Top Music Schools 2025

Conservatories made a comeback this year, with several returning to THR‘s annual list of the world’s best music schools. The fundamentals of composition and performance remain a top priority for both institutions and students eager to break into the field. While overall college enrollment continues to decline, and some universities struggle with government funding cuts, music schools and media scoring departments have largely bucked the trend.

At a time when DEI programs have come under fire, UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music — renowned for its extensive Ethnomusicology department — might have seemed especially vulnerable to political pressure. But Bob Fink, chair of the school’s Music Industry Program, says the university has stood firm in its support. “When all this started to really happen, there was anxiety coming through the school,” he says. “We have the Department of Ethnomusicology, which is in principle about diversity of the world’s music and takes race fundamentally into account. But we’ve gotten very strong support from the university [about] what we teach in our classes. Academic freedom is a real thing, and the university feels very strongly that the content of classes is not really at stake here.”

To compile this year’s rankings, THR polled members of Hollywood’s Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Composers Diversity Collective, and the music branches of both the Motion Picture Academy and Television Academy. Special thanks to Ray Costa and Costa Communications and Ashley Irwin of the SCL for their help in distributing the poll.

1. Columbia College Chicago

Columbia offers a two-year master of fine arts program in music composition for the screen, headed by Kubilay Uner. There are focuses on music for full-length film, TV, video games and other visual media, culminating in a five-week semester in L.A. with internships as well as thesis projects recorded by a 70-piece orchestra. Says Uner: “Every defining aspect of our program starts with one question: How is this done in professional practice?”

TUITION $37,344

NOTABLE ALUMNI Batu Sener, composer (Better Man, Harold and the Purple Crayon); Paul Broucek (president of music at Warner Bros. Pictures)

2. The Berklee College of Music

Berklee screen scoring program chair Sean McMahon oversees classes in film and media scoring and game and interactive media scoring, with both programs offering bachelor’s degrees. The Boston school has scored some major media tie-ins in the past few years: Berklee’s ongoing collaboration with Red Bull — the Red Bull Scoring Challenge — culminated with the Aug. 22 release of the Sounds of Red Bull album, with seven of the album’s 10 tracks composed by students from McMahon’s scoring program.

TUITION $52,440

NOTABLE ALUMNI Quincy Jones, Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)

3. The Juilliard School

As one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in the country and one centrally located in New York City, Juilliard has always been an expensive prospect for potential students, but the school has abundant avenues for financial aid and in April launched a fundraising campaign to eliminate tuition for all students. “It’s not a pipe dream,” says David Serkin Ludwig, dean and director of music and acting chair of composition. “An education as excellent as Juilliard should be available to everyone. What a lot of people don’t know is that about 40 percent of the students already go tuition-free. And the vast majority of students are getting significant financial aid and scholarship, tuition help.”

TUITION $55,500

NOTABLE ALUMNI Eunike Tanzil (composer and recording artist); Tony Yun (pianist)

4. USC Thornton School of Music

USC Thornton continues to capitalize on its location in the heart of L.A. and its access to the film and TV industry’s top talent and facilities. Jeanine Cowen is in her fourth year as chair of the screen scoring program at Thornton, which trains 20 students a year and continues to thrive in a period when overall college enrollment is down and some universities have had to deal with a Trump administration compact that sets out a set of political priorities and, in exchange for adherence, promises signatory institutions preferential access to federal funds and benefits. “USC was among the universities who were offered the compact from the administration, and they declined,” Cowen notes. “There are other schools at USC who’ve had to change how they’re delivering their curriculum, and we haven’t had to do that.”

TUITION $69,904

NOTABLE ALUMNI Bear McCreary (Foundation); Christopher Lennertz (The Boys)

5. Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester

Eastman’s Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media, located in Rochester, New York, offers a highly exclusive two-year master’s program limited to no more than six students a year. Eastman’s Joan and Martin Messinger dean, Kate Sheeran, says one of the school’s biggest advantages is its resident faculty: “We have 110 full-time faculty who really care for our students and who are excellent musicians and teachers, performers and scholars. We’re also part of a research university, and so we have opportunities to address challenges that have long plagued our field, both in terms of technology and how we work with neuroscientists to prove the impact of music on the brain.”

TUITION $69,030

NOTABLE ALUMNI Chuck Mangione (trumpeter), Charles Strouse (Annie)

6. UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

Bob Fink, department chair of the school of music’s music industry program, says UCLA’s rigid academics help breed students who are ready to work in the industry: “We have basically a conservatory-style department of music performance, education and composition. The students can come in and apply to the composition program and specialize in film music. We also have a music industry program now. It’s a very generalist degree, but a lot of students come to UCLA … then work on music supervision as a specialty.”

TUITION $15,154 (in-state)

NOTABLE ALUMNI Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek (The Doors)

7. New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development

Steinhardt offers students the opportunity to earn bachelor of music and master of music degrees in its music theory and composition: screen scoring programs, run by chair Ronald. H. Sadoff. Students have the opportunity to spend a semester overseas at one of the university’s 16 international campuses, with locations in London, Paris, Buenos Aires and Prague, and students get the chance to have their music performed live by NYU’s Contemporary Music Ensemble in the school’s annual film scoring competition, with winners having their scores for NYU Tisch films performed by the NYU Symphony Orchestra.

TUITION $32,811

NOTABLE ALUMNI Marcelo Zarvos (Equalizer 3); Tanis Chalopin (Inspector Gadget: MAD Party Time video game)

8. California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)

Founded by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy, CalArts in Santa Clarita has long been a springboard for distinctive, cutting-edge artists from Tim Burton to animator Pendleton Ward. Composition students thrive in an environment where they work side by side with talented student animators and filmmakers and get the chance to compose music for many of their projects.

TUITION $30,325

NOTABLE ALUMNI Julia Holter (singer-songwriter); Ariel Pink (singer-songwriter)

9. Curtis Institute of Music

Curtis takes a conservatory approach to music education and offers post-secondary-school student diplomas, bachelor of music and professional studies certificates as well as post-baccalaureate diploma and master of music degrees. Students can take in more than 200 performances in and around Philadelphia and have the opportunity to travel and perform around the world with the school’s Curtis on Tour program.

TUITION Free; room and board, $15,000 to $20,000

NOTABLE ALUMNI Leonard Bernstein, Lang Lang

10. The New England Conservatory of Music

Located in the heart of Boston’s thriving arts community and just a short walk from the city’s famed Symphony Hall, NEC keeps students up to date with their music technology concentration and the Robert Ceely Electronic Music Studio. The school combines classes in music theory, performance and business into courses that put these disciplines into context for students for application in real life while pushing them to grow and mature as artists.

TUITION $61,561

NOTABLE ALUMNI Sarah Caldwell (conductor); Regina Carter (jazz violinist)

11. Royal College of Music

More than 900 students from more than 50 countries populate RCM’s campus in South Kensington opposite Royal Albert Hall, studying at the undergraduate, master’s or doctoral level. The school’s Woodhouse Professional Development Centre helps students develop their skills as instructors and find employment in academia, while RCM’s esteemed faculty prepares budding composers, conductors and performers to join some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras.

TUITION 22,800 pounds (about $29,970)

NOTABLE ALUMNI Leopold Stokowski (conductor); James Galway (flautist)

12. Cal State Northridge

The Mike Curb College Department of Music offers graduate programs in composition, conducting and music industry administration, and a bachelor of music with two dynamic concentrations: composition and commercial, and media writing. Students in the media composition program regularly record their original music with top Los Angeles session players at professional studios — most recently Evergreen Studios in Burbank — gaining real-world experience in the heart of the entertainment industry.

TUITION $7,850

NOTABLE ALUMNI Troy Glass (rapper); Serj Tankian (System of a Down)

13. Manhattan School of Music

MSM affords nearly 1,000 students the opportunity to pursue bachelor’s degrees in voice, instrumental performance, musical theater, jazz and composition in the heart of New York City’s exciting mix of artistic, cultural and performance hotspots. With around 250 instructors, students can enjoy one-on-one interaction with their teachers, while the school’s 700 performances a year — both at the school proper and at the prestigious Lincoln Center — give young musicians ample opportunity to hone their craft on a world stage.

TUITION $58,000

NOTABLE ALUMNI Luis Perdomo (Grammy-winning Latin jazz artist); Earl Lee (conductor)

14. Yale School of Music

Yale’s Center for Studies in Music Technology in New Haven, Connecticut, houses a recording studio and computer lab with cutting-edge recording and composition software, giving students practical and theoretical knowledge in music technology. Students can design their own interactive education at the center and use its resources for their own projects, including electronics-based performances.

TUITION $40,685, but full-tuition scholarships are available to all students.

NOTABLE ALUMNI Christopher Wilkins (conductor); Preston Trombly (Sirius radio host)

15. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music

Andrew Tripp, director of Oberlin’s recording arts and production program and director of conservatory audio services, has led the recording arts and production program into its second year. “The conservatory east studio addition was completed this summer, which houses a number of classrooms and faculty offices for the new music theater program, as well as an incredible critical listening and mastering room for recording arts,” he notes of the Ohio institution. “The space was designed to give students an early reference point they can use as a foundation for their professional work going forward.”

TUITION $68,340

NOTABLE ALUMNI Denyce Graves (opera singer); François S. Clemmons (opera singer)

16. Colburn School of Music

Colburn is right across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. In 2024, the school broke ground on a 100,000-square-foot expansion designed by architect Frank Gehry. Students at the school receive $15.2 million in scholarships annually, and 100 percent of conservatory students receive full scholarships covering tuition as well as room and board.

TUITION $19,500

NOTABLE ALUMNI Kris Bowers (Bridgerton); Kevin Lin (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concertmaster)

17. University of North Texas

UNT offers fully accredited degrees, including 101 bachelor’s, 82 master’s and 38 doctoral degree programs. Students perform in more than 70 ensembles in eight different facilities on campus, with many performances being livestreamed.

TUITION $455 per credit hour (out-of-state)

NOTABLE ALUMNI Bob Dorough (music director of Schoolhouse Rock); Kristopher Carter (Batman Beyond)

18. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Interim executive director of technology and applied composition Matt Levine teaches game scoring at the conservatory. “Every semester, the students write music for a video game, and then we get notes from the Sony team about halfway through the semester, and the final pieces are then recorded here in our world-class Bowes studio,” Levine says.

TUITION $56,400

NOTABLE ALUMNI Belinda Rosen (Latin Grammy winner); Daria Novo (One Piece)

19. Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Jacobs’ music scoring for visual media program offers a master’s degree, undergraduate and doctoral minors and two certificate degrees under the direction of professor Larry Groupé. “Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music has expanded its scoring program with the addition of composer Roger Neill heading up game scoring,” Groupé says of the Bloomington school.

TUITION $42,295

NOTABLE ALUMNI Sylvia McNair (Grammy-winning soprano); Joshua Bell (violinist)

20. Los Angeles College of Music

LACM is just on the other side of the Hollywood Hills in Pasadena and offers a master’s degree in composing for visual media, run by department chair Mark Smythe. “I work with our careers department to foster meaningful industry connections for graduates,” Smythe says. “One student is currently interning for 2025 Emmy-winning composer David Bertok.”

TUITION $27,000

NOTABLE ALUMNI Jon Kull (The Mandalorian); Tom Hiel (Last Night on Earth)

This story appeared in the Nov. 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.