2025 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee
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
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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
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.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on music students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of music students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt music students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.
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
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.
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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