2025 Best Music Schools in New York
33
Colleges in New York
2,523
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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 33 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Schools in New York ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,523 degrees in music to qualified students.
What's on this page: * 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
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
The music school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Music Schools in New York.
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 New York
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 York Schools in Music
New York University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in music. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 277 music students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the music program make about $29,111 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a degree in music from New York University
It is difficult to beat University of Rochester if you want to pursue a degree in music. University of Rochester is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Rochester. A Best Colleges rank of #82 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Rochester is a great university overall.
There were roughly 233 music students who graduated with this degree at University of Rochester in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the music program earn an average of $23,844 for their early career.
More information about a degree in music from University of Rochester
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
The Juilliard School is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in music. Located in the city of New York, Juilliard is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were about 274 music students who graduated with this degree at Juilliard in the most recent data year. After graduation, music degree recipients generally earn an average of $14,101 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in music from The Juilliard School
Ithaca College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in music. Located in the suburb of Ithaca, Ithaca is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Ithaca is a great college overall.
There were about 66 music students who graduated with this degree at Ithaca in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program state that they receive average early career earnings of $23,119.
More information about a degree in music from Ithaca College
Located in the city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #197 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means New School University is a great school overall.
There were approximately 211 music students who graduated with this degree at New School University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program state that they receive average early career wages of $14,577.
More information about a degree in music from The New School
Located in the midsize city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #62 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Syracuse is a great university overall.
There were approximately 30 music students who graduated with this degree at Syracuse in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn an average of $18,574 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a degree in music from Syracuse University
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were approximately 38 music students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Those music students who get their degree from Columbia University in the City of New York make $3,334 more than the average music graduate.
More information about a degree in music from Columbia University in the City of New York
Located in the large city of New York, Manhattan School of Music is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were roughly 318 music students who graduated with this degree at Manhattan School of Music in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program state that they receive average early career wages of $18,441.
More information about a degree in music from Manhattan School of Music
University at Buffalo is a very large public university located in the suburb of Buffalo. A Best Colleges rank of #171 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University at Buffalo is a great university overall.
There were roughly 26 music students who graduated with this degree at University at Buffalo in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music from University at Buffalo
Located in the large suburb of Poughkeepsie, Vassar is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 38th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 5 music students who graduated with this degree at Vassar in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music from Vassar College
