2023 Best Value Music Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Music Master'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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Music Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 26 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for music students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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 Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for music students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for music students working on their master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State East Bay are $8,429 per year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value music schools in California. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #2 for overall quality for music in California.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Northridge is a great value for music students working on their master’s degree. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUN are $8,477 a year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Francisco State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Music Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SFSU are $8,738 per year.
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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 master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Fresno State are $8,087 a year.
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With a ranking of #7, University of California - Irvine did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.
UC Irvine graduate students pay an average of $13,356 in in-state tuition and fees each 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 master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSULB are $8,280 a year.
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California State University - Fullerton ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Music Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 a year.
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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree music programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCLA are $13,036 per year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UCLA is ranked #4 for overall quality for music in California.
Request InformationBest 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
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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