2021 Best Music Schools
Finding the Best Music School for You
Music is the #47 most popular major in the country with 26,968 degrees and certificates awarded in 2018-2019.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
The Best Music Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 451 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school us, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2021 Best Music Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for music majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in Music
Our analysis found University of Notre Dame to be the best school for music students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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Out of the 451 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Cornell University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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The excellent programs at Duke University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best Music Schools list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Brown University is a great place for music students. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Providence.
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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.
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Williams College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. Williams is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Williamstown.
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The College of New Jersey did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the suburb of Ewing, TCNJ is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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University of Delaware did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Newark, U of Delaware is a public college with a very large student population.
On average, music graduates from U of Delaware take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $280.
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University of Wisconsin - Platteville came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Vassar College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Poughkeepsie, Vassar is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Fairfield University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. Located in the suburb of Fairfield, Fairfield U is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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American University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Concordia College at Moorhead came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the midsize suburb of Moorhead, Concordia College Moorhead is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
While working on their degree, music majors at Concordia College Moorhead accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $280.
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University of Houston landed the #15 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best music programs. Located in the large city of Houston, U of H is a public school with a very large student population.
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University of North Carolina School of the Arts did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, UNCSA is a public school with a small student population.
After completing their degree, music graduates from UNCSA carry an average student debtload of $32,237. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $358, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Virginia Tech came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
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Taylor University landed the #18 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best music programs. Taylor U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Upland.
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With a ranking of #19, Luther College did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students. Located in the town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that music majors at Luther take out is $27,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $280.
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University of Nebraska at Kearney ranked #20 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. UNK is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Kearney.
While working on their degree, music majors at UNK accumulate an average of around $26,342 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $273.
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Valencia College landed the #21 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best music programs. Valencia College is a very large public school located in the city of Orlando.
On average, music graduates from Valencia College take out $10,625 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $110.
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With a ranking of #22, Carnegie Mellon University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.
After completing their degree, music graduates from Carnegie Mellon carry an average student debtload of $33,856. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $377, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Texas Tech University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public college with a very large student population.
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The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #25, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students. Located in the city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public school with a large student population.
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Remaining Award Winners
This list represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best Music Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 451 different United States music schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA |
| 52 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
| 53 | Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY |
| 54 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus | Seattle, WA |
| 55 | Rutgers University - New Brunswick | New Brunswick, NJ |
| 56 | St Olaf College | Northfield, MN |
| 57 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 58 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins, CO |
| 59 | University of Wyoming | Laramie, WY |
| 60 | Boston University | Boston, MA |
| 61 | Rowan University | Glassboro, NJ |
| 62 | Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| 63 | Stephen F Austin State University | Nacogdoches, TX |
| 64 | West Texas A&M University | Canyon, TX |
| 65 | Texas A&M University - Commerce | Commerce, TX |
| 66 | Emerson College | Boston, MA |
| 67 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro, NC |
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Music students that almost earned our Best Music Schools award.
Music by Region
View the Best Music Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Rankings in Majors Related to Music
One of 9 majors within the area of study, music has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Music
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 40,751 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 36,179 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 17,726 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 16,756 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 5,720 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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