17
Ranked Colleges
775
Degrees Awarded
$14,200
Avg Net Price*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Music Performance is the 116th most popular major in the country with 7,335 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across California, there were 775 music performance graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 17 colleges that offered a degree in music performance. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality music performance programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the music performance program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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 by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. University of California - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 27 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCLA has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $9,037 for California Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UCLA.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Music Performance at UCLA
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 47 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Cal State LA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #16 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” list. It costs about $1,887 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal State LA.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at Cal State LA
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Cal State Fullerton is a large school located in Fullerton, California that handed out 50 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Cal State Fullerton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Cal State Fullerton is $4,590 for California Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Music Performance at California State University - Fullerton
Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 37 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k list, USC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Southern California is $17,287 for California Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at University of Southern California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 17 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Irvine is $6,540 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at University of California - Irvine
California State University - Long Beach came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 122 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k list, CSULB has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $6,663 for California Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at California State University - Long Beach
California State University - Northridge ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. CSUN is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 76 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
CSUN also took the #13 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Northridge is $6,266 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at CSUN
San Diego State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. San Diego State University is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 70 ’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
SDSU also took the #10 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $7,169 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Music Performance at San Diego State University
California State University - Sacramento came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Sacramento is a large school located in Sacramento, California that handed out 49 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
Sac State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $8,163 for California Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at California State University - Sacramento
San Jose State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.
San Jose State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State University is $12,158 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at San Jose State
California State University - Stanislaus came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Turlock, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stan State, the school also landed the #17 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $4,122 for California Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Stan State.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Music Performance at Stan State
University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s music performance degrees to 18 students in 2020-2021.
UC Santa Cruz also made our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $11,038 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UC Santa Cruz Music Performance Report
San Francisco State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #13. Located in San Francisco, California, this large public school awarded 15 diplomas to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
SFSU also took the #14 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $10,705 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend SFSU.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at SFSU
University of Redlands did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Redlands, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 16 diplomas to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
University of Redlands did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Redlands is $20,409 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Redlands Music Performance Report
Biola University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Biola University is located in La Mirada, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Biola, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $27,024 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Biola University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Biola University Music Performance Report
Chapman University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Chapman is a medium-sized school located in Orange, California that handed out 5 ’s music performance degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k list, Chapman has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Chapman University is $34,946 for California Music Performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at Chapman University
California Institute of the Arts landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Best Value Music Performance Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Valencia, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 13 degrees to qualified ’s music performance students in 2020-2021.
CalArts not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Music Performance Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California Institute of the Arts is $52,801 for california music performance students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full CalArts Music Performance Report
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
