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2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k

263 Ranked Colleges
4,318 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor's For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 7,957 people earned their degree in music performance, making the major the 103rd most popular in the United States.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 4,318 music performance graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 263 colleges that offered a degree in music performance. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality music performance programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the music performance program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Music Performance Schools

The music performance 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 “Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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.

Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music Performance (Income $48-$75k)

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music performance degrees to 20 students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $6,452 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Music Performance at Northwestern

#16 in overall quality

Out of the 263 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Edinburg, Texas, this large public school awarded 7 degrees to qualified bachelors’s music performance students in 2019-2020.

UT Rio Grande Valley also took the #16 spot in our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is $6,405 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full UT Rio Grande Valley Music Performance Report

#3

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 263 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Johns Hopkins University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 52 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music performance students in 2019-2020.

Johns Hopkins not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $9,049 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Johns Hopkins.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Music Performance at Johns Hopkins

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 263 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #4 spot on the list. U-M is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It awarded 53 bachelors’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at U-M, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $10,028 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read full report on Music Performance at U-M

#5

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 263 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #5 spot on the list. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that handed out 11 bachelors’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k list, UNC Chapel Hill has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $11,060 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music Performance at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Top 15% in overall quality

University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on this list, UW Seattle is in the top on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category. It costs about $9,694 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UW Seattle.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UW Seattle Music Performance Report

#20 in overall quality

University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. UW - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison also took the #20 spot in our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison is $13,227 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Music Performance at UW - Madison

With a ranking of #8, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 20 degrees to qualified bachelors’s music performance students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Los Angeles is $5,644 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Performance at Cal State LA

Brigham Young University - Idaho came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Brigham Young University - Idaho is located in Rexburg, Idaho and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 37 bachelors’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for BYU - I is $6,287 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full BYU - I Music Performance Report

#10

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#10 in overall quality

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music performance students in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $13,081 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UCLA.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Performance at University of California - Los Angeles

#11

Hunter College

New York, New York

With a ranking of #11, Hunter College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in New York, New York, this large public school handed out 32 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music performance students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $6,894 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Hunter College.

The low student loan default rate of 4.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Performance at Hunter College

#12

Florida State University

Tallahassee, Florida
#23 in overall quality

Florida State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This large school is located in Tallahassee, Florida, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k list, Florida State has also earned the #23 rank in our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $10,583 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Florida State.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Read more about Music Performance at Florida State University

#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. UT Austin is located in Austin, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 bachelors’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

UT Austin not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at Austin is $15,757 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UT Austin Music Performance Report

Top 10% in overall quality

With a ranking of #14, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music performance degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on this list, UIUC is in the top on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $13,351 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Performance at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#15

University of Houston

Houston, Texas
#13 in overall quality

University of Houston ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Houston is located in Houston, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 27 bachelors’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

UH not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $12,505 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UH.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full UH Music Performance Report

#16

Truman State University

Kirksville, Missouri
#22 in overall quality

Truman State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #16. Truman State University is a small public school situated in Kirksville, Missouri. It awarded 5 bachelors’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Truman State, the school also landed the #22 spot in our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Truman State University is $12,031 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Music Performance at Truman State University

#17

St Olaf College

Northfield, Minnesota
#7 in overall quality

St Olaf College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. Northfield, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music performance degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k list, St. Olaf has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for St Olaf College is $17,577 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Performance at St Olaf College

#18

University of Central Florida

Orlando, Florida

University of Central Florida came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This large school is located in Orlando, Florida, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend University of Central Florida is $11,161 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Music Performance at UCF

California State University - Fullerton ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. California State University - Fullerton is located in Fullerton, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 33 bachelors’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

The yearly cost to attend Cal State Fullerton is $9,427 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Performance at California State University - Fullerton

The University of Texas at El Paso came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. UTEP is a large public school situated in El Paso, Texas. It awarded 6 bachelors’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at El Paso is $10,786 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full The University of Texas at El Paso Music Performance Report

#21

Texas State University

San Marcos, Texas
Top 15% in overall quality

Texas State University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in San Marcos, Texas, this large public school handed out 17 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music performance students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on this list, Texas State is in the top on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Texas State is $14,250 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Music Performance at Texas State University

#22

The University of West Florida

Pensacola, Florida

The University of West Florida did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #22. UWF is a fairly large public school situated in Pensacola, Florida. It awarded 9 bachelors’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $7,511 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend The University of West Florida.

Read more about Music Performance at UWF

#23

University of Wyoming

Laramie, Wyoming

With a ranking of #23, University of Wyoming did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Wyoming is located in Laramie, Wyoming and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for UW is $11,491 for bachelor’s degree music performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Wyoming Music Performance Report

#24

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana
Top 20% in overall quality

Indiana University - Bloomington came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Indiana University - Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 116 bachelors’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, IU Bloomington is also in the top of our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. The yearly cost to attend Indiana University - Bloomington is $12,060 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full IU Bloomington Music Performance Report

Top 20% in overall quality

Brigham Young University - Provo ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. BYU is located in Provo, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

On top of its placing in this ranking, BYU also did well on our “Best Music Performance Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. The estimated yearly cost for BYU is $12,466 for Bachelor’s Degree Music Performance students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music Performance at BYU

Rest of the Best 40 in Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k

Not only did these schools make the top 40 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

#27

The City College of New York

New York, New York
#28

University of North Texas

Denton, Texas
#29

Queens College

Queens, New York
#31

Brooklyn College

Brooklyn, New York
#33

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts
#34

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Winston-Salem, North Carolina
#36

Winona State University

Winona, Minnesota
#37

Florida Gulf Coast University

Fort Myers, Florida
#38

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa
#39

University of Georgia

Athens, Georgia
#40

University of Delaware

Newark, Delaware

Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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