Music Performance is a field worth a close look when choosing where to study. The schools below stand out for the quality of their music performance programs.
College Factual analyzed 6 schools to build this 2027 ranking of the best music performance schools.
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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.
Leading the list is University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, our #1 school for music performance. This very large public university is located in the city of Chapel Hill. Roughly 91% of students complete a degree within six years here. University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill awarded about 10 music performance degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, music performance degree recipients from University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill generally make around $32,880. Typical student debt for the program is $19,000.
Get the full music performance details for University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
University Of North Carolina At Charlotte 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 Charlotte. Roughly 69% of students complete a degree within six years here. University Of North Carolina At Charlotte awarded about 14 music performance degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their music performance degree from University Of North Carolina At Charlotte earn around $38,831 in the first couple years of their career. Typical student debt for the program is $25,858.
Read more about the music performance program at University Of North Carolina At Charlotte
Appalachian State University is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in music performance, ranking #3. Set in the town of Boone, Appalachian State University is a very large public institution. Roughly 74% of students complete a degree within six years here. Appalachian State University awarded about 22 music performance degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their music performance degree from Appalachian State University earn around $23,304 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $26,000 to complete this degree.
See the full music performance program report for Appalachian State University
Western Carolina University is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in music performance, ranking #4. Located in the town of Cullowhee, Western Carolina University is a large public university. Roughly 60% of students complete a degree within six years here. There were roughly 26 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Western Carolina University in the most recent data year. Graduates of the music performance program make about $26,135 in their early career. Western Carolina University graduates carry a median of $27,000 in student loans.
Read more about the music performance program at Western Carolina University
University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in music performance, ranking #5. Set in the city of Winston Salem, University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts is a small public institution. University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts graduates 78% of students within six years. University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts awarded about 52 music performance degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, music performance degree recipients from University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts generally make around $19,939. Students borrow a median of $23,143 to complete this degree.
Get the full music performance details for University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts
University Of North Carolina At Greensboro earned the #6 position for music performance this year. This very large public university is located in the city of Greensboro. University Of North Carolina At Greensboro graduates 56% of students within six years. There were roughly 83 music performance students who graduated with this degree at University Of North Carolina At Greensboro in the most recent data year. Graduates of the music performance program make about $24,315 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $26,000 to complete this degree.
See the full music performance program report for University Of North Carolina At Greensboro
More Music Performance Rankings
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 edition. Schools are scored on a blend of student outcomes (graduation rate, post-graduation earnings), affordability, and program focus, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 6 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.
