2025 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
Music is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #34 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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 88 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 3,748 bachelor's degrees in music to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
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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
Choosing a Great Music School for Your Bachelor's Degree
Your choice of music for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality music program can vary widely even among the top schools. 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 make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
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.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to music students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other music students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for music to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.
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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 the Southeast Region.
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.
ADVERTISEMENTS
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 Bachelor’s Students to Study Music in the Southeast Region
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.
17 Top Southeast Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Music
Vanderbilt University is a good choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in music. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Vanderbilt University
Belmont University is a good option for students interested in a bachelor's degree in music. Belmont is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville.
Soon after graduation, music bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $24,016 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Belmont University
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in music needs to check out University of Miami. U Miami is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Coral Gables.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the music program report average early career income of $15,492.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Miami
Florida State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a very large student population.
After graduation, music bachelor's recipients usually earn around $19,429 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Florida State University
UofSC is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Columbia.
Those music students who get their bachelor's degree from University of South Carolina - Columbia receive $10,450 more than the average music grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of South Carolina - Columbia
Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the music program at Emory University make $5,223 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from Emory University
UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Chapel Hill.
Bachelor's recipients from the music major at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill make $4,673 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
JMU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Harrisonburg.
Those music students who get their bachelor's degree from James Madison University receive $7,899 more than the average music graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from James Madison University
Located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduation, music bachelor's recipients generally earn about $22,559 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Florida
Located in the midsize city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a very large student population.
Soon after graduation, music bachelor's recipients generally make about $15,289 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in music from University of Georgia