Music Performance degree programs prepare students for a range of careers in the field. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
College Factual analyzed 16 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best music performance schools.
What’s on this page:
If you are not 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.
Butler University tops our 2026 ranking of the best music performance schools. Set in the city of Indianapolis, Butler University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit institution. Butler University graduates 79% of students within six years. Butler University awarded about 10 music performance degrees in the most recent data year. Music Performance graduates of Butler University earn a median of $68,222 early in their careers. Butler University graduates carry a median of $24,170 in student loans.
See the full music performance program report for Butler University
Indiana University Bloomington is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in music performance, ranking #2. This very large public university is located in the city of Bloomington. About 80% of students finish within six years. There were roughly 339 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Indiana University Bloomington in the most recent data year. Graduates of the music performance program make about $28,328 in their early career. Typical student debt for the program is $20,769.
More information about a degree in music performance from Indiana University Bloomington
More Music Performance Rankings
View All Music Performance Rankings >
Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 16 schools evaluated.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
