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2023 Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k

11 Ranked Colleges
328 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Music Theory & Composition is the 390th most popular major in the country with 1,175 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across California, there were 328 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music theory and composition. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent music theory and composition programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the music theory and composition program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $48-$75k) in California

1

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 2 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california music composition students whose families make $48-$75k list, UCLA has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $12,644 for California Music Composition students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Music Theory & Composition Report

2
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california music composition students whose families make $48-$75k list, USC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $22,826 for california music composition students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Southern California.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at University of Southern California

3

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #3 spot on the list. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music composition degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.

UCSB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCSB is $14,583 for California Music Composition students whose families make $48-$75k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Music Theory & Composition Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Cruz. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k. This fairly large school is located in Santa Cruz, California, and it awarded 2 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Santa Cruz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” list. It costs about $15,567 for California Music Composition students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UC Santa Cruz.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Santa Cruz Music Theory & Composition Report

5
University of Redlands crest
University of Redlands
Redlands, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Redlands. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Redlands is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Redlands, California. It awarded 3 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Redlands, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Redlands is $21,947 for California Music Composition students whose families make $48-$75k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at University of Redlands

6
Biola crest
Biola University
La Mirada, California

With a ranking of #6, Biola University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in La Mirada, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 4 degrees to qualified ’s music composition students in 2020-2021.

Biola also made our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Biola University is $30,789 for california music composition students whose families make $48-$75k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Biola University

7
SFCM crest
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco, California

San Francisco Conservatory of Music did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #7. This small school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 5 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california music composition students whose families make $48-$75k list, SFCM has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Francisco Conservatory of Music is $45,908 for california music composition students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full SFCM Music Theory & Composition Report

8
Chapman crest
Chapman University
Orange, California

Chapman University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #8. This medium-sized school is located in Orange, California, and it awarded 2 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Chapman, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Chapman University is $38,525 for California Music Composition students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Chapman University

9

California Institute of the Arts came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. California Institute of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Valencia, California. It awarded 32 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

CalArts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” list. It costs about $55,675 for california music composition students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend CalArts.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at CalArts

10
Academy of Art University crest
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, California

Academy of Art University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Academy of Art University is a private for-profit institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 32 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Academy of Art University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” list. It costs about $34,695 for California Music Composition students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Academy of Art University.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 5.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Academy of Art University

11
LA Film School crest
Los Angeles Film School
Hollywood, California

Los Angeles Film School landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value Music Composition Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. LA Film School is located in Hollywood, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 181 ’s music composition degrees to qualified students.

LA Film School also made our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California” list, coming in at #11. The estimated yearly cost for LA Film School is $35,062 for california music composition students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Los Angeles Film School

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