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2025 Best Music Schools in North Carolina

10 Colleges in North Carolina
553 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.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Schools in North Carolina ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 553 degrees in music annually.

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

Choosing a Great Music School

Best Music Schools in North Carolina 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

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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

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 North Carolina Schools in Music

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Music Degrees Awarded
$32,880 Median Starting Salary

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in music. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.

There were roughly 47 music students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the music major at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill get $3,290 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In NC
26.3% Growth in Graduates

Elon University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in music. Located in the midsize suburb of Elon, Elon is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #190 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Elon is a great university overall.

There were approximately 19 music students who graduated with this degree at Elon in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from Elon 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
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Music Degrees Awarded
18.1% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat University of North Carolina at Greensboro if you want to pursue a degree in music. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public university located in the city of Greensboro. This university ranks 17th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 105 music students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program report average early career income of $23,434.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina at Greensboro

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 Music Degrees Awarded
14.6% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in music has to check out University of North Carolina School of the Arts. UNCSA is a small public university located in the large city of Winston Salem.

There were about 48 music students who graduated with this degree at UNCSA in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the music program earn around $19,939 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina School of the Arts

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$38,831 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #367 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UNC Charlotte is a great university overall.

There were approximately 21 music students who graduated with this degree at UNC Charlotte in the most recent data year. Those music students who get their degree from University of North Carolina at Charlotte receive $9,241 more than the typical music graduate.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina at Charlotte

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NC
45 Music Degrees Awarded

ECU is a very large public university located in the small city of Greenville. A Best Colleges rank of #275 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.

There were about 45 music students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from East Carolina University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In NC
20.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 11th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 24 music students who graduated with this degree at Appalachian State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from Appalachian State University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Music Degrees Awarded
18.0% Growth in Graduates

WCU is a fairly large public university located in the town of Cullowhee. This university ranks 36th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 50 music students who graduated with this degree at WCU in the most recent data year. After graduating, music degree recipients usually earn about $26,135 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in music from Western Carolina University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In NC
13.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Asheville, UNCA is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 61st out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 23 music students who graduated with this degree at UNCA in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina at Asheville

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In NC

UNC Pembroke is a moderately-sized public university located in the distant town of Pembroke. This university ranks 48th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 10 music students who graduated with this degree at UNC Pembroke in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in music from University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Best Music Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Music Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 453
Florida 282 1,204
Virginia 274 629
Tennessee 269 803
South Carolina 248 203
Kentucky 244 278
Louisiana 242 315
Mississippi 234 181
Arkansas 234 175
Alabama 233 276
West Virginia 207 93

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 243
Music Performance 242
Musicology & Ethnomusicology 15
Jazz Studies 15
Music Technology 11
Music Theory & Composition 10
Other Music 8
Music Pedagogy 6
Voice Performance 2
Music History 1

View All Music Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 1,766
Fine & Studio Arts 713
Drama & Theater Arts 466
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 244
Dance 127
Arts & Media Management 110
General Visual & Performing Arts 81
Other Visual Art 13
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 12

View All Music Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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