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Best Music Schools in California

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2023 Best Music Schools in California

44 Colleges
$23,084 Avg Salary
$22,049 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Music 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.

The Best Music Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 44 schools in California to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Music Schools in California

Check out the music programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Music Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best school in California for music students. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Music at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for music students. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Music at University of California - Berkeley Report

#3

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

The excellent programs at Mount Saint Mary’s University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in California. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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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 #4 on this year’s Best Music Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Music at San Jose State University Report

The excellent programs at University of California - Irvine helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in California. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.

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#6

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Music Schools in California list. Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Music at Loyola Marymount University

#7

Cogswell College

San Jose, CA

Cogswell College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for music students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of San Jose, Cogswell is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

While working on their degree, music majors at Cogswell accumulate an average of around $35,410 in student debt.

Read full report on Music at Cogswell College

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, music graduates from UCLA carry an average student debtload of $22,144.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Los Angeles

University of California - Davis landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best music programs. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that music majors at UC Davis take out is $17,500.

Full Music at University of California - Davis Report

#10

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

With a ranking of #10, Sonoma State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students. 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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