2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition in the New England Region

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 for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region” 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 the New England region, there were 263 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 206 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $41,041 and $24,492 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music theory and composition. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality music theory and composition programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the music theory and composition program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition in the New England Region

#1

Keene State College

Keene, New Hampshire

#3 in overall quality

$19,394 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Keene State College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region list. Keene State is a small public school situated in Keene, New Hampshire. It awarded 1 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Keene State also made our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the New England Region” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Keene State College is $19,394 for New England Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Keene State

#2

Western Connecticut State University

Danbury, Connecticut

#4 in overall quality

$18,215 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Connecticut State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region list. Western Connecticut State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Danbury, Connecticut. It awarded 25 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

WestConn did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the New England Region” list. It costs about $18,215 for new england region bachelor’s degree music composition students per year to attend WestConn.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at WestConn

#3

Berklee College of Music

Boston, Massachusetts

#1 in overall quality

$49,514 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Berklee College of Music landed the #3 spot on the list. Berklee College of Music is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 173 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Berklee College of Music not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the New England Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Berklee College of Music is $49,514 for New England Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Berklee College of Music Music Theory & Composition Report

#4

Bennington College

Bennington, Vermont

#2 in overall quality

$29,325 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bennington College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the New England Region list. Bennington, Vermont is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music composition degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

Bennington also took the #2 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the New England Region” ranking. It costs about $29,325 for new england region bachelor’s degree music composition students per year to attend Bennington College.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Bennington

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition

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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