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Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

42 Colleges
$26,068 Avg Salary
$24,916 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Music Bachelor's Degree School for You

With 3,457 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, music is the #35 most popular major in California.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 42 schools in California to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for music majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best school in California for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. 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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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Music majors at UC Berkeley take out an average of $11,758 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Music at San Jose State University

#4

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mount Saint Mary’s University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Music at Mount Saint Mary’s University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Irvine

#6

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, music majors at Loyola Marymount accumulate an average of around $20,237 in student debt.

Full Music at Loyola Marymount University Report

#7

Cogswell College

San Jose, CA

Cogswell 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 #7 on the list. Located in the city of San Jose, Cogswell is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

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With a ranking of #8, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, music graduates from UC Davis carry an average student debtload of $15,969.

Full Music at University of California - Davis Report

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree music programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Music at University of California - Los Angeles Report

#10

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

Sonoma State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park, SSU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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Best Music Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Music Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 320
Oregon 299
Nevada 94
Hawaii 31
Alaska 12

One of 10 majors within the area of study, music has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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