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2022 Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Music in California

77 Colleges in California
1,553 Bachelor's Degrees
$18,864 Avg Early-Career Salary
Music is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #34 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 77 schools in California to determine which ones were the most popular for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of music. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,553 bachelor's degrees in music during the 2019-2020 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Other Rankings

Choosing a Great Music School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Music in California Your choice of school for getting your bachelor's degree in music matters. As an aid in helping you pick the right school for you, we created our Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Music in California ranking.

A high popularity ranking isn't always a sign that a school has a great overall quality ranking for music, but it does mean that many students are choosing the school for some reason. Sometimes this is because the school offers a great educational experience, it is a good value, or it is highly focused on the program.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Associate Degrees in Music
Master's Degrees in Music
Doctor's Degrees in Music
Overall Popularity in Music

This ranking is just one of the many we have created. First of all, if you are interested in other degree levels, you may want to take a look at one of the rankings highlighted above. Also, if you are interested in attending school in a specific part of the country, see our rankings by location. Plus, you can view our other rankings for music.

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.

Below you'll see a list of the most popular colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor'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.

12 Most Well Attended Schools for Music Students Working on Their Bachelor's

1
125 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#21 Best Quality In CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

California State University - Northridge is a popular choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public university with a very large student population.

There were approximately 125 music students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent year we have data available.

Soon after graduation, music bachelor's recipients generally earn around $19,700 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from California State University - Northridge

2
113 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#24 Best Quality In CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at California State University - Long Beach if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in music. CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Long Beach.

There were roughly 113 music individuals who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year.

Soon after graduating, music bachelor's recipients usually earn about $13,700 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from California State University - Long Beach

3
67 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#4 Best Quality In CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in music has to look into University of California - Los Angeles. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #4 in quality for bachelor's degrees in music in California.

There were about 67 music individuals who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year.

Music bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Los Angeles receive an earnings boost of around $2,236 over the typical earnings of music majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of California - Los Angeles

3
67 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#25 Best Quality In CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at California State University - Fullerton if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a very large student population.

There were approximately 67 music individuals who graduated with this degree at Cal State Fullerton in the most recent data year.

After graduating, music bachelor's recipients typically earn about $15,900 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from California State University - Fullerton

5
63 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#22 Best Quality In CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the large city of San Diego.

There were about 63 music students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from San Diego State University

6
61 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#3 Best Quality In CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for bachelor's degrees in music in California.

There were approximately 61 music individuals who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

Those music students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California earn $4,736 more than the typical music graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Southern California

7
60 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#16 Best Quality In CA
$27,000 Median Salary

Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Pomona.

There were approximately 60 music individuals who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly Pomona in the most recent year we have data available.

Bachelor's recipients from the music program at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona make $8,136 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

8
48 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#17 Best Quality In CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

Located in the suburb of Valencia, CalArts is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

There were about 48 music individuals who graduated with this degree at CalArts in the most recent data year.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program report average early career earnings of $13,400.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from California Institute of the Arts

9
44 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#27 Best Quality In CA
$19,500 Median Salary

Located in the midsize city of Chico, Chico State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

There were about 44 music individuals who graduated with this degree at Chico State in the most recent year we have data available.

Soon after graduating, music bachelor's recipients generally earn about $19,500 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from California State University - Chico

9
44 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#10 Best Quality In CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

San Jose State is a very large public university located in the city of San Jose.

There were approximately 44 music students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from San Jose State University

11
33 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#5 Best Quality In CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #5 in quality for bachelor's degrees in music in California.

There were about 33 music individuals who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of California - Berkeley

11
33 Annual Bachelor's Degrees
#14 Best Quality In CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

SFCM is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

There were roughly 33 music students who graduated with this degree at SFCM in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Music students in California that almost earned our Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Music in California award.

Rank College Location
13 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
13 University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA
13 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
16 Chapman University Orange, CA
17 Los Angeles College of Music Pasadena, CA
18 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA
18 Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA
18 California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA

Best Music Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Music Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 229 213
Oregon 178 205
Nevada 117 46
Hawaii 115 27
Alaska 79 11

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 793
Music Performance 467
Music Theory & Composition 82
Music Technology 38
Voice Performance 34
Other Music 33
Jazz Studies 26
Stringed Instruments 22
Musicology & Ethnomusicology 18
Keyboard Instruments 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 4,072
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 2,741
Design & Applied Arts 2,305
Drama & Theater Arts 1,609
General Visual & Performing Arts 496
Dance 322
Arts & Media Management 229
Other Visual Art 48

Notes and References

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