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2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

12 Ranked Colleges
29 Degrees Awarded
$16,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor's in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Music Theory & Composition is the 415th most popular major in the country with 1,117 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across the Southwest region, there were 60 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 29 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music theory and composition. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great music theory and composition programs and cost less that 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 theory and composition program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region

#1

Rice University

Houston, Texas
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Rice University landed the #1 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Rice not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Rice is $3,437 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Rice

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Texas landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Denton, Texas, this large public school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music composition students in 2019-2020.

UNT did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $8,521 for southwest region bachelor’s degree music composition students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UNT.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at UNT

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the #3 spot on the list. The University of Texas at Austin is a large school located in Austin, Texas that handed out 3 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Austin, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at Austin is $12,203 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The low 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 The University of Texas at Austin Music Theory & Composition Report

#11 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arizona State University - Tempe. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music composition degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

ASU - Tempe not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for ASU - Tempe is $7,044 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full ASU - Tempe Music Theory & Composition Report

#5

Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Oklahoma City University landed the #5 spot on the list. OCU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It awarded 2 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

OCU also took the #7 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Oklahoma City University is $17,214 for southwest region bachelor’s degree music composition students whose families make $0-$30k.

The 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 student loan default rate of 3.8% 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%.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Oklahoma City University

#6

Oral Roberts University

Tulsa, Oklahoma
#10 in overall quality

Oral Roberts University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Tulsa, Oklahoma is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s music composition degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree music composition students whose families make $0-$30k list, ORU has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $17,078 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend ORU.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Oral Roberts University

#7

University of Tulsa

Tulsa, Oklahoma
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, University of Tulsa did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Tulsa is a small school located in Tulsa, Oklahoma that handed out 1 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Tulsa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Tulsa is $14,391 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive 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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at University of Tulsa

#8

Southwestern University

Georgetown, Texas
#9 in overall quality

Southwestern University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Southwestern is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Georgetown, Texas. It awarded 1 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

Southwestern also made our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for Southwestern University is $20,296 for southwest region bachelor’s degree music composition students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Southwestern University

#9

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, Texas
#5 in overall quality

Texas Christian University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Worth, Texas. It awarded 3 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree music composition students whose families make $0-$30k list, TCU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $21,286 for southwest region bachelor’s degree music composition students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend TCU.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full TCU Music Theory & Composition Report

#10

Dallas Baptist University

Dallas, Texas
#12 in overall quality

Dallas Baptist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #10. This small school is located in Dallas, Texas, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

DBU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for DBU is $22,428 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at DBU

#3 in overall quality

Southern Methodist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #11. SMU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dallas, Texas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SMU, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SMU is $26,718 for southwest region bachelor’s degree music composition students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at Southern Methodist University

#12

Baylor University

Waco, Texas
#8 in overall quality

Baylor University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. Baylor is a fairly large school located in Waco, Texas that handed out 4 bachelors’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree music composition students whose families make $0-$30k list, Baylor has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $26,726 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Music Composition students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Baylor University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Baylor University

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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

Footnotes

  • *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.

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