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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Music Performance in California

11 Ranked Colleges
146 Degrees Awarded
$26,100 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master's in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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

Across California, there were 856 music performance graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 146 music performance graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music performance. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality music performance programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the music performance program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Music Performance Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Master’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California.

Top 11 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Music Performance in California

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the #1 spot on the list. California State University - Northridge is a large school located in Northridge, California that handed out 25 masters’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree music performance students list, CSUN has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at CSUN are $17,955.

Read more about Music Performance at California State University - Northridge

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California list. CSULB is a public institution located in Long Beach, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree music performance students list, CSULB has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Long Beach are $17,784, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full CSULB Music Performance Report

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California list. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at San Diego State University are $18,658.

Read full report on Music Performance at SDSU

#7 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Fullerton, California, this large public school handed out 20 degrees to qualified masters’s music performance students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal State Fullerton, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Fullerton are $17,892.

Read full report on Music Performance at Cal State Fullerton

#5

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#10 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Francisco State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California. This large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 10 masters’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree music performance students list, SFSU has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at San Francisco State University are $17,944.

Read full report on Music Performance at San Francisco State University

#9 in overall quality

California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #6. Cal State LA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 masters’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

Cal State LA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Cal State LA are $17,723.

Full Cal State LA Music Performance Report

#11 in overall quality

California State University - Sacramento landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Located in Sacramento, California, this large public school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified masters’s music performance students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree music performance students list, Sac State has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Sac State are $18,356.

Read more about Music Performance at Sac State

#8

University of Redlands

Redlands, California
#3 in overall quality

University of Redlands did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #8. University of Redlands is a small school located in Redlands, California that handed out 13 masters’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Redlands also made our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Redlands are $22,852, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Music Performance at University of Redlands

#9

Mills College

Oakland, California
#8 in overall quality

Mills College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Mills College is located in Oakland, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 masters’s music performance degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mills, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Mills are $36,263, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Music Performance at Mills College

#10

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

University of Southern California landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree music performance students list, USC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715.

Read more about Music Performance at USC

#11

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California
#2 in overall quality

California Institute of the Arts ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools for a Master’s in California list. CalArts is a small school located in Valencia, California that handed out 10 masters’s music performance degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree music performance students list, CalArts has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Music Performance Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at CalArts are $53,466.

Read more about Music Performance at California Institute of the Arts

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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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