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2024 Best Music Performance Doctor's Degree Schools

27 Colleges in the United States
479 Doctor's Degrees
If you pursue a doctor's degree in music performance, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #53 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 27 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Performance Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 479 doctor's degrees in music performance during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Music Performance School for Your Doctor's Degree

Best Music Performance Doctor's Degree Schools Your choice of music performance for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality music performance program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for music performance students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Music Performance Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Music Performance Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Music Performance Doctor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Music Performance in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for music performance students seeking a a doctor's degree.

10 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Music Performance

1
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Annual Graduates

Michigan State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in music performance. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in music performance from Michigan State University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1 Annual Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in music performance. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a doctorate in music performance from University of Southern California

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in music performance. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.More information about a doctorate in music performance from Northwestern University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Annual Graduates

University of Rochester is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in music performance. Located in the city of Rochester, University of Rochester is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in music performance from University of Rochester

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
13 Annual Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in music performance. U-M is a very large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor.More information about a doctorate in music performance from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
37 Annual Graduates

IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the small city of Bloomington.More information about a doctorate in music performance from Indiana University - Bloomington

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
22 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in music performance from University of Wisconsin - Madison

7
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in music performance from New York University

8
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in music performance from University of Miami

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5 Annual Graduates

Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore.More information about a doctorate in music performance from Johns Hopkins University

Music Performance by Region

View the Best Music Performance Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 17 majors within the Music area of study, Music Performance has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Music Performance

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Music 538
Music Theory & Composition 65
Keyboard Instruments 44
Musicology & Ethnomusicology 41
Other Music 39
Conducting 33
Music Pedagogy 23
Stringed Instruments 19
Voice Performance 17
Music History 16

Notes and References

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