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2024 Best Music Schools in the Great Lakes Region

73 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
3,842 Music Degrees Awarded
$27,923 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 73 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of music. Combined, these schools handed out 3,842 degrees in music to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in the Great Lakes Region 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

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

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 the Great Lakes Region. 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 the Great Lakes Region

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.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Music

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
170 Music Degrees Awarded
8.2% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a degree in music. Northwestern is a fairly 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 roughly 170 music students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, music degree recipients typically make around $29,755 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in music from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
165 Music Degrees Awarded
$42,678 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in music needs to check out Michigan State University. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were about 165 music students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Music degree recipients from Michigan State University get an earnings boost of around $14,755 above the average earnings of music majors.

More information about a degree in music from Michigan State University

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IN

It is hard to beat University of Notre Dame if you wish to pursue a degree in music. 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 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were approximately 8 music students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from University of Notre Dame

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
185 Music Degrees Awarded
$20,849 Median Starting Salary

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. U-M is a very large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were about 185 music students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, music degree recipients usually make about $20,849 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in music from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

5
Oberlin crest
Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
140 Music Degrees Awarded
23.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the fringe 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 roughly 140 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

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
77 Music Degrees Awarded
10.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 77 music students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the music program at University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $12,509 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in music from University of Wisconsin - Madison

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
389 Music Degrees Awarded
3.9% Growth in Graduates

IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Bloomington. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.

There were approximately 389 music students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the music program make an average of $26,314 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in music from Indiana University - Bloomington

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
132 Music Degrees Awarded
2.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 132 music students who graduated with this degree at UIUC 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 $22,243.

More information about a degree in music from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$28,924 Median Starting Salary
$24,556 Median Student Debt

Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Wheaton. This college ranks 11th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 30 music students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, music degree recipients generally make an average of $28,924 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in music from Wheaton College Illinois

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
219 Music Degrees Awarded
$24,783 Median Starting Salary

UC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Cincinnati. A Best Colleges rank of #166 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC is a great university overall.

There were about 219 music students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the music program earn around $24,783 for their early career.

More information about a degree in music from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Music students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Music Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

RankCollegeLocation
11Ohio State University - Main CampusColumbus, OH
12Cleveland Institute of MusicCleveland, OH
13Ohio University - Athens CampusAthens, OH
14DePauw UniversityGreencastle, IN
15Miami University - OxfordOxford, OH
16University of Wisconsin - Eau ClaireEau Claire, WI
17Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo, MI
18Bowling Green State University - Main CampusBowling Green, OH

Best Music Colleges by State

Explore the best music schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Michigan322726
Ohio3141,108
Illinois3041,091
Indiana294599
Wisconsin273356

View All Rankings >

Music is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Music Focus Areas

MajorAnnual Graduates
Music Performance1,574
General Music1,283
Music Theory & Composition163
Other Music148
Music Technology133
Music Pedagogy131
Voice Performance95
Keyboard Instruments74
Jazz Studies69
Stringed Instruments63

View All Music Focus Areas >

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts5,430
Fine & Studio Arts4,323
Drama & Theater Arts2,285
Film, Video & Photographic Arts1,712
Arts & Media Management601
General Visual & Performing Arts429
Dance342
Other Visual Art78
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry11

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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