College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Great Lakes Region

29 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
167 Music Composition Degrees Awarded
Music Theory & Composition is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #390 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 29 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of music theory & composition. Combined, these schools handed out 167 degrees in music theory & composition to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Music Theory & Composition School

Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of music theory & composition school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for music theory & composition schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Music Theory & Composition Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Music Composition
Bachelor's Degrees in Music Composition
Master's Degrees in Music Composition
Doctor's Degrees in Music Composition

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 Music Theory & Composition Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Music Theory & Composition in the Great Lakes Region

The schools below may not offer all types of music composition degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Music Composition

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL

Any student who is interested in music theory & composition has to check out Northwestern University. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 6 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Northwestern University

2
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MI
40.9% Growth in Graduates

Michigan State University is a great decision for students interested in a degree in music theory & composition. Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 22 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Michigan State University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MI

Every student who is interested in music theory & composition needs to check out University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were about 13 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4
Oberlin crest
Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In OH

Every student who is interested in music theory & composition needs to check out Oberlin College. Oberlin is a small private not-for-profit college located in the fringe town of Oberlin. A Best Colleges rank of #226 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Oberlin is a great college overall.

There were approximately 2 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Oberlin in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Oberlin College

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL
50.0% Growth in Graduates

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 2 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL
33.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Wheaton, Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #257 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Wheaton College Illinois is a great college overall.

There were approximately 3 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Wheaton College Illinois

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OH
8.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #166 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC is a great university overall.

There were about 24 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In OH
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were about 2 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Ohio State University - Main Campus

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In OH

Located in the city of Cleveland, Cleveland Institute of Music is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

There were approximately 4 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Cleveland Institute of Music in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Cleveland Institute of Music

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In OH
60.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #239 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means OHIO Athens is a great university overall.

There were about 5 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Ohio University - Athens Campus

Best Music Theory & Composition Colleges by State

Explore the best music theory & composition schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 74
Michigan 915 48
Illinois 870 23
Indiana 737 13
Wisconsin 672 5

View All Rankings >

Music Theory & Composition is one of 17 different types of Music programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music Performance 1,635
General Music 1,398
Other Music 149
Music Pedagogy 122
Music Technology 119
Voice Performance 114
Jazz Studies 85
Stringed Instruments 82
Keyboard Instruments 65
Conducting 56

View All Music Composition Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options