If you pursue a doctor's degree in music, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #22 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Music Doctor's Degree Schools in Indiana ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 52 doctor'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.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their doctor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on music students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - The number of music students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
Student Debt - How easy is it for music to pay back their student loans after receiving their doctor's degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized music related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for music students working on their doctor's degree.
The music school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Music Doctor's Degree Schools in Indiana.
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "visual-and-performing-arts//music"
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
Indiana University - Bloomington is a good decision for students pursuing a doctor's degree in music. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.
After graduating, music doctorate recipients usually earn an average of $46,561 at the beginning of their careers.
Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in music needs to take a look at Ball State University. Located in the city of Muncie, Ball State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in music from Ball State University
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "visual-and-performing-arts//music"
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.