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2024 Best Value Colleges for Music Theory & Composition in New York

13 Ranked Colleges
179 Degrees Awarded
$26,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 1,175 people earned their degree in music theory & composition, making the major the 390th most popular in the United States.

Across New York, there were 179 music theory & composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York” ranking looked at 13 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music theory & composition. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality music theory & 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 & composition program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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The music composition school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York.

Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Music Theory & Composition in New York

1
Purchase College crest
Purchase College
Purchase, New York

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Purchase College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York. Purchase College is a small public school situated in Purchase, New York. It awarded 17 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

Purchase College also took the #11 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $17,701 for new york music composition students per year to attend Purchase College.

Full Purchase College Music Theory & Composition Report

2
Brooklyn College crest
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, New York

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brooklyn College. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York list. Brooklyn, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music composition degrees to 26 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Brooklyn College, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $3,067 for new york music composition students per year to attend Brooklyn College.

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 Brooklyn College

3
SUNY Fredonia crest
SUNY Fredonia
Fredonia, New York

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York that were part of this year’s ranking, SUNY Fredonia landed the #3 spot on the list. This small school is located in Fredonia, New York, and it awarded 9 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

SUNY Fredonia also took the #12 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SUNY Fredonia is $14,378 for New York Music Composition students.

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%.

Full SUNY Fredonia Music Theory & Composition Report

4
University at Buffalo crest
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, New York

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University at Buffalo. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York list. University at Buffalo is a large school located in Buffalo, New York that handed out 3 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our new york music composition students list, University at Buffalo has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University at Buffalo is $19,262 for New York Music Composition students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at University at Buffalo

5
Nazareth crest
Nazareth College
Rochester, New York

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Nazareth College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York. Located in Rochester, New York, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified ’s music composition students in 2020-2021.

Nazareth also made our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” list, coming in at #13. The estimated yearly cost for Nazareth is $31,108 for new york music composition students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Nazareth

6
Ithaca crest
Ithaca College
Ithaca, New York

Ithaca College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York ranking. Ithaca is located in Ithaca, New York and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 11 ’s music composition degrees to qualified students.

Ithaca also took the #8 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ithaca is $34,554 for new york music composition students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Ithaca

7
NYU crest
New York University
New York, New York

New York University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York ranking. New York University is a large school located in New York, New York that handed out 50 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

NYU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” list. It costs about $38,569 for New York Music Composition students per year to attend New York University.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full New York University Music Theory & Composition Report

8
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York

With a ranking of #8, Syracuse University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York list. This large school is located in Syracuse, New York, and it awarded 4 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Syracuse, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $34,683 for New York Music Composition students per year to attend Syracuse University.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Syracuse

9
Manhattan School of Music crest
Manhattan School of Music
New York, New York

Manhattan School of Music landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York ranking. This small school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 6 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

Manhattan School of Music also took the #7 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Manhattan School of Music is $19,111 for New York Music Composition students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad 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 Manhattan School of Music

10

Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York ranking. Columbia is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Columbia did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” list. The yearly cost to attend Columbia University in the City of New York is $22,823 for New York Music Composition students.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 99%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Columbia University in the City of New York

11
University of Rochester crest
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York

With a ranking of #11, University of Rochester did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York list. University of Rochester is a private not-for-profit institution located in Rochester, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 11 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Rochester did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Rochester is $31,340 for New York Music Composition students.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 University of Rochester

12
Juilliard crest
The Juilliard School
New York, New York

The Juilliard School landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York ranking. Juilliard is a small private not-for-profit school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 13 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Juilliard, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The Juilliard School is $37,537 for New York Music Composition students.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Juilliard

13
New School University crest
The New School
New York, New York

The New School did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in New York ranking, coming in at #13. New School University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 17 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our new york music composition students list, New School University has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in New York” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for New School University is $44,430 for new york music composition students.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at The New School

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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