2024 Best Music Doctor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

Ranked #22 in popularity, music is one of the most sought-after doctor's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 14 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Doctor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 247 doctor's degrees in music to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Music School for Your Doctor's Degree

Your choice of music for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality music program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to music students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other music students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt music students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for music students working on their doctor's degree.

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 Music Doctor's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Music in the Middle Atlantic Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in music.

10 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for a Doctorate in Music

1

University of Rochester
Rochester, NY

46 Annual Graduates

$43,897 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in music has to take a look at University of Rochester. Located in the medium-sized city of Rochester, University of Rochester is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

After graduation, music doctorate recipients generally make about $43,897 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a doctorate in music from University of Rochester

2

Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY

14 Annual Graduates

Columbia University in the City of New York is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in music. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in music from Columbia University in the City of New York

3

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

4 Annual Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is a wonderful decision for students interested in a doctor's degree in music. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in music from University of Pennsylvania

4

New York University
New York, NY

7 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat New York University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in music. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in music from New York University

5

Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD

8 Annual Graduates

Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore.More information about a doctorate in music from Johns Hopkins University

6

The Juilliard School
New York, NY

7 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of New York, Juilliard is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in music from The Juilliard School

7

University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD

15 Annual Graduates

UMCP is a very large public university located in the large suburb of College Park.More information about a doctorate in music from University of Maryland - College Park

8

The Graduate Center, CUNY
New York, NY

21 Annual Graduates

$58,185 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Music doctor's degree recipients from The Graduate Center, CUNY receive an earnings boost of about $13,029 over the average earnings of music majors.

More information about a doctorate in music from The Graduate Center, CUNY

9

Rutgers University - New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ

21 Annual Graduates

$45,259 Median Starting Salary

Rutgers New Brunswick is a very large public university located in the city of New Brunswick.

Students who graduate with their doctorate from the music program report average early career income of $45,259.

More information about a doctorate in music from Rutgers University - New Brunswick

10

Catholic University of America
Washington, DC

17 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Washington, CUA is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in music from Catholic University of America

Best Music Colleges by State

Explore the best music schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania	176	21
New York	174	162
Maryland	119	23
New Jersey	115	24
District of Columbia	81	17

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Music

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Music has other similar majors worth exploring.

Music Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Music Performance	107
General Music	70
Music Theory & Composition	21
Keyboard Instruments	16
Musicology & Ethnomusicology	13
Voice Performance	6
Stringed Instruments	4
Music Pedagogy	3
Conducting	2
Music History	1

Majors Similar to Music

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts	77
Drama & Theater Arts	17
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	9
Other Visual Art	7
General Visual & Performing Arts	6
Dance	1

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.