2024 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in
music, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #34 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 18 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 681 bachelor's degrees in music during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Music School for Your Bachelor's Degree
Your choice of music for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality music program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to music students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other music students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for music to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for music students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college 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.
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.
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Featured Music Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
MBA in Music Business
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
Learn More
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Music in Illinois
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for music students seeking a a bachelor's degree.
10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Music
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in music has to check out Northwestern University. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston.
Those music students who get their bachelor's degree from Northwestern University earn $9,817 more than the standard music student.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Northwestern University
41
Annual Graduates
$24,625
Median Student Debt
It is hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in music needs to look into Wheaton College Illinois. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Wheaton.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the music program make an average of $28,924 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Wheaton College Illinois
Northern Illinois University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in music. NIU is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
Those music students who get their bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University make $6,024 more than the average music graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Northern Illinois University
Located in the city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program report average early career earnings of $23,445.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Roosevelt University
Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the music program make about $19,662 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from DePaul University
Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the music program earn about $27,765 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Illinois State University
6
Annual Graduates
$27,000
Median Student Debt
Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Bradley University
Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
After graduating, music bachelor's recipients typically earn around $18,502 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Columbia College Chicago
Located in the city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Illinois Wesleyan University