Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Music Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Music Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

26 Colleges
$19,800 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$23,084 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Music School for You

With 629 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, music is the #40 most popular major in California.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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.

The Best Value Music Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 26 schools in California 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.

2023 Best Value Music Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for music majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Music Schools

$7,852 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for music students. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best Music Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 26 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - East Bay landed the # 2 spot on the list. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.

Cal State East Bay undergraduate students pay an average of $6,995 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Music at California State University - East Bay Report

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Music Schools in California list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per year.

UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our Best Music Schools in California rankings.

Read More…

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 26 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 4 spot on the list. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year.

Read More…

#5

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$7,304 Average Tuition & Fees

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 Schools in California list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFSU are $7,304 per year.

Read More…

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Fresno did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCLA are $13,258 per year.

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

Read full report on Music at University of California - Los Angeles

$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Irvine came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Music Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Irvine are $13,775 a year.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Irvine

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on this year’s best value schools for music students. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.

Read More…

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Fullerton did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for music students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year.

Read full report on Music at California State University - Fullerton

Best 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 63
Oregon 74
Nevada 33
Hawaii 8
Alaska 0

More Music Rankings in California

One of 9 majors within the area of study, music has other similar majors worth exploring.

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.

  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.