by our College Data Analytics Team
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 “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 25,910 people earned their degree in music, making the major the 43rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, music graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $27,160 and had an average of $24,560 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 1,138 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,572 and $23,882 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 681 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,117 and $25,584 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois” ranking looked at 47 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music. That schools that top this list have a program in music in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree music students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Millikin University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Millikin is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Decatur, Illinois. It awarded 29 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wheaton College Illinois. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Located in Wheaton, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 41 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia College Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 61 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 47 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Greenville University landed the #4 spot on the list. Greenville, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Out of the 47 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Principia College landed the #5 spot on the list. Principia is located in Elsah, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
Illinois Wesleyan University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #6. This small school is located in Bloomington, Illinois, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Eureka College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #7. Eureka College is a small school located in Eureka, Illinois that handed out 3 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #8, Roosevelt University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 31 students in 2020-2021.
North Central College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking. This small school is located in Naperville, Illinois, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Western Illinois University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking. WIU is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 34 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
Augustana College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking. Augustana is located in Rock Island, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Monmouth College ranked #12 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Monmouth, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
With a ranking of #13, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. EIU is located in Charleston, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 20 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
With a ranking of #14, North Park University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. North Park is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Judson University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking. Judson is located in Elgin, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
With a ranking of #16, Knox College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Knox is a private not-for-profit institution located in Galesburg, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
With a ranking of #17, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 81 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Elmhurst University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #18. Elmhurst, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Northern Illinois University ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Dekalb, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 34 students in 2020-2021.
Olivet Nazarene University ranked #20 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Bourbonnais, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Quincy University ranked #21 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Quincy U is a private not-for-profit institution located in Quincy, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #22, Illinois State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois list. Located in Normal, Illinois, this large public school awarded 43 degrees to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Northeastern Illinois University landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 13 degrees to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Music at Northeastern Illinois University
DePaul University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of St Francis landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Music Major in Illinois ranking. University of Saint Francis is a small school located in Joliet, Illinois that handed out 7 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
