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2025 Best Music Schools in California

41 Colleges in California
3,501 Music Degrees Awarded
$29,590 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 41 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of music. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,501 degrees in music annually.

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

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in California 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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Music Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. 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 California

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.

10 Top California Schools in Music

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
228 Music Degrees Awarded
20.2% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a degree in music. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 228 music students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program make around $21,246 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in music from University of Southern California

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
134 Music Degrees Awarded
1.5% Growth in Graduates

San Francisco Conservatory of Music is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. SFCM is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

There were approximately 134 music students who graduated with this degree at SFCM in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the music program at San Francisco Conservatory of Music make $5,336 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music

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Masters Degree Type
MBA in Music Business Program Name

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More information about a degree in MBA in Music Business from Southern New Hampshire University
3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
115 Music Degrees Awarded
$21,758 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 115 music students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, music degree recipients typically earn around $21,758 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in music from University of California - Los Angeles

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Music Degrees Awarded
2.6% Growth in Graduates

Chapman University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Orange. This university ranks 24th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 38 music students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent data year. After graduating, music degree recipients typically earn about $14,538 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in music from Chapman University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
19th Most Popular In CA

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 27 music students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from University of California - Irvine

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
73rd Most Popular In CA
33.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #165 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.

There were about 12 music students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In CA
45 Music Degrees Awarded

Located in the small city of Redlands, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 53rd out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 45 music students who graduated with this degree at University of Redlands in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from University of Redlands

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
21st Most Popular In CA
45 Music Degrees Awarded

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were about 45 music students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from University of California - Santa Barbara

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$24,630 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 16 music students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program make about $24,630 for their early career.

More information about a degree in music from University of California - Davis

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
73rd Most Popular In CA

Located in the suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Pepperdine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 7 music students who graduated with this degree at Pepperdine in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Pepperdine University

Best Music Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Music Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 320
Oregon 266 296
Nevada 192 93
Hawaii 164 31
Alaska 119 12

View All Rankings >

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

Music Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Music 1,517
Music Performance 760
Music Technology 480
Music Theory & Composition 297
Other Music 116
Stringed Instruments 77
Voice Performance 75
Keyboard Instruments 46
Musicology & Ethnomusicology 31
Jazz Studies 31

View All Music Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 6,800
Design & Applied Arts 4,768
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 4,479
Drama & Theater Arts 2,809
General Visual & Performing Arts 1,286
Dance 498
Arts & Media Management 335
Other Visual Art 45

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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