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Best Value Music Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Music Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$30,088 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$26,572 Avg Salary

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.

2023 Best Value Music Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for music majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Music Schools

#1

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL
$12,297 Average Tuition & Fees

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 school with a medium-sized student population.

EIU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,297 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, music majors at EIU accumulate an average of around $28,535 in student debt.

Full Music at Eastern Illinois University Report

$13,968 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 19 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 2 spot on the 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.

In addition to its great value ranking, Illinois State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Music Schools in Illinois list.

Full Music at Illinois State University Report

$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Western Illinois University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in Illinois. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a medium-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.

Read full report on Music at Western Illinois University

$27,786 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Columbia College Chicago is a great value for music students. Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Columbia are $27,786 a 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.

Read More…

$11,496 Average Tuition & Fees

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 large suburb of Edwardsville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SIUE are $11,496 a year. The average amount in student loans that music majors at SIUE take out is $22,315.

Full Music at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

Northern Illinois University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value music programs. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the 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.

Full Music at Northern Illinois University Report

$17,634 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value music programs. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UIUC are $17,634 a 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.

UIUC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Music Schools in Illinois list.

Read More…

$15,603 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for music students. It came in at #8 on the list. UIC is a very large public school located in the large city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year.

Read More…

$15,240 Average Tuition & Fees

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools in Illinois list. SIUC is a large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUC are $15,240 per year.

Read More…

#10

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL
$31,493 Average Tuition & Fees

Roosevelt University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the large 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.

Full Music at Roosevelt University Report

Best Value Music Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Music Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 734
Ohio 1,138
Indiana 660
Wisconsin 359

One of 10 majors within the area of study, music has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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