2023 Best Value Music Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Music Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 548 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value programs for music students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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2023 Best Value Music Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Music Colleges.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality in Music
Our 2023 rankings named Collin County Community College District the best value school in the United States for music students. Located in the midsize suburb of McKinney, Collin County Community College District is a public school with a very large student population.
Collin County Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $5,104 in tuition and fees each year.
Collin County Community College District also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Valencia College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools list. Valencia College is a very large public school located in the large city of Orlando.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Valencia College are $9,383 per year. After completing their degree, music graduates from Valencia College carry an average student debtload of $10,953.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Idaho. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools list. Located in the town of Rexburg, BYU - I is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BYU - I are $4,416 a year.
Read full report on Music at Brigham Young University - Idaho
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Provo. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools list. Located in the city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BYU are $6,120 a year. The average amount in student loans that music majors at BYU take out is $10,875.
BYU also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
The excellent programs at Century College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in the United States. Located in the suburb of White Bear Lake, Century College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Century College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,907 in tuition and fees each year.
Century College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Music Schools list.
West Texas A&M University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. Located in the fringe town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at West Texas A&M University are $11,208 a year. On average, music graduates from West Texas A&M University take out $24,150 in student loans while working on their degree.
Messiah University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value music programs. Located in the suburb of Mechanicsburg, Messiah is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Messiah are $38,370 per year.
Milwaukee Area Technical College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. Located in the city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MATC are $6,908 a year.
Read full report on Music at Milwaukee Area Technical College
Finger Lakes Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. Finger Lakes Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Canandaigua.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Finger Lakes Community College are $6,710 a year.
El Centro College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for music students. It came in at #10 on the list. El Centro College is a very large public school located in the city of Dallas.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at El Centro College are $6,000 a year. On average, music graduates from El Centro College take out $13,992 in student loans while working on their degree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, El Centro College also did well on our Best Music Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
John Tyler Community College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. John Tyler Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Chester.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at John Tyler Community College are $10,803 per year.
Spokane Falls Community College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value music programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Spokane, Spokane Falls Community College is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Spokane Falls Community College are $5,135 a year.
Read full report on Music at Spokane Falls Community College
North Dakota State University - Main Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. North Dakota State University is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Fargo.
North Dakota State University undergraduate students pay an average of $14,876 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, music graduates from North Dakota State University carry an average student debtload of $22,500.
North Dakota State University also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on Music at North Dakota State University - Main Campus
University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. UPR Rio Piedras is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Juan.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UPR Rio Piedras are $4,940 per year.
Read full report on Music at University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
LaGuardia Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for music students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the city of Long Island City, LaGuardia is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at LaGuardia are $8,098 a year.
Winona State University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value music programs. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Winona State are $16,684 per year.
Winona State also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
With a ranking of #17, Youngstown State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Located in the small city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Youngstown State University are $9,732 a year.
With a ranking of #18, Scottsdale Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Scottsdale Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Scottsdale.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Scottsdale Community College are $7,854 per year.
Western Carolina University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Cullowhee, WCU is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCU are $8,367 per year. The average amount in student loans that music majors at WCU take out is $28,749.
Truman State University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools list. Located in the town of Kirksville, Truman State is a public college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Truman State are $16,410 per year.
Truman State also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
University of South Dakota came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. USD is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at USD are $12,942 a year.
Macomb Community College ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools list. Macomb Community College is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Warren.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Macomb Community College are $7,680 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Macomb Community College also did well on our Best Music Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
With a ranking of #23, Sinclair Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Located in the midsize city of Dayton, Sinclair Community College is a public college with a large student population.
Sinclair Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,076 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Sinclair Community College also is in the top 20% of our Best Music Schools ranking.
University of Nebraska at Kearney did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for music students. It came in at #24 on the list. UNK is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Kearney.
UNK undergraduate students pay an average of $15,320 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Music at University of Nebraska at Kearney
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Slippery Rock, SRU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SRU are $14,615 per year.
SRU also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Rest of the Top 50 Best Value Music Schools
Remaining Award Winners
This section represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Value 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
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Music Schools award.
Music by Region
View the Best Value 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
Music Related Majors for 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.
- 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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