by our College Data Analytics Team
[Music Education](/majors/education/teacher-education-and-development/music-education/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong music education education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for music education students.
What’s on this page:
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.
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the music education degrees they offer, see the list below.
University Of Delaware tops our 2026 list of the best value music education schools in Delaware. University Of Delaware is a very large public school located in the suburb of Newark. In-state tuition and fees average $16,810, while out-of-state students pay about $41,400. Typical student debt for music education graduates is $26,298. Early-career music education graduates make about $49,041. Set against $26,298 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 71%.
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
