2023 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Music Bachelor's Degree 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 504 schools in the United States to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
Featured Music Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
2023 Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the music bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Music
Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the United States for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Duke University is a great place for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree 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.
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Out of the 504 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, College of the Holy Cross landed the # 4 spot on the list. Holy Cross is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Worcester.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dartmouth College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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With a ranking of #6, Emory University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a very large student population.
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Northwestern University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $431.
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The University of Texas at Austin came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Music majors at UT Austin take out an average of $24,318 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $424.
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With a ranking of #10, Virginia Tech did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
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With a ranking of #11, Brandeis University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Waltham, Brandeis is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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Winona State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Moravian College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Bethlehem, Moravian is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Luther College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the remote town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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North Dakota State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. North Dakota State University is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Fargo.
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Texas A&M University - Kingsville ranked #16 on this year’s Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Texas A&M Kingsville is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Kingsville.
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With a ranking of #17, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, music graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $11,758.
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Messiah University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Mechanicsburg, Messiah is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #19, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a very large student population.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, music graduates from UT Rio Grande Valley carry an average student debtload of $19,158.
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Concordia College at Moorhead landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree music programs. Located in the midsize suburb of Moorhead, Concordia College Moorhead is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Drake University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Drake is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Des Moines.
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University of Houston did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. UH is a fairly large public school located in the city of Houston.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, music majors at UH accumulate an average of around $25,311 in student debt.
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Texas Tech University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public college with a very large student population.
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Washington University in St Louis came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.
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The College of New Jersey did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Ewing, TCNJ is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Remaining Award Winners
This section shows the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 504 different United States music schools we analyzed.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
Music by Region
View the Best Music Bachelor's Degree 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
Related Programs
Learn about other programs related to Music that might interest you.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
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.