree at WKU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, music degree recipients generally make an average of $19,447 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in music from Western Kentucky University

7
NKU crest
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In KY
$26,803 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of Highland Heights, NKU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #716 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NKU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 8 music students who graduated with this degree at NKU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Northern Kentucky 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.

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Georgia287453
Florida2821,204
North Carolina279488
Virginia274629
Tennessee269803
South Carolina248203
Louisiana242315
Mississippi234181
Arkansas234175
Alabama233276
West Virginia20793

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Music has other similar majors worth exploring.

Music Concentrations

MajorAnnual Graduates
General Music194
Music Performance73
Music History14
Other Music12
Music Pedagogy5
Brass Instruments3
Voice Performance1
Music Technology1

View All Music Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Music

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts376
Drama & Theater Arts147
Design & Applied Arts125
General Visual & Performing Arts89
Arts & Media Management56
Film, Video & Photographic Arts54
Dance22
Other Visual Art6
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry5

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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