2025 Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California
12
Colleges in California
297
Music Composition Degrees Awarded
A degree in
music theory & composition is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #390 out of 1506 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
College Factual looked at 12 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Music Theory & Composition Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 297 degrees in music theory & composition annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
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Featured Music Theory & Composition Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
MBA in Music Business
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
Learn More
Choosing a Great Music Theory & Composition School
The music composition program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Music Theory & Composition rankings. We derive our Best Overall Music Theory & Composition 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.
Pick Your Music Theory & Composition Degree Level
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 Theory & Composition Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
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.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Read more about College Factual's methodology.
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Featured Music Theory & Composition Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
MBA in Music Business
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
Learn More
Best Schools for Music Theory & Composition 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 composition degrees they offer, see the list below.
10 Top California Schools in Music Composition
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
6th
Most Popular In CA
Any student pursuing a degree in music theory & composition needs to look into University of Southern California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 5 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from University of Southern California
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
12th
Most Popular In CA
Every student pursuing a degree in music theory & composition has to take a look at University of California - Los Angeles. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 2 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from University of California - Los Angeles
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
It's difficult to beat San Francisco Conservatory of Music if you wish to pursue a degree in music theory & composition. SFCM is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.
There were roughly 9 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at SFCM in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Every student who is interested in music theory & composition needs to take a look at Chapman University. Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Orange. A Best Colleges rank of #172 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Chapman is a great university overall.
There were roughly 3 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Chapman University
Located in the 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 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.
There were roughly 9 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from University of California - Santa Barbara
Located in the 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 about 8 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at University of Redlands in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from University of Redlands
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In CA
Located in the suburb of Valencia, CalArts is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were about 27 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at CalArts in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from California Institute of the Arts
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
8th
Most Popular In CA
Located in the large suburb of La Mirada, Biola is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 86th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 2 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Biola in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Biola University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
8th
Most Popular In CA
Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 66th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 1 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Cal Baptist in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from California Baptist University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In CA
Located in the large city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 47th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 28 music theory & composition students who graduated with this degree at Academy of Art University in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music theory & composition from Academy of Art University
