Bachelor's · Los Angeles, California
Is Music at University of California-Los Angeles worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 8.9 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $31,488
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $51,320
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $13,000
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $62k (likely $62k – $62k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $11k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 8.9 years (likely 6.3–14.4)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$140k (likely −$199k – −$79k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $26k (likely −$115k – $171k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 93%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- not reported / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Music at other schools
🎨 Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward art, design & performance majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP 2-D Art and Design
- AP Drawing
- AP Art History
- AP Music Theory
IB Higher Level
- Visual Arts HL
- Music HL or Theatre HL or Film HL
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at University of California-Los Angeles
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$228,705
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$223,358
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's)$216,722
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral)$190,499
- Physics (Doctoral)$178,137
- Law (First professional)$177,968
- Engineering, General (Master's)$177,858
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's)$177,710
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$174,798
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's)$170,827
- Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering (Master's)$151,186
- Materials Engineering (Master's)$146,629
Music at other schools in California
- Sonoma State University$65,533
- University of Redlands$59,275
- University of California-San Diego$58,071
- Biola University$50,781
- University of California-Berkeley$49,985
- San Francisco Conservatory of Music$49,186
- University of Silicon Valley$48,360
- California State University-Long Beach$47,831
- California State Polytechnic University-Pomona$44,910
- University of California-Irvine$43,120