2023 Best Value Music Schools in Illinois
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Music School for You
Music is the #33 most popular major in Illinois with 1,129 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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 in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in Illinois 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.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Music Schools
Our analysis found Eastern Illinois University to be the best value school for music students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at EIU are $12,297 per year. While working on their degree, music majors at EIU accumulate an average of around $28,535 in student debt.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Illinois list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Illinois State are $13,968 a year. Music majors at Illinois State take out an average of $22,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Illinois State also did well on our Best Music Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Western Illinois University is a great value for music students. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year. On average, music graduates from WIU take out $30,017 in student loans while working on their degree.
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The excellent programs at Columbia College Chicago helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Columbia are $27,786 per year. While working on their degree, music majors at Columbia accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $541.
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The excellent programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in Illinois. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.
SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that music majors at SIUE take out is $22,315.
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Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for music students. It came in at #6 on the list. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NIU are $14,738 a year. The average amount in student loans that music majors at NIU take out is $23,220.
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With a ranking of #7, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,634 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, music graduates from UIUC carry an average student debtload of $22,484. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $613.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UIUC is ranked #3 for overall quality for music in Illinois.
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University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools in Illinois list. UIC is a very large public school located in the large city of Chicago.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UIC are $15,603 a year.
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Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for music students. It came in at #9 on the list. SIUC is a large public school located in the small city of Carbondale.
SIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $15,240 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #10, Roosevelt University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Located in the city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Roosevelt undergraduate students pay an average of $31,493 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Music majors at Roosevelt take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Request InformationBest Value Music Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Music Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 734 |
| Ohio | 1,138 |
| Indiana | 660 |
| Wisconsin | 359 |
More Music Rankings in Illinois
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 Related Majors
| 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 19 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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