2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 1,117 people earned their degree in music theory and composition, making the major the 415th most popular in the United States.

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 $75-$110k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in music theory and composition. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent music theory and composition programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the music theory and composition program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $75-$110k) 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 $75-$110k. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 2 doctorate’s music composition degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree music composition students whose families make $75-$110k list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Music Theory & Composition Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at Stanford

#2

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 #2 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large school located in Santa Cruz, California that handed out 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 UC Santa Cruz are $28,952.

Read more about Music Theory & Composition at UC Santa Cruz

#3

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s music composition degrees to qualified students.

USC also took the #1 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 USC are $48,715.

Full University of Southern California Music Theory & Composition Report

#4

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California

#2 in overall quality

$53,466 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Institute of the Arts. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Music Composition Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $75-$110k. Located in Valencia, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 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. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of the Arts are $53,466.

Read full report on Music Theory & Composition at CalArts

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $75-$110k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Music Theory & Composition (Income $75-$110k)

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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