2021 Best Music Colleges for Non-Traditional Students
125Colleges
15,545Bachelor's Degrees
$30,144Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Music Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Music is the #34th most popular major in the country with 15,545 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.
For this year's Best Music Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking, we looked at 125 colleges that offer a bachelor's in music. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent music programs, but they also offer a lot of support to non-traditional students.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the music program at the school, affordability, and non-traditional population. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
ADVERTISEMENTS
Featured Music Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
As a non-traditional student, you have a lot to consider when it comes to choosing an education. That's why we've developed rankings specifically for you. Check out more major-related rankings here..
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
ADVERTISEMENTS
Featured Music Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
University of Houston tops the 2021 list of our schools in the United States that are best for non-traditional music students. UH is a fairly large public school located in the city of Houston. UH not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #1 on our Best Colleges for Music list.
The student loan default rate at UH is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. There are approximately 26,121 students at UH that take at least one class online. 13,663 of UH students are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize University of North Texas as the #2 school in this year's rankings. UNT is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Denton. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, UNT also did well on our Best Colleges for Music list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at UNT is lower than is typical, just 1.8% of students default in three years. There are approximately 20,194 students at UNT that take at least one class online. 12,105 students are part time.
Michigan State University landed the #3 spot in our 2021 best music schools for non-traditional students. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing. Michigan State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Colleges for Music list.
The student loan default rate at Michigan State is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. Approximately 33,526 students take at least one class online at Michigan State. 6,517 of Michigan State students are attending part time.
The #4 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Texas Tech University. Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public college with a very large student population. Texas Tech also made our Best Colleges for Music list, coming in at #6.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.4%. Approximately 22,394 students take at least one class online at Texas Tech. There are roughly 7,077 part time students in attendance at Texas Tech.
George Mason University comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. GMU is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Fairfax. GMU also took the #9 spot in our Best Colleges for Music rankings.
About 0.8% of GMU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 21,490 students at GMU that take at least one class online. There are roughly 12,712 part time students in attendance at GMU.
University of Utah earned the #6 spot in our 2021 rankings. U of U is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Salt Lake City. U of U did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Colleges for Music list.
The student loan default rate at U of U is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. Approximately 19,378 students take at least one class online at U of U. There are roughly 7,185 part time students in attendance at U of U.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley comes in at #7 in this year's ranking. Located in the midsize city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 0.1% of UT Rio Grande Valley students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 16,522 students at UT Rio Grande Valley that take at least one class online. 10,418 students are part time.
Rutgers University - New Brunswick landed the #8 spot in our 2021 best music schools for non-traditional students. Rutgers New Brunswick is a fairly large public school located in the city of New Brunswick. Rutgers New Brunswick also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Music list. It's in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. Approximately 30,054 students take at least one class online at Rutgers New Brunswick. About 7,559 of the students at Rutgers New Brunswick are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize Sam Houston State University as the #9 school in this year's rankings. Located in the distant town of Huntsville, SHSU is a public college with a very large student population.
About 1.2% of SHSU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 8,795 students at SHSU that take at least one class online. 6,353 of SHSU students are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize West Chester University of Pennsylvania as the #10 school in this year's rankings. WCUPA is a large public school located in the large suburb of West Chester. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, WCUPA also is in the top 15% of our Best Colleges for Music ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.2%. Approximately 4,464 students take at least one class online at WCUPA. There are roughly 3,854 part time students in attendance at WCUPA.
Our rankings recognize University of South Carolina - Columbia as the #11 school in this year's rankings. UofSC is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Columbia. UofSC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our Best Colleges for Music list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.6%. Approximately 16,608 students take at least one class online at UofSC. 3,896 of UofSC students are attending part time.
James Madison University earned the #12 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public school with a fairly large student population. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, JMU also is in the top 10% of our Best Colleges for Music ranking.
About 0.8% of JMU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 6,740 students take at least one class online at JMU. About 2,328 of the students at JMU are attending part time.
University of Nevada - Las Vegas comes in at #13 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Las Vegas, UNLV is a public college with a very large student population.
About 1.5% of UNLV students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 15,438 students take at least one class online at UNLV. 8,226 of UNLV students are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize The University of Texas at Austin as the #14 school in this year's rankings. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population. As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Austin, the school also landed the #5 rank in our Best Colleges for Music ranking.
The student loan default rate at UT Austin is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. There are approximately 23,198 students at UT Austin that take at least one class online. 3,479 students are part time.
Our rankings recognize Stephen F Austin State University as the #15 school in this year's rankings. Located in the town of Nacogdoches, SFASU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The student loan default rate at SFASU is lower than is typical, just 2.1% of students default in three years. There are approximately 6,979 students at SFASU that take at least one class online. There are roughly 3,007 part time students in attendance at SFASU.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro landed the #16 spot in our 2021 best music schools for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 2.7%. Approximately 10,689 students take at least one class online at UNC Greensboro. 4,738 of UNC Greensboro students are attending part time.
Illinois State University comes in at #17 in this year's ranking. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, Illinois State also did well on our Best Colleges for Music list. It's in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
About 1.7% of Illinois State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 7,464 students at Illinois State that take at least one class online. About 2,500 of the students at Illinois State are attending part time.
Florida State University landed the #18 spot in our 2021 best music schools for non-traditional students. Florida State is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Tallahassee. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Florida State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Music list.
The student loan default rate at Florida State is lower than is typical, just 1.0% of students default in three years. Approximately 20,172 students take at least one class online at Florida State. 8,311 of Florida State students are attending part time.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Music Colleges for Non-Traditional Students award.
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 the rest 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).
Music is the #34th most popular major in the country with 15,545 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.
