2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Music in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 an Associate in California” 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 California, there were 3,681 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $20,710 and $32,646 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 1,220 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,451 and $19,634 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Music Schools for an Associate in California” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in music. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality music programs that also have a lower cost than 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 the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Music Schools for an Associate in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 an Associate in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Schools for an Associate in California.

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Music in California

#1

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, California

#2 in overall quality

$5,782 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Santa Rosa Junior College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for an Associate in California list. Located in Santa Rosa, California, this fairly large public school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified associates’s music students in 2019-2020.

SRJC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Music Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $5,782 for california associate degree music students per year to attend SRJC.

Read full report on Music at Santa Rosa Junior College

#2

Mt. San Antonio College

Walnut, California

#3 in overall quality

$1,729 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Mt. San Antonio College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Music Schools for an Associate in California. Mt. San Antonio College is a large school located in Walnut, California that handed out 7 associates’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

Mt. SAC also made our “Best Music Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Mt. SAC is $1,729 for california associate degree music students.

Read full report on Music at Mt. SAC

#3

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California

#1 in overall quality

$34,145 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Academy of Art University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Music Schools for an Associate in California. This medium-sized school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 5 associates’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

Academy of Art University also made our “Best Music Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Academy of Art University is $34,145 for California Associate Degree Music students.

Read full report on Music at Academy of Art University

#4

Pacific Union College

Angwin, California

#4 in overall quality

$21,835 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pacific Union College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for an Associate in California list. PUC is located in Angwin, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 associates’s music degrees to qualified students.

PUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Music Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Pacific Union College is $21,835 for California Associate Degree Music students.

Read more about Music at PUC

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Music in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Music

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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