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2025 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in New York

30 Colleges in New York
1,143 Bachelor's Degrees
$21,502 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #34 in popularity, music is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 30 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in New York ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,143 bachelor's degrees in music to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Music School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in New York 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for music students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Music Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Music Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The music school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in New York.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Music in New York

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in music.

10 Top New York Schools for a Bachelor's in Music

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
87 Annual Graduates
$24,398 Median Starting Salary
$97,823 Median Student Debt

New York University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in music. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.

Music bachelor's degree recipients from New York University get an earnings boost of approximately $2,896 over the average earnings of music graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from New York University

2
140 Annual Graduates
$14,310 Median Starting Salary
$65,843 Median Student Debt

University of Rochester is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in music. University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Rochester.

Soon after graduation, music bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $14,310 in their early careers.

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

3
Ithaca crest
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY
52 Annual Graduates
$23,119 Median Starting Salary
$45,344 Median Student Debt

Ithaca College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the suburb of Ithaca, Ithaca is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the music program make around $23,119 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from Ithaca College

4
New School University crest
The New School
New York, NY
111 Annual Graduates
$12,109 Median Starting Salary
$45,747 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in music has to take a look at The New School. Located in the large city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Soon after graduating, music bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $12,109 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from The New School

5
Juilliard crest
The Juilliard School
New York, NY
79 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of New York, Juilliard is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from The Juilliard School

6
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Located in the city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the music program make about $18,574 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from Syracuse University

7

Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.

Music bachelor's degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York receive an earnings boost of approximately $11,422 above the typical earnings of music majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from Columbia University in the City of New York

8
89 Annual Graduates
$100,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of New York, Manhattan School of Music is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Manhattan School of Music

9
13 Annual Graduates

University at Buffalo is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Buffalo.More information about a bachelor’s in music from University at Buffalo

10
Vassar crest
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, NY
10 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Poughkeepsie, Vassar is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Vassar College

Best Music Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 274 632
Maryland 207 209
New Jersey 193 433
Delaware 130 17
District of Columbia 126 87

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Music has other similar majors worth exploring.

Music Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Music Performance 379
General Music 304
Jazz Studies 102
Music Theory & Composition 57
Stringed Instruments 55
Voice Performance 50
Music History 42
Music Technology 42
Keyboard Instruments 41
Woodwind Instruments 26

Majors Similar to Music

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 2,669
Fine & Studio Arts 1,974
Drama & Theater Arts 1,906
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,765
Arts & Media Management 470
Dance 361
General Visual & Performing Arts 213
Other Visual Art 201

Notes and References

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