2026 Best Value Music Schools in South Dakota
[Music](/majors/visual-and-performing-arts/music/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong music education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 7 schools to find the best return on investment for music students.
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Featured Music Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
MBA in Music Business
Earn the music business degree that fits into the business world – and partners Southern New Hampshire University with world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
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2026 Best Value Music Schools in South Dakota
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the music degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Music Schools
For return on investment in music, no school beat University Of South Dakota this year. Located in the town of Vermillion, University Of South Dakota is a large public university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $9,432, with out-of-state students paying around $12,942. Music graduates carry a median of $26,322 in student loans. Music graduates of University Of South Dakota earn a median of $46,183 early in their careers. Set against $26,322 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 99% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
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 · 7 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked 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 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.
