2023 Most Popular Music Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Music Master's Degree School for You
Music is the #43 most popular major in the country with 25,910 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 Most Popular Music Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 321 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Music program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Music Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for music majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for a Master's in Music
Our 2023 rankings named Indiana University - Bloomington the most popular school in the United States for music students working on their master’s degree. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Bloomington.
About 50% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 50% are male.
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The in-demand master’s degree programs at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular music schools in the United States. UC is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Cincinnati.
Women make up 49% of the music majors at the school.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Manhattan School of Music is a great place for music students working on their master’s degree. Manhattan School of Music is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Of the 132 students majoring in music at Manhattan School of Music, 39% are male and 61% are female.
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The in-demand master’s degree programs at New York University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular music schools in the United States. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 49% of the music majors at the school.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The New England Conservatory of Music. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Music Master’s Degree Schools list. The New England Conservatory of Music is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.
About 49% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 51% are male.
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With a ranking of #6, Yale University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for music students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Of the 121 students majoring in music at Yale, 50% are male and 50% are female.
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With a ranking of #7, The Juilliard School did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for music students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of New York, Juilliard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Women make up 53% of the music majors at the school.
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The New School landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree music programs. Located in the city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
About 63% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 38% are male.
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Berklee College of Music landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree music programs. Located in the large city of Boston, Berklee College of Music is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
About 51% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 49% are male.
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Johns Hopkins University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree music programs. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.
Of the 92 students majoring in music at Johns Hopkins, 43% are male and 57% are female.
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With a ranking of #11, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for music students working on their master’s degree. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.
Women make up 50% of the music majors at the school.
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With a ranking of #12, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for music students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.
About 49% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 51% are male.
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University of North Texas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for music students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. UNT is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Denton.
About 48% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 52% are male.
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Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree music programs. BGSU is a large public school located in the town of Bowling Green.
About 41% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 59% are male.
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With a ranking of #14, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for music students working on their master’s degree. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Of the 70 students majoring in music at USC, 60% are male and 40% are female.
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With a ranking of #16, Longy School of Music of Bard College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for music students working on their master’s degree. Longy is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.
Women make up 73% of the music majors at the school.
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San Francisco Conservatory of Music came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Music Master’s Degree Schools ranking. SFCM is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.
Women make up 56% of the music majors at the school.
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With a ranking of #17, University of Rochester did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for music students working on their master’s degree. University of Rochester is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Rochester.
Of the 66 students majoring in music at University of Rochester, 52% are male and 48% are female.
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Temple University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for music students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Temple is a very large public school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
About 59% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 41% are male.
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Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for music students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 52% of the music majors at the school.
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California State University - Northridge landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree music programs. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Northridge.
About 59% of the students majoring in music at the school are women while 41% are male.
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Roosevelt University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Music Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Chicago, Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Women make up 55% of the music majors at the school.
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University of Hartford did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for music students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of West Hartford, UHart is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
Women make up 61% of the music majors at the school.
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With a ranking of #24, University of Miami did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for music students working on their master’s degree. U Miami is a large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Coral Gables.
Women make up 38% of the music majors at the school.
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Colorado State University - Fort Collins came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Music Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Fort Collins, Colorado State is a public college with a very large student population.
Women make up 72% of the music majors at the school.
Read full report on Music at Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Request InformationRest of the Top Most Popular Music Master's Degree Schools
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Music Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Ohio University - Athens Campus | Athens, OH |
| 52 | University of Southern Mississippi | Hattiesburg, MS |
| 53 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro, NC |
| 53 | University of Maryland - College Park | College Park, MD |
| 53 | Southern Methodist University | Dallas, TX |
| 53 | University of Oregon | Eugene, OR |
| 57 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville | Knoxville, TN |
| 58 | Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield, MO |
| 59 | Oklahoma City University | Oklahoma City, OK |
| 59 | Baylor University | Waco, TX |
| 59 | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ |
| 59 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 59 | George Mason University | Fairfax, VA |
| 59 | Shenandoah University | Winchester, VA |
Music by Region
View the Most Popular Music Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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
One of 10 majors within the area of study, music has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar 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 26 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.