2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $0-$30k) in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Doctorate in California 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 California, there were 253 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 13 music theory and composition graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in music theory and composition. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality music theory and composition programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the music theory and composition program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Music Theory & Composition Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$55,011 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s music composition degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford also took the #1 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Stanford Music Theory & Composition Report

#2

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. USC is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 4 doctorate’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at University of Southern California

#3

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

#3 in overall quality

$28,952 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Cruz. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Santa Cruz, California, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz also took the #3 spot in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Cruz are $28,952.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at UC Santa Cruz

#4

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California

#2 in overall quality

$53,466 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of the Arts. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Valencia, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s music composition students in 2019-2020.

CalArts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Music Theory & Composition Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at CalArts are $53,466, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at California Institute of the Arts

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $0-$30k)

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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