Best Colleges by Major / Music
Best Colleges for Music 2026
20 schools ranked by graduate earnings — real data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Music graduates are well-positioned for careers across multiple industries. The rankings below are based on actual graduate earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings shown are median graduate earnings 4 years after graduation (or 1 year if 4-year data is unavailable), sourced from the College Scorecard.See full major data
Top 20 Music Programs by Graduate Earnings
| # | School | Earnings | Tuition | Accept Rate | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC | $57,343 | $39,330 | 19% | 20,556 |
| 2 | The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX | $56,0621yr | $25,512 | 100% | 20,547 |
| 3 | University of Houston Houston, TX | $55,639 | $22,191 | 70% | 37,175 |
| 4 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX | $55,090 | $19,939 | 85% | 27,026 |
| 5 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville Kingsville, TX | $53,695 | $26,106 | 92% | 4,622 |
| 6 | Biola University La Mirada, CA | $50,875 | $46,704 | 60% | 3,390 |
| 7 | The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX | $50,800 | $21,965 | 88% | 29,675 |
| 8 | Rowan University Glassboro, NJ | $50,331 | $25,564 | 78% | 14,647 |
| 9 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA | $50,200 | $19,319 | 74% | 24,271 |
| 10 | East Texas A&M University Commerce, TX | $49,536 | $22,626 | 93% | 8,249 |
| 11 | West Texas A & M University Canyon, TX | $49,232 | $10,996 | 97% | 6,771 |
| 12 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | $48,986 | $42,778 | 29% | 42,100 |
| 13 | Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX | $48,515 | $20,680 | 88% | 8,746 |
| 14 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA | $47,904 | $59,900 | 76% | 1,631 |
| 15 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL | $47,898 | $15,879 | 68% | 4,398 |
| 16 | Lamar University Beaumont, TX | $47,769 | $18,482 | 86% | 7,945 |
| 17 | The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX | $47,358 | $29,660 | 81% | 30,834 |
| 18 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA | $46,916 | $39,397 | 89% | 27,083 |
| 19 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA | $46,899 | $30,790 | 76% | 20,497 |
| 20 | Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, TX | $46,692 | $21,033 | 89% | 7,804 |
#1
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Earnings: $57,343Tuition: $39,330Accept: 19%
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California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Pomona, CA
Earnings: $50,200Tuition: $19,319Accept: 74%
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Explore All Music Programs
See earnings data for all 240 schools offering Music, including debt figures and graduate counts.
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