2024 Best Music Schools
489
Colleges in the United States
25,910
Music Degrees Awarded
$27,160
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 looked at 489 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Music Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 25,910 degrees in music during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
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 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 the United States
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. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools in Music
It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a degree in music. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 156 music students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Music degree recipients from Northwestern University get an earnings boost of approximately $2,595 over the average earnings of music majors.
More information about a degree in music from Northwestern University
It is hard to beat Rice University if you wish to pursue a degree in music. Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Houston. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Rice is a great university overall.
There were about 87 music students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, music degree recipients usually earn around $28,275 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from Rice University
Yale University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.
There were approximately 141 music students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the music program make an average of $20,839 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a degree in music from Yale University
It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a degree in music. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 182 music students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, music degree recipients usually earn around $22,775 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from University of Southern California
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
8th
Most Popular In GA
Located in the large city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 68 schools for overall quality in the state of Georgia.
There were approximately 22 music students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music from Emory University
Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 208 music students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the music major at Michigan State University get $15,518 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in music from Michigan State University
Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.
There were about 44 music students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn about $26,788 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in music from Vanderbilt University
Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 197 music students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, music degree recipients usually earn an average of $27,868 in their early careers.
More information about a degree in music from New York University
Located in the large city of New York, Juilliard is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
There were about 208 music students who graduated with this degree at Juilliard in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, music degree recipients generally earn an average of $18,174 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from The Juilliard School
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
11th
Most Popular In NC
Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were about 13 music students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music from Duke University
Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were approximately 21 music students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music from University of Notre Dame
U-M is a very large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. This university ranks 1st out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were roughly 199 music students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, music degree recipients usually make around $20,849 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were roughly 140 music students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the music degree program at The University of Texas at Austin make $11,448 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in music from The University of Texas at Austin
Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.
There were roughly 94 music students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn about $22,609 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in music from Carnegie Mellon University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In NH
Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Hanover. A Best Colleges rank of #25 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.
There were roughly 8 music students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music from Dartmouth College
Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were approximately 176 music students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, music degree recipients generally make around $18,024 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in music from Johns Hopkins University
Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 114 music students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the music degree program at University of California - Los Angeles make $5,180 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in music from University of California - Los Angeles
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
17th
Most Popular In NY
47
Music Degrees Awarded
Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were roughly 47 music students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music from Columbia University in the City of New York
Located in the town of Oberlin, Oberlin is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 8th out of 96 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 107 music students who graduated with this degree at Oberlin in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program report average early career income of $20,910.
More information about a degree in music from Oberlin College
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
16th
Most Popular In TX
54
Music Degrees Awarded
Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 54 music students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music from Texas Christian University
Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were about 69 music students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Those music students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive $13,272 more than the average music student.
More information about a degree in music from University of Wisconsin - Madison
IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the city of Bloomington. This university ranks 3rd out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were about 374 music students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the music program make an average of $26,314 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a degree in music from Indiana University - Bloomington
Located in the suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 80 music students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program report average early career earnings of $25,103.
More information about a degree in music from Southern Methodist University
Located in the small city of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 77 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were about 192 music students who graduated with this degree at U Miami in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, music degree recipients usually make around $23,323 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from University of Miami
Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. This university ranks 6th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were roughly 109 music students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available. Those music students who get their degree from Boston University earn $2,583 more than the standard music graduate.
More information about a degree in music from Boston University