2024 Best Music Doctor's Degree Schools
Music is of the hottest doctor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #22 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 87 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for music students pursuing a doctor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,327 doctor's degrees in music to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Music School for Your Doctor's Degree
The music doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on music students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of music students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for music to pay back their student loans after receiving their doctor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for music students working on their doctor's degree.
More Ways to Rank Music Schools
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 Doctor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.
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Featured Music 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.
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Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Music in the United States
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in music. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
13 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Music
Northwestern University is a great decision for students interested in a doctor's degree in music. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in music from Northwestern University
Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in music has to take a look at Michigan State University. Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.
Music doctor's degree recipients from Michigan State University receive an earnings boost of around $15,790 over the typical earnings of music majors.
More information about a doctorate in music from Michigan State University
It's difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in music. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
After graduation, music doctorate recipients usually earn around $36,397 in their early careers.
More information about a doctorate in music from University of Southern California
Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in music has to look into Duke University. Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham.More information about a doctorate in music from Duke University
UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Austin.
Music doctor's degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin get an earnings boost of about $6,891 over the average earnings of music majors.
More information about a doctorate in music from The University of Texas at Austin