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2024 Best Music Schools in Minnesota

11 Colleges in Minnesota
269 Music Degrees Awarded
$26,587 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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 11 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Schools in Minnesota ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 269 degrees in music during the 2021-2022 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in Minnesota 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

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 Minnesota. 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 Minnesota

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 Minnesota Schools in Music

1
St. Olaf crest
St Olaf College
Northfield, MN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Music Degrees Awarded
$24,029 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat St Olaf College if you want to pursue a degree in music. St. Olaf is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Northfield. A Best Colleges rank of #190 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means St. Olaf is a great college overall.

There were about 47 music students who graduated with this degree at St. Olaf in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn an average of $24,029 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in music from St Olaf College

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Music Degrees Awarded
$27,439 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in music has to take a look at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #51 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.

There were about 66 music students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities 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 $27,439.

More information about a degree in music from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MN
20.0% Growth in Graduates

University of Minnesota - Duluth is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in music. UMN Duluth is a medium-sized public university located in the small city of Duluth. A Best Colleges rank of #328 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMN Duluth is a great university overall.

There were roughly 20 music students who graduated with this degree at UMN Duluth in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from University of Minnesota - Duluth

4
Hamline crest
Hamline University
Saint Paul, MN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In MN

It is hard to beat Hamline University if you wish to pursue a degree in music. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Hamline is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #365 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Hamline is a great university overall.

There were approximately 5 music students who graduated with this degree at Hamline in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Hamline University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In MN

Winona State is a medium-sized public university located in the distant town of Winona. A Best Colleges rank of #408 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Winona State is a great university overall.

There were about 3 music students who graduated with this degree at Winona State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Winona State University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MN
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Moorhead, Concordia College Moorhead is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 20th out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were approximately 4 music students who graduated with this degree at Concordia College Moorhead in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Concordia College at Moorhead

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In MN
14.3% Growth in Graduates

St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Saint Cloud. This university ranks 24th out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 7 music students who graduated with this degree at St. Cloud State University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Saint Cloud State University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In MN

Located in the remote town of Bemidji, Bemidji State University is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 35th out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 8 music students who graduated with this degree at Bemidji State University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Bemidji State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In MN

Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #351 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Minnesota State Mankato is a great university overall.

There were approximately 3 music students who graduated with this degree at Minnesota State Mankato in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Minnesota State University - Mankato

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
26th Most Popular In MN
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the town of Winona, SMU MN is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were approximately 2 music students who graduated with this degree at SMU MN in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Best Music Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Missouri283359
Kansas266189
Iowa264227
Nebraska238129
North Dakota21076
South Dakota20433

View All Rankings >

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

Music Focus Areas

MajorAnnual Graduates
General Music212
Music Performance36
Music Theory & Composition8
Other Music8
Music Technology4
Jazz Studies1

View All Music Focus Areas >

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts697
Fine & Studio Arts468
Drama & Theater Arts216
Film, Video & Photographic Arts160
General Visual & Performing Arts87
Arts & Media Management28
Dance24

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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