2025 Best Music Associate Degree Schools
Music is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #53 most popular associate degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 15 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Associate Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,952 associate degrees in music during the <nil> academic year.
What's on this page: * Our 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
Choosing a Great Music School for Your Associate Degree
The music associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on music students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of music students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt music students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for music students working on their associate degree.
More Ways to Rank Music Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Music Associate Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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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