Music Performance is a field worth a close look when choosing where to study. A focused field like this rewards careful comparison of the schools that offer it.
College Factual analyzed 2 schools to build this 2027 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.
Leading the list is Furman University, our #1 school for music performance. Furman University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Greenville. The six-year graduation rate is 79%. There were roughly 10 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Furman University in the most recent data year. Students who receive their music performance degree from Furman University earn around $36,520 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $20,830 to complete this degree.
See the full music performance program report for Furman University
Students looking for a strong music performance program will find one at University Of South Carolina Columbia, which ranked #2. Set in the city of Columbia, University Of South Carolina Columbia is a very large public institution. University Of South Carolina Columbia graduates 79% of students within six years. University Of South Carolina Columbia awarded about 52 music performance degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their music performance degree from University Of South Carolina Columbia earn around $38,397 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $27,000 to complete this degree.
More information about a degree in music performance from University Of South Carolina Columbia
More Music Performance Rankings
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 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 · 2 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.
