by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual reviewed 356 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of music. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 15,299 bachelor's degrees in music during the <nil> academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
The music bachelor'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:
The overall quality of a bachelor'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 consider a college's overall Best Colleges 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 salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for music students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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.
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in music. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Northwestern University is a good option for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Music bachelor's degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of around $6,733 over the typical income of music graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Northwestern University
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in music needs to look into University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program report average early career income of $22,272.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in music needs to look into Vanderbilt University. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Vanderbilt University
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in music has to check out University of Southern California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program report average early career income of $12,947.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Southern California
NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program state that they receive average early career income of $24,398.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from New York University
Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.
Bachelor's recipients from the music major at Michigan State University earn $10,566 above the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Michigan State University
Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program state that they receive average early career wages of $23,934.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Boston University
University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Rochester.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the music program make around $14,310 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Rochester
Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Providence.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Brown University
Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Carnegie Mellon University
Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program report average early career earnings of $16,479.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Johns Hopkins University
Located in the large city of Nashville, Belmont is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.
After graduation, music bachelor's recipients usually make around $24,016 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Belmont University
Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the music degree program at Texas Tech University earn $21,816 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Texas Tech University
TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Fort Worth.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Texas Christian University
Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program state that they receive average early career earnings of $15,911.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Indiana University - Bloomington
Located in the suburb of Ithaca, Ithaca is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program report average early career earnings of $23,119.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Ithaca College
Located in the suburb of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program state that they receive average early career income of $15,492.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Miami
UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Austin.
Music bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin earn a boost of about $11,474 over the typical earnings of music majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from The University of Texas at Austin
Florida State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Tallahassee.
Soon after graduation, music bachelor's recipients usually earn about $19,429 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Florida State University
Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Notre Dame
Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, UofSC is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Music bachelor's degree recipients from University of South Carolina - Columbia receive an earnings boost of around $10,567 over the average earnings of music majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of South Carolina - Columbia
UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program report average early career earnings of $22,125.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of California - Los Angeles
Located in the large city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the music program make an average of $12,109 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from The New School
UNT is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Denton.
Those music students who get their bachelor's degree from University of North Texas receive $3,360 more than the standard music graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of North Texas
CUA is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.
Soon after graduation, music bachelor's recipients generally make around $23,856 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Catholic University of America
This section shows the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 356 different United States music schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Williams College | Williamstown, MA |
| 52 | Tufts University | Medford, MA |
| 53 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
| 54 | St Olaf College | Northfield, MN |
| 55 | The New England Conservatory of Music | Boston, MA |
| 56 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, MA |
| 57 | DePaul University | Chicago, IL |
| 58 | Lawrence University | Appleton, WI |
| 59 | University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA |
| 60 | University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA |
| 61 | The College of New Jersey | Ewing, NJ |
| 62 | University of Houston | Houston, TX |
| 63 | Texas State University | San Marcos, TX |
| 64 | University of Denver | Denver, CO |
| 65 | Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo, MI |
| 66 | Ohio University - Athens Campus | Athens, OH |
| 67 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 68 | University of Connecticut | Storrs, CT |
| 69 | Liberty University | Lynchburg, VA |
| 70 | University at Buffalo | Buffalo, NY |
| 71 | University of Kentucky | Lexington, KY |
Here are some additional great schools for Music students that almost earned our Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Music has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Music | 7,446 |
| Music Performance | 3,919 |
| Music Technology | 892 |
| Other Music | 813 |
| Music Theory & Composition | 707 |
| Jazz Studies | 377 |
| Voice Performance | 313 |
| Stringed Instruments | 203 |
| Keyboard Instruments | 163 |
| Music History | 144 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 23,952 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 19,777 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 12,664 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 12,468 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 4,199 |
| Arts & Media Management | 2,899 |
| Dance | 2,650 |
| Other Visual Art | 483 |
| Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry | 61 |
| Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art | 6 |
