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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music in California

10 Ranked Colleges
116 Degrees Awarded
$35,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 116 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent music programs, but they also 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 a Doctorate 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 a Doctorate in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree music students.

Top 12 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 doctorate’s music degrees to qualified students.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UCLA Music Report

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s music students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree music students list, UCSD has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - San Diego are $28,631, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of California - San Diego Music Report

#3

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California. This large school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSB, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Barbara are $28,670, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Music at UCSB

#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California. University of California - Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s music degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine also took the #7 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456.

Full UC Irvine Music Report

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 10 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Berkeley

#10 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California list. University of California - Riverside is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 8 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree music students list, UCR has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCR are $28,686, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Music at UCR

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Davis ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California list. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Davis, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700.

Full University of California - Davis Music Report

#6

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this fairly large public school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s music students in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Santa Cruz are $28,952, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UC Santa Cruz Music Report

#7

Claremont Graduate University

Claremont, California
#7 in overall quality

Claremont Graduate University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking, coming in at #7. Claremont, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s music degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Claremont Graduate University, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Claremont Graduate University are $36,380.

Read more about Music at Claremont Graduate University

#8

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

With a ranking of #8, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California list. USC is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 38 doctorate’s music degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715.

Read more about Music at University of Southern California

#9

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California
#8 in overall quality

California Institute of the Arts ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California list. CalArts is a small school located in Valencia, California that handed out 4 doctorate’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

CalArts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of the Arts are $53,466, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Music at CalArts

#10

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking, coming in at #10. Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Music Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Stanford Music Report

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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