2023 Best Value Music Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Music Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 44 schools in California to see which 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.
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2023 Best Value Music Schools in California
Check out the music programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.
Top 10 Best Music Schools
Our analysis found San Diego Mesa College to be the best value school for music students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the city of San Diego, San Diego Mesa College is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Diego Mesa College are $1,144 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $10,195 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also did well on our Best Music Schools in California list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full report on Music at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
The excellent programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in California. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Music Schools in California list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sonoma State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Rohnert Park, SSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SSU are $7,988 per year.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for music students. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.
Cal State East Bay undergraduate students pay an average of $6,995 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Music at California State University - East Bay
With a ranking of #6, San Francisco State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year. While working on their degree, music majors at SFSU accumulate an average of around $14,313 in student debt.
California State University - Fresno landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value music programs. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Music at California State University - Fresno
With a ranking of #8, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year. After completing their degree, music graduates from Cal Poly Pomona carry an average student debtload of $20,246.
Read full report on Music at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
California State University - San Bernardino ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools in California list. CSUSB is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of San Bernardino.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUSB are $7,213 per year.
California State University - San Marcos did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for music students. It came in at #10 on the list. CSUSM is a large public school located in the suburb of San Marcos.
CSUSM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,727 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Music at California State University - San Marcos Report
Best Value Music Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Music Colleges 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
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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