139
Ranked Colleges
1,908
Degrees Awarded
$33,500
Avg Cost*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Music Performance is the 116th most popular major in the country with 7,281 degrees awarded in 2021-2022.
At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,908 music performance graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,979 and $43,370 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major” ranking, we looked at 139 colleges that offer a degree in music performance. That schools that top this list have a program in music performance in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The colleges and universities below are the best for master’s degree music performance students.
Out of the 139 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Cleveland Institute of Music landed the #1 spot on the list. Cleveland Institute of Music is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school has a small population, and it awarded 40 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Music Performance at Cleveland Institute of Music
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Longy School of Music of Bard College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Longy is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Music Performance at Longy School of Music of Bard College
Out of the 139 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina School of the Arts landed the #3 spot on the list. University of North Carolina School of the Arts is a public institution located in Winston Salem, North Carolina. The school has a small population, and it awarded 17 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of North Carolina School of the Arts Music Performance Report
Out of the 139 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Berklee College of Music landed the #4 spot on the list. Berklee College of Music is a medium-sized school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 102 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Berklee College of Music Music Performance Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bard College. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major. Located in Annandale-On-Hudson, New York, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 25 degrees to qualified masters’s music performance students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, 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 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Music Performance at Bard
Messiah University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #6. Messiah is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. It awarded 36 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Messiah University Music Performance Report
The Baptist College of Florida came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Graceville, Florida is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s music performance degrees to 5 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full BCF Music Performance Report
California Institute of the Arts ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. This small school is located in Valencia, California, and it awarded 1 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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 California Institute of the Arts Music Performance Report
With a ranking of #9, Oklahoma City University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s music performance degrees to 13 students in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 full report on Music Performance at OCU
With a ranking of #10, Salem College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Salem is a small school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that handed out 4 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
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 Salem College
Manhattan School of Music did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #11. Manhattan School of Music is a small private not-for-profit school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 8 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Manhattan School of Music Music Performance Report
With a ranking of #12, University of Mobile did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. University of Mobile is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mobile, Alabama. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at University of Mobile
Lynn University ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Lynn University Fighting Knights is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Boca Raton, Florida. It awarded 5 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at Lynn University Fighting Knights
With a ranking of #14, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Indiana University - Bloomington is a large public school situated in Bloomington, Indiana. It awarded 134 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at Indiana University - Bloomington
University of Rochester came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Rochester, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s music performance degrees to 47 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.4% 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 full report on Music Performance at University of Rochester
The New School ranked #16 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Located in New York, New York, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 33 degrees to qualified masters’s music performance students in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 more about Music Performance at New School University
Columbus State University ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. Columbus State University is located in Columbus, Georgia and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 13 masters’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Columbus State University Music Performance Report
Bowling Green State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #18. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is a fairly large public school situated in Bowling Green, Ohio. It awarded 35 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
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%.
Read more about Music Performance at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
With a ranking of #19, University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is located in Cincinnati, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 95 masters’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read more about Music Performance at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Shenandoah University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Shenandoah University is a small school located in Winchester, Virginia that handed out 8 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
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%.
Read more about Music Performance at Shenandoah
SUNY Fredonia came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. SUNY Fredonia is a small public school situated in Fredonia, New York. It awarded 8 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at SUNY Fredonia
With a ranking of #22, University of Missouri - Kansas City did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major list. University of Missouri - Kansas City is a fairly large public school situated in Kansas City, Missouri. It awarded 22 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Music Performance at University of Missouri - Kansas City
Johns Hopkins University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #23. Johns Hopkins University is located in Baltimore, Maryland and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 79 masters’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Music Performance at Johns Hopkins
Butler University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking, coming in at #24. Butler University is located in Indianapolis, Indiana and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 5 masters’s music performance degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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.
Full Butler University Music Performance Report
Yale University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Music Performance Major ranking. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in New Haven, Connecticut. It awarded 24 masters’s music performance degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, 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 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Music Performance at Yale University
