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Los Angeles, CA · Music

Music at USC

USC graduates about 74 music majors a year, 1% of its graduating class. That puts it 158th of 749 schools we score for music, a strong program at 73 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $34,000 four years out, below the national figure for the same major (0.78×). Research spending in the field runs about $3 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

73/100Strong#158 of 749 for music →
Graduates a year741% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$34,0000.78× the same major nationally
Research in the field$3Ma year, NSF
Admit rate10%whole school
SAT middle 50%1470–1540whole school

Around USC

Madilyn Bailey judging and performing for iVoice 2016 at Bovard Auditorium on th
Madilyn Bailey 11 10 2016 -8 (30839861451)Photo: Justin Higuchi from Los Angeles, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0 · source
USC Physical Education Building (PED), designed by Parkinson & Parkinson as
Physical education building 1Photo: Seauton 13 April 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Ernie Shelton (sculptor), The Wild Bunch - Sporting Sculpture - Campus of Univer
Sporting Sculpture - Campus of University of Southern California - Los Angeles, Photo: Adam Jones, 2012-02-26 12:59, from Kelowna, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
"Evelia de Pie", sculpture by Francisco Zúñiga, Anna Bing Arnold Sculpture Garde
Zuniga evelia de pie 1Photo: Seauton 13 April 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Where music happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: The Music Complex, Virginia Ramo Hall of Music, Elvon and Mabel Musick Law Building, Albert S Raubenheimer Music Faculty Memorial Building.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 106 · Dorm 15 · Arts 7 · Library 4 · Athletics 3 · Chapel 2.

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Nearby in the music ranking

  1. DePaul University 73
  2. University of San Diego 73
  3. Case Western Reserve University 73
  4. Montclair State University 73
  5. St. Olaf College 73
  6. Denison University 72
  7. Smith College 72
  8. Union College 72

Other strong majors at USC

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares USC with every school we score in music. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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