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2024 Best Music Schools in New Jersey

13 Colleges in New Jersey
593 Music Degrees Awarded
$27,273 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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 13 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Schools in New Jersey ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 593 degrees in music during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in New Jersey The music program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Music rankings. 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.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Music Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Music
Bachelor's Degrees in Music
Master's Degrees in Music
Doctor's Degrees in Music

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Music Schools in New Jersey list, to help you choose the best school for you. 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.

Best Schools for Music in New Jersey

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 New Jersey Schools in Music

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
89 Music Degrees Awarded
$33,342 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in music needs to check out Rutgers University - New Brunswick. Located in the city of New Brunswick, Rutgers New Brunswick is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #98 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Rutgers New Brunswick is a great university overall.

There were approximately 89 music students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers New Brunswick in the most recent year we have data available. Music degree recipients from Rutgers University - New Brunswick earn a boost of approximately $6,069 over the typical earnings of music graduates.

More information about a degree in music from Rutgers University - New Brunswick

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
78 Music Degrees Awarded
$31,985 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in music has to take a look at Montclair State University. Located in the suburb of Montclair, Montclair State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #346 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Montclair State is a great university overall.

There were about 78 music students who graduated with this degree at Montclair State in the most recent data year. Those music students who get their degree from Montclair State University receive $4,712 more than the typical music grad.

More information about a degree in music from Montclair State University

3
Rider crest
Rider University
Lawrenceville, NJ
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
78 Music Degrees Awarded
$22,890 Median Starting Salary

Rider University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Located in the large suburb of Lawrenceville, Rider is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #482 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Rider is a great university overall.

There were approximately 78 music students who graduated with this degree at Rider in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program make an average of $22,890 for their early career.

More information about a degree in music from Rider University

4
Rowan crest
Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Music Degrees Awarded
1.2% Growth in Graduates

Rowan University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in music. Rowan is a large public university located in the suburb of Glassboro. A Best Colleges rank of #329 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Rowan is a great university overall.

There were roughly 86 music students who graduated with this degree at Rowan in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, music degree recipients usually make an average of $27,411 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in music from Rowan University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In NJ
5.6% Growth in Graduates

TCNJ is a medium-sized public college located in the large suburb of Ewing. A Best Colleges rank of #251 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means TCNJ is a great college overall.

There were approximately 18 music students who graduated with this degree at TCNJ in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from The College of New Jersey

6
Monmouth crest
Monmouth University
West Long Branch, NJ
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$22,553 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Monmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of West Long Branch. This university ranks 13th out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were roughly 29 music students who graduated with this degree at Monmouth in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program make around $22,553 for their early career.

More information about a degree in music from Monmouth University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In NJ
38 Music Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Jersey City, NJCU is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 31st out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were about 38 music students who graduated with this degree at NJCU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from New Jersey City University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
49 Music Degrees Awarded
$22,365 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Wayne, William Paterson University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 16th out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were about 49 music students who graduated with this degree at William Paterson University in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, music degree recipients generally earn an average of $22,365 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in music from William Paterson University of New Jersey

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Music Degrees Awarded
$23,309 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Mahwah, Ramapo College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. This college ranks 20th out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were approximately 32 music students who graduated with this degree at Ramapo College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program report average early career wages of $23,309.

More information about a degree in music from Ramapo College of New Jersey

10
Seton Hall crest
Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In NJ
80.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of South Orange, Seton Hall is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #404 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Seton Hall is a great university overall.

There were roughly 5 music students who graduated with this degree at Seton Hall in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Seton Hall University

Best Music Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Music Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 334 900
New York 333 2,227
Maryland 279 372
District of Columbia 188 117
Delaware 175 43

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Music has other similar majors worth exploring.

Music Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Music 303
Music Performance 121
Music Technology 65
Voice Performance 57
Other Music 26
Music Theory & Composition 5
Music Pedagogy 5
Jazz Studies 4
Keyboard Instruments 3
Music History 2

View All Music Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 821
Design & Applied Arts 585
Drama & Theater Arts 210
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 183
General Visual & Performing Arts 180
Dance 92
Arts & Media Management 21
Other Visual Art 2

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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