Music is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #36 most popular master's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 4 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 228 master's degrees in music during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
Choosing a Great Music School for Your Master's Degree
The music master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality music program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to music students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of music students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt music students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for music students working on their master's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Music Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
It is difficult to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in music. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduating, music master's recipients usually make around $23,278 in the first five years of their career.
Messiah University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in music. Messiah is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Mechanicsburg.
Music master's degree recipients from Messiah University get an earnings boost of approximately $25,604 above the average income of music graduates.
Temple University is a great option for students pursuing a master's degree in music. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduating, music master's recipients typically make an average of $21,826 in their early careers.
Duquesne University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in music. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Duquesne is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in music from Duquesne University
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The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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.
The music master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality music program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
