2023 Best Value Music Graduate Certificate Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Music Graduate Certificate 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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Music Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. This report analyzed 69 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate 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.
Top 10 Best Music Graduate Certificate Schools
Our analysis found Messiah University to be the best value school for music students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Mechanicsburg, Messiah is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Messiah graduate students pay an average of $13,050 in tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Liberty University is a great value for music students working on their graduate certificate. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.
Liberty University graduate students pay an average of $8,360 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Music at Liberty University Report
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of Central Arkansas helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value music schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Conway, UCA is a public college with a large student population.
UCA graduate students pay an average of $11,835 in tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Western Illinois University is a great value for music students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
WIU graduate students pay an average of $12,182 in tuition and fees each year.
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Out of the 69 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the # 5 spot on the list. SIUE is a large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.
SIUE graduate students pay an average of $9,316 in tuition and fees each year.
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Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for music students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
NIU graduate students pay an average of $11,390 in tuition and fees each year.
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Montclair State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Montclair, Montclair State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Montclair State graduate students pay an average of $13,519 in tuition and fees each year.
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West Chester University of Pennsylvania landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate music programs. WCUPA is a large public school located in the suburb of West Chester.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at WCUPA are $16,758 a year.
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Texas Tech University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Music Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Texas Tech are $17,698 per year.
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Missouri State University - Springfield ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Music Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Missouri State are $12,618 a year.
Full Music at Missouri State University - Springfield Report
Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Music students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Music Graduate Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
| 12 | Texas State University | San Marcos, TX |
| 13 | University of North Texas | Denton, TX |
Music by Region
View the Best Value Music Graduate Certificate 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
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.
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 26 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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