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2025 Best Music Schools in the New England Region

24 Colleges in the New England Region
2,243 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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 24 schools in the New England Region to determine which ones were the best for music students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,243 degrees in music annually.

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

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in the New England Region 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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Music Schools in the New England Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. 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 the New England Region

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 New England Region Schools in Music

1
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
126 Music Degrees Awarded
13.5% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat Boston University if you wish to pursue a degree in music. Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 126 music students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the music degree program at Boston University make $7,897 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in music from Boston University

2
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In RI
32 Music Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in music has to look into Brown University. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were roughly 32 music students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Brown University

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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
3
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In NH
63.6% Growth in Graduates

Dartmouth College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Hanover. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.

There were approximately 22 music students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Dartmouth College

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
823 Music Degrees Awarded
15.9% Growth in Graduates

Berklee College of Music is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Located in the large city of Boston, Berklee College of Music is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

There were roughly 823 music students who graduated with this degree at Berklee College of Music in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn around $19,482 for their early career.

More information about a degree in music from Berklee College of Music

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
218 Music Degrees Awarded
$24,499 Median Starting Salary

The New England Conservatory of Music is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.

There were roughly 218 music students who graduated with this degree at The New England Conservatory of Music in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the music program earn around $24,499 for their early career.

More information about a degree in music from The New England Conservatory of Music

6
UHart crest
University of Hartford
West Hartford, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
117 Music Degrees Awarded
$24,511 Median Starting Salary

UHart is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of West Hartford. This university ranks 12th out of 18 colleges for overall quality in the state of Connecticut.

There were about 116.99999999999999 music students who graduated with this degree at UHart in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the music program make an average of $24,511 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in music from University of Hartford

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
41 Music Degrees Awarded
12.2% Growth in Graduates

Northeastern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #33 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northeastern is a great university overall.

There were about 41 music students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the music program make around $21,978 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in music from Northeastern University

8
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
30th Most Popular In MA
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #90 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Williams is a great college overall.

There were about 6 music students who graduated with this degree at Williams in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Williams College

9
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In MA
11.5% Growth in Graduates

Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Medford. A Best Colleges rank of #39 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Tufts is a great university overall.

There were approximately 26 music students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Tufts University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
69 Music Degrees Awarded
20.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Amherst, UMass Amherst is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #60 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UMass Amherst is a great university overall.

There were approximately 69 music students who graduated with this degree at UMass Amherst in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, music degree recipients typically make around $30,429 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in music from University of Massachusetts Amherst

Best Music Colleges by State

Explore the best music colleges for a specific state in the New England Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Massachusetts 301 1,405
Connecticut 241 420
New Hampshire 210 46
Maine 202 55
Rhode Island 200 72
Vermont 194 63

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 631
Music Performance 559
Other Music 300
Music Theory & Composition 279
Stringed Instruments 104
Keyboard Instruments 69
Voice Performance 62
Jazz Studies 53
Music Pedagogy 47
Woodwind Instruments 37

View All Music Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 2,098
Design & Applied Arts 2,097
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,444
Drama & Theater Arts 1,025
Arts & Media Management 408
General Visual & Performing Arts 352
Dance 142
Other Visual Art 69
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 9
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art 4

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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