by our College Data Analytics Team
If you’re a veteran, service member, or military-affiliated student looking to study music, general. at the Master’s Degree level, you’ve come to the right place. The list below highlights 72 programs that serve veteran music, general. students especially well, using our 2026 methodology.
We measure this ranking on the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students: affordability and veteran financial benefits (including GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon support), academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community. So you can compare your options, College Factual evaluated colleges nationwide, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ready to build your own comparison? Try our College Combat to build custom comparisons on the factors you care about most.
Narrow this ranking to a degree level below:
Learn more about these veteran-friendly music, general. colleges below:
Leading the list is University of Nebraska-Lincoln, our #1 music, general. college for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 91.2 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the music, general. program at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
University of Delaware came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the best music, general. colleges for veterans. It scores 91.1 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. Read more about music, general. at University of Delaware
A rank of #3 makes Ohio State University-Main Campus one of the top music, general. colleges for veteran students. The school's overall veterans score is 89.9 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. Read more about music, general. at Ohio State University-Main Campus
University of Georgia is a great choice for veterans pursuing music, general., landing the #4 spot this year. It scores 89.3 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. See the full music, general. report for University of Georgia
Veteran students seeking a strong music, general. program will find one at East Carolina University, which ranked #5. The school's overall veterans score is 88.2 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. See the full music, general. report for East Carolina University
University of Nevada-Las Vegas ranked #6 on our 2026 list of the best music, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 87.6 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0. More about the music, general. program at University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Stony Brook University ranked #7 on our 2026 list of the best music, general. colleges for veterans. Stony Brook University scores 87.1 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. More about the music, general. program at Stony Brook University
California State University-Long Beach placed #8 among the best music, general. colleges for veterans. California State University-Long Beach scores 86.7 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. More about the music, general. program at California State University-Long Beach
University of Florida ranked #9 on our 2026 list of the best music, general. colleges for veterans. University of Florida scores 86.4 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0. More about the music, general. program at University of Florida
University of Maryland-College Park landed the #10 spot for veterans pursuing music, general.. It scores 85.1 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. Read more about music, general. at University of Maryland-College Park
Texas Tech University ranked #11 on our 2026 list of the best music, general. colleges for veterans. Texas Tech University scores 84.8 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. Read more about music, general. at Texas Tech University
University of Central Florida came in at #12 for veteran music, general. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 84.7 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. Read more about music, general. at University of Central Florida
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee placed #13 among the best music, general. colleges for veterans. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee scores 84.7 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. Read more about music, general. at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University of California-Santa Barbara ranked #14 on our 2026 list of the best music, general. colleges for veterans. It scores 84.5 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the music, general. program at University of California-Santa Barbara
Illinois State University came in at #15 for veteran music, general. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 83.0 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. More about the music, general. program at Illinois State University
Texas State University came in at #16 for veteran music, general. students this year. It scores 83.0 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. More about the music, general. program at Texas State University
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities came in at #17 for veteran music, general. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 83.0 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the music, general. program at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
The University of Alabama came in at #18 for veteran music, general. students this year. The University of Alabama scores 82.4 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. See the full music, general. report for The University of Alabama
University of South Dakota ranked #19 on our 2026 list of the best music, general. colleges for veterans. It scores 82.2 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. Read more about music, general. at University of South Dakota
George Mason University came in at #20 for veteran music, general. students this year. It scores 82.2 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. Read more about music, general. at George Mason University
North Dakota State University-Main Campus landed the #21 spot for veterans pursuing music, general.. North Dakota State University-Main Campus scores 81.8 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. See the full music, general. report for North Dakota State University-Main Campus
University of Nevada-Reno ranked #22 on our 2026 list of the best music, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 81.7 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. More about the music, general. program at University of Nevada-Reno
University of South Carolina-Columbia placed #23 among the best music, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 81.6 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. More about the music, general. program at University of South Carolina-Columbia
Middle Tennessee State University landed the #24 spot for veterans pursuing music, general.. It scores 81.2 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. More about the music, general. program at Middle Tennessee State University
University of Iowa landed the #25 spot for veterans pursuing music, general.. The school's overall veterans score is 81.1 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. See the full music, general. report for University of Iowa
These music, general. colleges also placed near the top this year:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
Our ranking weighs the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students studying music, general.: affordability and veteran financial benefits (GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon), academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community.
These rankings are produced by College Factual, 2026 edition.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
