2024 Best Music Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
Music is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #36 most popular master's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
College Factual looked at 25 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Music Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 636 master's degrees in music during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Music School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of music for getting your master's degree school matters. 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
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection 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 master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
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 - How many other music students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- 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 master'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 colleges for music students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Music Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Music Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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.
Learn More
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Music in the Southwest Region
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for music students seeking a a master's degree.
10 Top Southwest Region Schools for a Master's in Music
Rice University is a great option for students pursuing a master's degree in music. Located in the city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the music program make about $28,275 for their early career.
More information about a master’s in music from Rice University
Texas Christian University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in music. TCU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Fort Worth.More information about a master’s in music from Texas Christian University
Southern Methodist University is a great option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in music. SMU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Dallas.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn an average of $25,103 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a master’s in music from Southern Methodist University
It's difficult to beat The University of Texas at Austin if you want to pursue a master's degree in music. UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin.
Soon after graduating, music master's recipients generally earn about $24,153 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in music from The University of Texas at Austin
Located in the medium-sized city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the music program state that they receive average early career income of $19,176.
More information about a master’s in music from Baylor University