139
Ranked Colleges
2,066
Degrees Awarded
$33,500
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 was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 7,335 people earned their degree in music performance, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States.
At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 2,066 music performance graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,425 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major” ranking, we looked at 139 colleges that offer a degree in music performance. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in music performance.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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 for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major”.
Out of the 139 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Cleveland Institute of Music landed the #1 spot on the list. Cleveland, Ohio is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s music performance degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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 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 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Music Performance at Cleveland Institute of Music
Out of the 139 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Longy School of Music of Bard College landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 8 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 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 2.2% 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%.
Full Longy School of Music of Bard College Music Performance Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Carolina School of the Arts. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major. UNCSA is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 masters’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
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 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Full UNCSA Music Performance Report
Out of the 139 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Berklee College of Music landed the #4 spot on the list. Berklee College of Music is a medium-sized school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 88 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.
Full Berklee College of Music Music Performance Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bard College. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major. Bard is a small school located in Annandale-On-Hudson, New York that handed out 32 masters’s music performance degrees 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%. 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 full report on Music Performance at Bard
With a ranking of #6, Messiah University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 42 degrees to qualified masters’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read full report on Music Performance at Messiah University
The Baptist College of Florida ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. BCF is a small school located in Graceville, Florida that handed out 3 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Music Performance at The Baptist College of Florida
California Institute of the Arts ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. California Institute of the Arts is a private not-for-profit institution located in Valencia, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 masters’s 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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at California Institute of the Arts
Oklahoma City University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #9. Oklahoma City University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It awarded 20 masters’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.
Full OCU Music Performance Report
Salem College ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s music performance degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at Salem
With a ranking of #11, Manhattan School of Music did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Manhattan School of Music is a small private not-for-profit school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 5 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at Manhattan School of Music
University of Mobile ranked #12 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. This small school is located in Mobile, Alabama, and it awarded 5 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Music Performance at University of Mobile
Lynn University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. This small school is located in Boca Raton, Florida, and it awarded 11 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at Lynn University Fighting Knights
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. IU Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 139 masters’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Music Performance at Indiana University - Bloomington
University of Rochester landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Rochester, New York. It awarded 42 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at University of Rochester
The New School ranked #16 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. The New School is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 28 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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.
Read more about Music Performance at The New School
Columbus State University landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Located in Columbus, Georgia, this medium-sized public school awarded 17 degrees to qualified masters’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
Full CSU Music Performance Report
Bowling Green State University - Main Campus ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. BGSU is a fairly large public school situated in Bowling Green, Ohio. It awarded 43 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Music Performance at BGSU
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a public institution located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 112 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Music Performance at UC
Shenandoah University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Shenandoah is a private not-for-profit institution located in Winchester, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 11 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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.
Full Shenandoah University Music Performance Report
SUNY Fredonia came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. SUNY Fredonia is a small school located in Fredonia, New York that handed out 9 masters’s music performance 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
University of Missouri - Kansas City came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Kansas City, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s music performance degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Missouri - Kansas City Music Performance Report
Johns Hopkins University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. This large school is located in Baltimore, Maryland, and it awarded 71 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 Johns Hopkins University
Butler University landed the #24 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it awarded 10 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, 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 full report on Music Performance at Butler
Yale University landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in New Haven, Connecticut. It awarded 28 masters’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 Yale
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