513
Ranked Colleges
7,335
Degrees Awarded
$31,300
Avg Cost*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 7,335 people earned their degree in music performance, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major” ranking looked at 513 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music performance. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in music performance.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major”.
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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major”.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Jazz Conservatory. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Located in Berkeley, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 11 degrees to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full California Jazz Conservatory Music Performance Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cleveland Institute of Music. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major. This small school is located in Cleveland, Ohio, and it awarded 87 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
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 impressive undergraduate 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. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at Cleveland Institute of Music
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Curtis Institute of Music. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 2 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Music Performance at Curtis Institute of Music
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Musicians Institute. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major. Located in Hollywood, California, this small private for-profit school awarded 121 diplomas to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 5.0% 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Music Performance at Musicians Institute
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Berklee College of Music. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major. This medium-sized school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 292 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 Berklee College of Music
The Baptist College of Florida ranked #6 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Graceville, Florida is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full BCF Music Performance Report
University of North Carolina School of the Arts landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. UNCSA is a public institution located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The school has a small population, and it awarded 38 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The impressive undergraduate 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. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at UNCSA
Cornish College of the Arts came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Cornish College of the Arts is a small school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 16 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at Cornish College of the Arts
Lawrence University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Lawrence University is a small school located in Appleton, Wisconsin that handed out 41 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Lawrence U Music Performance Report
Oklahoma City University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Oklahoma City University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It awarded 80 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Music Performance at Oklahoma City University
Longy School of Music of Bard College landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Music Performance at Longy
Oberlin College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #12. This small school is located in Oberlin, Ohio, and it awarded 67 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Oberlin College Music Performance Report
Bard College ranked #13 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Located in Annandale-On-Hudson, New York, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 51 degrees to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Bard Music Performance Report
Calvary University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Located in Kansas City, Missouri, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Music Performance at Calvary University
With a ranking of #15, Visible Music College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. This small school is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and it awarded 27 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate 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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Visible Music College Music Performance Report
The University of the Arts landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. The University of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 23 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UArts Music Performance Report
With a ranking of #17, World Mission University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full World Mission University Music Performance Report
Messiah University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Messiah is located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 52 ’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Music Performance at Messiah
Millikin University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #19. Located in Decatur, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 25 degrees to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 Millikin University
With a ranking of #20, University of Rochester did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. University of Rochester is a fairly large school located in Rochester, New York that handed out 176 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Music Performance at University of Rochester
SUNY Fredonia landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. SUNY Fredonia is a public institution located in Fredonia, New York. The school has a small population, and it awarded 43 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 SUNY Fredonia Music Performance Report
Arkansas Baptist College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #22. Arkansas Baptist College is located in Little Rock, Arkansas and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 ’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
Read more about Music Performance at Arkansas Baptist College
With a ranking of #23, California Institute of the Arts did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. This small school is located in Valencia, California, and it awarded 13 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 California Institute of the Arts Music Performance Report
SUNY Potsdam ranked #24 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Potsdam, New York is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.
Full SUNY Potsdam Music Performance Report
Shenandoah University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #25. Shenandoah University is located in Winchester, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 37 ’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Music Performance at Shenandoah