2023 Best Value Music Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value 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 value experiences for music students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Music Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo to be the best value school for music students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $10,195 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value music schools in California. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State University - East Bay helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value music schools in California. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Sonoma State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value 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.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SSU are $7,988 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
SFSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, music graduates from SFSU take out $20,582 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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California State University - Fresno 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 #6 on the list. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year.
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California State University - Long Beach 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 large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. Music majors at CSULB take out an average of $19,212 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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California State Polytechnic University - Pomona came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.
Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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California State University - San Bernardino ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUSB is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino.
CSUSB undergraduate students pay an average of $7,213 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Music at California State University - San Bernardino Report
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California State University - San Marcos landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree music programs. CSUSM is a large public school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.
CSUSM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,727 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Music at California State University - San Marcos
Request InformationBest Value Music Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value 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 |
More Music Rankings in California
Other Related 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.
Music Related Majors for Music
One of 10 majors within the area of study, music has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related 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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