2023 Best Music Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Music Master's Degree School for You
Music is the #37 most popular major in the country with 7,675 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Music Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 260 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Music Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the music master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Music
Our 2023 rankings named Duke University the best school in the United States for music students working on their master’s degree. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dartmouth College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Music Master’s Degree Schools list. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hanover.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Messiah University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Music Master’s Degree Schools list. Messiah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Mechanicsburg.
The excellent master’s degree programs at The Graduate Center, CUNY helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in the United States. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Kansas State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best music schools in the United States. K -State is a very large public school located in the small city of Manhattan.
Brandeis University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Brandeis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Waltham.
Michigan State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree music programs. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
North Dakota State University - Main Campus landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree music programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public school with a large student population.
Full Music at North Dakota State University - Main Campus Report
University of Nebraska - Lincoln ranked #9 on this year’s Best Music Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Lincoln, UNL is a public college with a very large student population.
University of Nebraska at Kearney ranked #10 on this year’s Best Music Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the distant town of Kearney, UNK is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Read full report on Music at University of Nebraska at Kearney
With a ranking of #11, Sam Houston State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their master’s degree. SHSU is a very large public school located in the distant town of Huntsville.
University of California - Berkeley ranked #12 on this year’s Best Music Master’s Degree Schools list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
Read full report on Music at University of California - Berkeley
With a ranking of #13, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their master’s degree. UT Rio Grande Valley is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Edinburg.
Read full report on Music at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Texas A&M University - Kingsville 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 #14 on the list. Located in the distant town of Kingsville, Texas A&M Kingsville is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Colorado State University - Fort Collins 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 #15 on the list. Colorado State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Fort Collins.
Read full report on Music at Colorado State University - Fort Collins
University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The University of Texas at El Paso ranked #17 on this year’s Best Music Master’s Degree Schools list. UTEP is a fairly large public school located in the city of El Paso.
With a ranking of #18, James Madison University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their master’s degree. JMU is a very large public school located in the small city of Harrisonburg.
Rice University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Music Master’s Degree Schools list. Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Houston.
With a ranking of #20, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their master’s degree. EIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Charleston.
West Chester University of Pennsylvania came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public school with a large student population.
Read full report on Music at West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Oklahoma State University - Main Campus 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 #22 on the list. OSU is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Stillwater.
Full Music at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Report
Texas Christian University 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 #23 on the list. Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Northwestern University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Music Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
With a ranking of #25, West Texas A&M University did quite well on this year’s best schools for music students working on their master’s degree. West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized public school located in the fringe town of Canyon.
Rest of the Top Best Music Master's Degree Schools
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Music students that almost earned our Best Music Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX |
| 41 | Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY |
| 42 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 43 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
| 44 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 45 | Miami University - Oxford | Oxford, OH |
| 46 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville | Knoxville, TN |
| 47 | University of Wyoming | Laramie, WY |
| 48 | Tulane University of Louisiana | New Orleans, LA |
| 49 | The University of Montana | Missoula, MT |
| 50 | Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 51 | Tufts University | Medford, MA |
| 52 | University of Kentucky | Lexington, KY |
Music by Region
View the Best 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 |
More Music Rankings
Music Related Rankings by Major
Music is one of 9 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Majors Related to Music
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 3,224 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 1,979 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 1,704 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 1,699 |
| Arts & Media Management | 1,184 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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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