by our College Data Analytics Team
If you’re a veteran, service member, or military-affiliated student looking to study music performance, general. at the Bachelor’s Degree level, you’ve come to the right place. The list below highlights 159 colleges that serve veteran music performance, general. students especially well, using our 2026 methodology.
We measure this ranking on the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students: affordability and veteran financial benefits (including GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon support), academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community. To help you decide, College Factual reviewed colleges nationwide, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Want to compare schools head to head? Check out our College Combat to build custom comparisons on the factors you care about most.
Narrow this ranking to a degree level below:
Here are the top-ranked music performance, general. colleges for veterans:
Leading the list is University of Delaware, our #1 music performance, general. college for veterans. University of Delaware scores 91.1 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. See the full music performance, general. report for University of Delaware
A rank of #2 makes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill one of the top music performance, general. colleges for veteran students. It scores 90.4 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. Read more about music performance, general. at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Veteran students seeking a strong music performance, general. program will find one at Ohio State University-Main Campus, which ranked #3. It scores 89.9 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. See the full music performance, general. report for Ohio State University-Main Campus
James Madison University is a great choice for veterans pursuing music performance, general., landing the #4 spot this year. It scores 89.6 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. More about the music performance, general. program at James Madison University
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor came in at #5 on our 2026 list of the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 89.6 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0. More about the music performance, general. program at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Georgia ranked #6 on our 2026 list of the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. University of Georgia scores 89.3 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. See the full music performance, general. report for University of Georgia
University of South Florida placed #7 among the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 89.0 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0. Read more about music performance, general. at University of South Florida
Rutgers University-New Brunswick landed the #8 spot for veterans pursuing music performance, general.. The school's overall veterans score is 88.8 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0. Read more about music performance, general. at Rutgers University-New Brunswick
The University of Texas at Arlington ranked #9 on our 2026 list of the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 87.9 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. See the full music performance, general. report for The University of Texas at Arlington
San Diego State University placed #10 among the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 87.8 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. See the full music performance, general. report for San Diego State University
California State University-Long Beach came in at #11 for veteran music performance, general. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 86.7 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. Read more about music performance, general. at California State University-Long Beach
Binghamton University placed #12 among the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. It scores 85.8 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. Read more about music performance, general. at Binghamton University
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus ranked #13 on our 2026 list of the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 85.6 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. Read more about music performance, general. at University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
Western Michigan University came in at #14 for veteran music performance, general. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 85.4 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0. Read more about music performance, general. at Western Michigan University
University of Arkansas landed the #15 spot for veterans pursuing music performance, general.. It scores 85.3 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0. See the full music performance, general. report for University of Arkansas
University of California-Santa Cruz ranked #16 on our 2026 list of the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. University of California-Santa Cruz scores 85.2 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the music performance, general. program at University of California-Santa Cruz
University of Maryland-College Park ranked #17 on our 2026 list of the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 85.1 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. See the full music performance, general. report for University of Maryland-College Park
University of New Mexico-Main Campus placed #18 among the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 85.0 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. See the full music performance, general. report for University of New Mexico-Main Campus
Rhode Island College came in at #19 for veteran music performance, general. students this year. It scores 84.9 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. More about the music performance, general. program at Rhode Island College
University of Kentucky placed #20 among the best music performance, general. colleges for veterans. University of Kentucky scores 84.8 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0. More about the music performance, general. program at University of Kentucky
Boise State University landed the #21 spot for veterans pursuing music performance, general.. The school's overall veterans score is 84.7 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. Read more about music performance, general. at Boise State University
University of Central Florida landed the #22 spot for veterans pursuing music performance, general.. It scores 84.7 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. Read more about music performance, general. at University of Central Florida
Ohio University-Main Campus landed the #23 spot for veterans pursuing music performance, general.. It scores 84.1 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the music performance, general. program at Ohio University-Main Campus
Washington State University came in at #24 for veteran music performance, general. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 84.0 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. See the full music performance, general. report for Washington State University
Miami University-Oxford came in at #25 for veteran music performance, general. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 83.6 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. Read more about music performance, general. at Miami University-Oxford
These music performance, general. colleges also placed near the top this year:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This ranking is based on the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students studying music performance, general.: affordability and veteran financial benefits (GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon), academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
