2023 Best Value Music Schools in Iowa
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Music School for You
In 2020-2021, 227 degrees and certificates were awarded to music students who went to a Iowa college or university. This makes it the #52 most popular major in the state.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Music Schools in Iowa ranking. This report analyzed 6 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best value programs for music students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality in Music
Our 2023 rankings named University of Northern Iowa the best value school in Iowa for music students. Located in the city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
UNI undergraduate students pay an average of $9,053 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
UNI also made our Best Music Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #5.
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The excellent programs at Iowa State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in Iowa. Iowa State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Ames.
Iowa State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,634 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Iowa State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Music Schools in Iowa list.
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Out of the 6 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa are $9,942 per year. While working on their degree, music majors at Iowa accumulate an average of around $23,312 in student debt.
Iowa also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools in Iowa list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Luther College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools in Iowa list. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Decorah.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Luther are $46,760 per year. After completing their degree, music graduates from Luther carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Drake University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools in Iowa list. Located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Drake are $45,912 a year.
Drake also made our Best Music Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #3.
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Coe College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools in Iowa ranking. Coe is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cedar Rapids.
Coe undergraduate students pay an average of $48,822 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Request InformationBest Value Music Colleges in the Plains States Region
Explore all the Best Value Music Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Missouri | 372 |
| Minnesota | 262 |
| Kansas | 189 |
| Nebraska | 129 |
| North Dakota | 76 |
| South Dakota | 33 |
More Music Rankings in Iowa
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.
Majors Related to Music
Music is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.
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 6 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.