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Best Value Music Schools in North Carolina

2023 Best Value Music Schools in North Carolina

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

17 Colleges
$14,957 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$22,568 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Music School for You

Music is the #44 most popular major in North Carolina with 511 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.

The Best Value Music Schools in North Carolina ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 17 schools in North Carolina 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

$4,367 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Western Carolina University the best value school in North Carolina for music students. Located in the town of Cullowhee, WCU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WCU are $4,367 a year. The average amount in student loans that music majors at WCU take out is $28,749.

Full Music at Western Carolina University Report

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$3,495 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Pembroke is a great value for music students. UNC Pembroke is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Pembroke.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNC Pembroke are $3,495 per year.

Full Music at University of North Carolina at Pembroke Report

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The excellent programs at University of North Carolina at Charlotte helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in North Carolina. Located in the city of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNC Charlotte are $7,188 per year. Music majors at UNC Charlotte take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

UNC Charlotte excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Music Schools in North Carolina list.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a great value for music students. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public school with a very large student population.

UNC Chapel Hill undergraduate students pay an average of $9,028 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, music graduates from UNC Chapel Hill carry an average student debtload of $18,408.

UNC Chapel Hill did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Music Schools in North Carolina list.

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#5

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

The excellent programs at East Carolina University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in North Carolina. ECU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Greenville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ECU are $7,297 a year. Music majors at ECU take out an average of $26,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

ECU also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

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With a ranking of #6, University of North Carolina at Wilmington did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. UNCW is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNCW are $7,238 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UNCW is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Music Schools in North Carolina list.

Full Music at University of North Carolina at Wilmington Report

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Appalachian State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools in North Carolina list. Appalachian State is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Boone.

Appalachian State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,410 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Music majors at Appalachian State take out an average of $25,012 in student loans while working on their egree.

Appalachian State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Music Schools in North Carolina list.

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$6,644 Average Tuition & Fees

North Carolina Central University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the large city of Durham, North Carolina Central University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

North Carolina Central University undergraduate students pay an average of $6,644 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, music graduates from North Carolina Central University take out $38,147 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$8,941 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, University of North Carolina School of the Arts did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, UNCSA is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNCSA are $8,941 per year. After completing their degree, music graduates from UNCSA carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

Full Music at University of North Carolina School of the Arts Report

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With a ranking of #10, University of North Carolina at Greensboro did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Located in the large city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNC Greensboro are $7,468 a year. After completing their degree, music graduates from UNC Greensboro carry an average student debtload of $25,425.

In addition to its great value ranking, UNC Greensboro is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Music Schools in North Carolina list.

Full Music at University of North Carolina at Greensboro Report

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Best Value Music Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Music Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 472
Virginia 632
Florida 1,223
Tennessee 804
Kentucky 284
South Carolina 204
Louisiana 315
Arkansas 184
Alabama 276
Mississippi 182
West Virginia 93

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 17 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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