16
Colleges in California
760
Music Performance Degrees Awarded
Ranked #116 in popularity,
music performance is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual looked at 16 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Music Performance Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 760 degrees in music performance to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
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Featured Music Performance 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
The music performance program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Music Performance rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for music performance schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Music Performance Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.
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Featured Music Performance 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
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 performance degrees they offer, see the list below.
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
10th
Most Popular In CA
52
Music Performance Degrees Awarded
Every student pursuing a degree in music performance needs to look into University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 52 music performance students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music performance from University of Southern California
Any student pursuing a degree in music performance has to check out University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were about 29 music performance students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music performance from University of California - Los Angeles
Masters
Degree Type
MBA in Music Business
Program Name
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
More information about a degree in MBA in Music Business from Southern New Hampshire University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
12th
Most Popular In CA
University of California - Irvine is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in music performance. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were roughly 10 music performance students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music performance from University of California - Irvine
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
13th
Most Popular In CA
University of Redlands is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in music performance. University of Redlands is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Redlands. This university ranks 53rd out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 15 music performance students who graduated with this degree at University of Redlands in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music performance from University of Redlands
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
15th
Most Popular In CA
CalArts is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Valencia.
There were about 13 music performance students who graduated with this degree at CalArts in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music performance from California Institute of the Arts
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In CA
105
Music Performance Degrees Awarded
Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #246 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.
There were approximately 105 music performance students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music performance from California State University - Long Beach
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
11th
Most Popular In CA
Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #91 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Santa Cruz is a great university overall.
There were about 15 music performance students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music performance from University of California - Santa Cruz
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In CA
82
Music Performance Degrees Awarded
CSUN is a very large public university located in the city of Northridge. This university ranks 48th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 82 music performance students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music performance from California State University - Northridge
Cal Baptist is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Riverside. This university ranks 66th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 9 music performance students who graduated with this degree at Cal Baptist in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music performance from California Baptist University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
3rd
Most Popular In CA
62
Music Performance Degrees Awarded
Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #185 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 62 music performance students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music performance from San Diego State University
