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Best Music Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Music Master's Degree Schools in California

26 Colleges
$27,036 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Music Master'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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Music Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 26 schools in California to see which master'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 Master’s Degree Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Music Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best school for music students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Berkeley

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Music Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large 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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Music Master’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.

Full Music at University of California - Irvine Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Azusa Pacific University is a great place for music students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Music at Azusa Pacific University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Music Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

University of California - San Diego landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree music programs. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

Read full report on Music at University of California - San Diego

University of California - Davis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Music at University of California - Davis Report

University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Santa Barbara

University of Southern California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Music at University of Southern California

#10

University of Redlands

Redlands, CA

University of Redlands did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Redlands, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Music at University of Redlands Report

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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