2023 Best Music Schools
Finding the Best Music School for You
Music is the #43 most popular major in the country with 25,910 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Music Schools ranking. This report analyzed 548 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Music Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Music Colleges.
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 fairly large student population.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Duke University is a great place for music students. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The excellent programs at Lafayette College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in the United States. Lafayette is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Easton.
Out of the 548 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, The Graduate Center, CUNY landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend College of the Holy Cross. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. Holy Cross is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Worcester.
Emory University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Dartmouth College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Messiah University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Mechanicsburg, Messiah is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Virginia Tech came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
After completing their degree, music graduates from Virginia Tech carry an average student debtload of $27,500.
With a ranking of #11, Brandeis University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students. Located in the city of Waltham, Brandeis is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Winona State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the town of Winona, Winona State is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Moravian College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the small city of Bethlehem, Moravian is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
After completing their degree, music graduates from Moravian carry an average student debtload of $27,774.
Luther College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. Located in the remote town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that music majors at Luther take out is $27,000.
Michigan State University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best music programs. Michigan State is a fairly large public school located in the city of East Lansing.
On average, music graduates from Michigan State take out $26,582 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $344.
With a ranking of #16, Kansas State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students. Located in the city of Manhattan, K -State is a public college with a very large student population.
Northwestern University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that music majors at Northwestern take out is $17,825. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $431.
North Dakota State University - Main Campus ranked #18 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. North Dakota State University is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fargo.
After completing their degree, music graduates from North Dakota State University carry an average student debtload of $22,500.
Read full report on Music at North Dakota State University - Main Campus
Texas A&M University - Kingsville ranked #19 on this year’s Best Music Schools list. Texas A&M Kingsville is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Kingsville.
After completing their degree, music graduates from Texas A&M Kingsville carry an average student debtload of $30,962.
Read full report on Music at Texas A&M University - Kingsville
University of California - Berkeley landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best music programs. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
With a ranking of #21, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students. Located in the medium-sized city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a very large student population.
Music majors at UT Rio Grande Valley take out an average of $19,018 in student loans while working on their egree.
Concordia College at Moorhead did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the suburb of Moorhead, Concordia College Moorhead is a private not-for-profit school 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.
The University of Texas at Austin came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools ranking. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, music graduates from UT Austin carry an average student debtload of $26,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $424.
Drake University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #24 on the list. Drake is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.
With a ranking of #25, The College of New Jersey did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students. Located in the suburb of Ewing, TCNJ is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Rest of the Top 50 Best Music Schools
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 548 different United States music schools we analyzed.
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 |
More Music Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Music
One of 10 majors within the area of study, music has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Music
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 37,413 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 36,301 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 17,341 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 16,778 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 6,355 |
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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