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2024 Best Music Performance Schools in Illinois

11 Colleges in Illinois
293 Music Performance Degrees Awarded
Ranked #116 in popularity, music performance is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 11 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of music performance. Combined, these schools handed out 293 degrees in music performance to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Music Performance School

Best Music Performance Schools in Illinois Your choice of music performance school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for music performance schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Music Performance Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Music Performance
Master's Degrees in Music Performance
Doctor's Degrees in Music Performance

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Music Performance Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Music Performance in Illinois

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the music performance degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Music Performance

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
57 Music Performance Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a degree in music performance. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 57 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music performance from Northwestern University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In IL

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a good decision for students interested in a degree in music performance. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 7 music performance students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music performance from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In IL
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in music performance has to look into Wheaton College Illinois. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Wheaton. A Best Colleges rank of #257 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Wheaton College Illinois is a great college overall.

There were roughly 16 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music performance from Wheaton College Illinois

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In IL

Roosevelt University is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in music performance. Located in the city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 38th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 1 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Roosevelt in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music performance from Roosevelt University

5
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
67 Music Performance Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were about 67 music performance students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music performance from DePaul University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IL

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #231 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 23 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music performance from Illinois State University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL
41 Music Performance Degrees Awarded

NIU is a large public university located in the small suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 24th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 41 music performance students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music performance from Northern Illinois University

8

Located in the city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 14th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.More information about a degree in music performance from Bradley University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In IL
60.0% Growth in Graduates

UIC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 5 music performance students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music performance from University of Illinois at Chicago

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In IL
66.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Bourbonnais, Olivet Nazarene is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 33rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 3 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Olivet Nazarene in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music performance from Olivet Nazarene University

Best Music Performance Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Music Performance Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 553
Michigan 915 304
Indiana 737 350
Wisconsin 672 108

View All Rankings >

Music Performance is one of 17 different types of Music programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Music 543
Voice Performance 70
Stringed Instruments 47
Jazz Studies 34
Music Technology 31
Other Music 29
Music Theory & Composition 25
Keyboard Instruments 18
Woodwind Instruments 14
Music Pedagogy 13

View All Music Performance Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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