2025 Best Music Schools in California
41
Colleges in California
3,501
Music Degrees Awarded
$29,590
Avg Early-Career Salary
Music is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #43 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
College Factual reviewed 41 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of music. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,501 degrees in music annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
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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
Choosing a Great Music School
Your choice of music school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Music School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Music Rankings by Degree Level
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 Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
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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 Music in California
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the music degrees they offer, see the list below.
10 Top California Schools in Music
It is hard to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a degree in music. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were about 228 music students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program make around $21,246 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a degree in music from University of Southern California
San Francisco Conservatory of Music is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. SFCM is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.
There were approximately 134 music students who graduated with this degree at SFCM in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the music program at San Francisco Conservatory of Music make $5,336 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Masters
Degree Type
MBA in Music Business
Program Name
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
More information about a degree in MBA in Music Business from Southern New Hampshire University
University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were about 115 music students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, music degree recipients typically earn around $21,758 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in music from University of California - Los Angeles
Chapman University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Orange. This university ranks 24th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 38 music students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent data year. After graduating, music degree recipients typically earn about $14,538 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in music from Chapman University
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
19th
Most Popular In CA
UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were roughly 27 music students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music from University of California - Irvine
Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #165 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.
There were about 12 music students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
28th
Most Popular In CA
45
Music Degrees Awarded
Located in the small city of Redlands, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 53rd out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 45 music students who graduated with this degree at University of Redlands in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music from University of Redlands
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
21st
Most Popular In CA
45
Music Degrees Awarded
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.
There were about 45 music students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music from University of California - Santa Barbara
Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were roughly 16 music students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program make about $24,630 for their early career.
More information about a degree in music from University of California - Davis
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
73rd
Most Popular In CA
Located in the suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Pepperdine is a great university overall.
There were roughly 7 music students who graduated with this degree at Pepperdine in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music from Pepperdine University
