Music is of the hottest doctor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #22 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 3 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Music Doctor's Degree Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 43 doctor's degrees in music to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Music School for Your Doctor's Degree
The music doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on music students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - The number of music students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
Student Debt - How easy is it for music to pay back their student loans after receiving their doctor's degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.
Our complete 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.
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 Massachusetts list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Featured Music Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
Brandeis University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in music. Brandeis is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Waltham.More information about a doctorate in music from Brandeis University
Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in music has to take a look at Boston University. Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
After graduating, music doctorate recipients usually earn about $31,501 in their early careers.
The New England Conservatory of Music is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in music. Located in the city of Boston, The New England Conservatory of Music is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.More information about a doctorate in music from The New England Conservatory of Music
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.