2025 Best Music Schools in Illinois
15
Colleges in Illinois
995
Music Degrees Awarded
$29,590
Avg Early-Career Salary
Music is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #43 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
College Factual reviewed 15 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of music. Combined, these schools handed out 995 degrees in music to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
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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
Your choice of music school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Music School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Music Rankings by Degree Level
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Music Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's 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
Best Schools for Music in Illinois
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the music degrees they offer, see the list below.
10 Top Illinois Schools in Music
Northwestern University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in music. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 170 music students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program make around $27,637 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in music from Northwestern University
Every student who is interested in music has to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 132 music students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the music program make around $22,810 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Masters
Degree Type
MBA in Music Business
Program Name
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
More information about a degree in MBA in Music Business from Southern New Hampshire University
DePaul University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in music. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were about 85 music students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the music program report average early career income of $24,066.
More information about a degree in music from DePaul University
Wheaton College Illinois is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in music. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Wheaton. This college ranks 13th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 30 music students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the music program earn an average of $26,540 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in music from Wheaton College Illinois
Located in the large city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 24th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 53 music students who graduated with this degree at Roosevelt in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, music degree recipients usually earn around $29,974 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from Roosevelt University
Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #212 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great college overall.
There were roughly 59 music students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. After graduating, music degree recipients usually make about $19,943 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from Columbia College Chicago
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 56 music students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the music program at Illinois State University earn $6,273 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in music from Illinois State University
Millikin is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Decatur. This university ranks 40th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 17 music students who graduated with this degree at Millikin in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the music program make around $21,138 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a degree in music from Millikin University
NIU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 20th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 72 music students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the music program at Northern Illinois University earn $12,073 above the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in music from Northern Illinois University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
17th
Most Popular In IL
UIC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #254 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.
There were about 12 music students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in music from University of Illinois at Chicago
