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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition in Illinois

9 Ranked Colleges
23 Degrees Awarded
$24,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 1,117 people earned their degree in music theory and composition, making the major the 415th most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 27 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 23 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 9 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Music Theory & Composition Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree music composition students.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition in Illinois

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at UIUC

#2

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wheaton College Illinois. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Wheaton College Illinois is located in Wheaton, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s music composition degrees to qualified students.

Wheaton College Illinois not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Wheaton College Illinois is $25,358 for illinois bachelor’s degree music composition students.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Wheaton College Illinois

#3

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Olivet Nazarene University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This small school is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene also made our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene University is $20,195 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Olivet Nazarene

#4

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia College Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Columbia College Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 4 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Columbia also took the #8 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Columbia College Chicago is $31,099 for illinois bachelor’s degree music composition students.

Full Columbia Music Theory & Composition Report

#5

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elmhurst University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Elmhurst University is a small school located in Elmhurst, Illinois that handed out 3 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst also took the #6 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Elmhurst is $21,485 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 Elmhurst University

#6

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Roosevelt University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Roosevelt, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Roosevelt is $22,749 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students.

Full Roosevelt University Music Theory & Composition Report

#7

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

DePaul University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. DePaul is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 1 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul University is $30,090 for illinois bachelor’s degree music composition students.

The low 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 DePaul

#8

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Illinois Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Illinois Wesleyan University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Bloomington, Illinois. It awarded 2 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Wesleyan also made our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $26,039 for illinois bachelor’s degree music composition students per year to attend Illinois Wesleyan University.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.

Full Illinois Wesleyan Music Theory & Composition Report

#9

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Northwestern University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also made our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $24,664 for illinois bachelor’s degree music composition students.

The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Northwestern University

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Notes and References

References

  • 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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