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2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k

12 Ranked Colleges
280 Degrees Awarded
$35,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k

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 Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 27,047 people earned their degree in music, making the major the 40th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, music graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $25,639 and had an average of $28,653 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 4,025 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,684 and $28,070 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 280 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,428 and $121,375 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great music programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the music program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 12 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 doctorate’s music degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our great lakes region doctor’s degree music students whose families make $30-$48k list, Northwestern has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Music at Northwestern

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k. This large school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 32 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M also took the #1 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor are $49,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Music at U-M

#3

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 9 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548.

Read full report on Music at UChicago

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k. UW - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin. It awarded 15 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Music at University of Wisconsin - Madison

#5

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #5 spot on the list. Indiana University - Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 67 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

IU Bloomington also made our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at IU Bloomington are $33,338, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full IU Bloomington Music Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 38 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s music students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UIUC Music Report

Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Ohio State is a public institution located in Columbus, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 25 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Ohio State also took the #8 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio State are $37,141.

Full Ohio State Music Report

#8

Ball State University

Muncie, Indiana
#10 in overall quality

Ball State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Muncie, Indiana, this large public school handed out 12 degrees to qualified doctorate’s music students in 2019-2020.

Ball State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ball State University are $26,204, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Music at Ball State

#9

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Michigan State is a large school located in East Lansing, Michigan that handed out 15 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

Michigan State also took the #5 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan State University are $37,056.

Read full report on Music at Michigan State

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #10. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is located in Cincinnati, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 47 doctorate’s music degrees to qualified students.

UC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC are $26,644, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Music at UC

#11 in overall quality

Bowling Green State University - Main Campus came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Bowling Green, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s music degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region doctor’s degree music students whose families make $30-$48k list, BGSU has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at BGSU are $15,823, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Music at BGSU

#13 in overall quality

With a ranking of #12, Kent State University at Kent did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Kent State University at Kent is located in Kent, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s music degrees to qualified students.

Kent State also took the #13 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Kent State are $21,952, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Music at Kent State University at Kent

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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