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2025 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee

10 Colleges in Tennessee
578 Bachelor's Degrees
$29,364 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in music, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #34 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 578 bachelor's degrees in music during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Music School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee 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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

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.

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 Tennessee.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Music in Tennessee

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for music students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Tennessee Schools for a Bachelor's in Music

1
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
44 Annual Graduates

Vanderbilt University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Vanderbilt University

2
Belmont crest
Belmont University
Nashville, TN
94 Annual Graduates
$24,016 Median Starting Salary
$73,170 Median Student Debt

Belmont University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the city of Nashville, Belmont is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the music program earn around $24,016 in their early career salary.

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

3

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a great decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in music. UT Knoxville is a fairly large public university located in the city of Knoxville.

Music bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville earn a boost of about $2,524 over the typical earnings of music majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

4
136 Annual Graduates
$27,586 Median Starting Salary
$15,339 Median Student Debt

Middle Tennessee State University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in music. Located in the city of Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the music program earn an average of $27,586 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from Middle Tennessee State University

5

Located in the city of Memphis, UofM is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the music program earn around $27,353 in their early career salary.

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

6
Lee University crest
Lee University
Cleveland, TN
25 Annual Graduates

Lee University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Cleveland.More information about a bachelor’s in music from Lee University

7

Tennessee Tech University is a large public university located in the town of Cookeville.

Bachelor's recipients from the music major at Tennessee Technological University earn $15,271 above the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from Tennessee Technological University

8
14 Annual Graduates

Located in the remote town of Martin, UT Martin is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in music from The University of Tennessee - Martin

9

Located in the city of Clarksville, Austin Peay State University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Those music students who get their bachelor's degree from Austin Peay State University receive $9,644 more than the typical music graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from Austin Peay State University

10

ETSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Johnson City.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the music program make about $30,004 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in music from East Tennessee State University

Best Music Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 225 771
Georgia 224 317
North Carolina 213 385
Virginia 213 453
South Carolina 195 160
Kentucky 187 208
Alabama 184 238
Louisiana 171 210
Mississippi 169 96
Arkansas 167 123
West Virginia 147 61

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

Music Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Music 269
Other Music 120
Music Technology 83
Music Performance 48
Music Theory & Composition 14
Stringed Instruments 10
Musicology & Ethnomusicology 8
Brass Instruments 7
Voice Performance 6
Woodwind Instruments 5

Related Major Annual Graduates
Arts & Media Management 543
Fine & Studio Arts 436
Design & Applied Arts 214
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 202
Drama & Theater Arts 182
General Visual & Performing Arts 45
Dance 9

Notes and References

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