2023 Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music in California
78
Ranked Colleges
1,679
Degrees Awarded
$21,850
Avg Salary
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Music is the 43rd most popular major in the country with 25,910 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 California, there were 3,612 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,084 and $22,049 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,679 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,566 and $21,995 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s” ranking looked at 78 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music. To top this list, a school must have a successful music program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
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 “Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s”.
Top 25 Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school handed out 118 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students 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%.
Read full report on Music at CSUN
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 108 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Music at California State University - Long Beach
Out of the 78 schools in the Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #3 spot on the list. USC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 78 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.
Full USC Music Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Los Angeles Film School. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. This medium-sized school is located in Hollywood, California, and it awarded 76 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Music at Los Angeles Film School
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. University of California - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 74 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, 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 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music at UCLA
California State University - Fullerton came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Cal State Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 65 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music at Cal State Fullerton
San Diego State University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 60 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Full San Diego State University Music Report
California State University - Sacramento came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Sac State is a large school located in Sacramento, California that handed out 52 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music at Sac State
California State University - Chico landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Chico State is a fairly large public school situated in Chico, California. It awarded 48 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Chico Music Report
With a ranking of #10, Los Angeles College of Music did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. Pasadena, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 47 students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Music at Los Angeles College of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #11. This small school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 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 4.1% 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%.
Read full report on Music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music
With a ranking of #12, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 40 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Music at UC Berkeley
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #13. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is located in Pomona, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 39 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Music at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
California State University - Fresno ranked #14 on this year’s Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. Fresno State is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 38 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Music at California State University - Fresno
Musicians Institute did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #14. Hollywood, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 5.0% 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%.
Read more about Music at Musicians Institute
With a ranking of #16, Chapman University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Orange, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 36 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Music at Chapman
With a ranking of #17, San Jose State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. San Jose State is a public institution located in San Jose, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music at San Jose State
California State University - Los Angeles landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Cal State LA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 33 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
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%.
Read more about Music at California State University - Los Angeles
University of California - Irvine came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 32 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.
Full UC Irvine Music Report
Azusa Pacific University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Azusa Pacific University is located in Azusa, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national 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.
Read full report on Music at Azusa Pacific University
California Institute of the Arts landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. This small school is located in Valencia, California, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full CalArts Music Report
University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #22. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 26 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Music at University of California - Santa Barbara
San Francisco State University ranked #23 on this year’s Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. San Francisco State University is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 25 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
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%.
Full SFSU Music Report
With a ranking of #24, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s music degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Read full report on Music at University of California - Riverside
Biola University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Music Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in La Mirada, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 23 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.
Read more about Music at Biola
college factual
