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2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region

9 Ranked Colleges
47 Degrees Awarded
$20,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 the Southwest region, there were 47 music theory & composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music theory & composition. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent music theory & 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 & composition program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Music Theory & Composition Schools

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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 in the Southwest Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region music composition students.

Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Music Theory & Composition in the Southwest Region

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Texas. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region. This large school is located in Denton, Texas, and it awarded 9 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

UNT did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UNT is $14,122 for Southwest Region Music Composition students.

Full UNT Music Theory & Composition Report

2
El Centro College crest
El Centro College
Dallas, Texas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend El Centro College. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region list. El Centro College is a public institution located in Dallas, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southwest region music composition students list, El Centro College has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for El Centro College is $4,739 for southwest region music composition students.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at El Centro College

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Central Oklahoma. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region list. This fairly large school is located in Edmond, Oklahoma, and it awarded 2 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

UCO not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Central Oklahoma is $17,339 for southwest region music composition students.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at UCO

4

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #4 spot on the list. Tempe, Arizona 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.

In addition to being on our southwest region music composition students list, ASU - Tempe has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $13,107 for southwest region music composition students per year to attend Arizona State University - Tempe.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, 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 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Arizona State University - Tempe Music Theory & Composition Report

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region. UT Austin is a large public school situated in Austin, Texas. It awarded 2 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

UT Austin did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at Austin is $18,350 for southwest region music composition students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at UT Austin

6
University of Tulsa crest
University of Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma

University of Tulsa came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified ’s music composition students in 2020-2021.

University of Tulsa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $24,232 for Southwest Region Music Composition students per year to attend University of Tulsa.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at University of Tulsa

7
Baylor crest
Baylor University
Waco, Texas

With a ranking of #7, Baylor University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in Waco, Texas, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 5 degrees to qualified ’s music composition students in 2020-2021.

Baylor not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Baylor is $37,309 for southwest region music composition students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Baylor

8
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, Texas

With a ranking of #8, Rice University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region list. Rice University is a medium-sized school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 2 ’s music composition degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southwest region music composition students list, Rice has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Rice University is $16,076 for Southwest Region Music Composition 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. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Rice

9

With a ranking of #9, Southern Methodist University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Music Composition Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in Dallas, Texas, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 3 degrees to qualified ’s music composition students in 2020-2021.

SMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Southern Methodist University is $38,208 for southwest region music composition students.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Southern Methodist University

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Notes and References

References

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