Music at University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The $13,479 first-year earnings for UL Lafayette music graduates ranks dead last among Louisiana's 18 music programs—less than half what graduates earn at the state's median program and roughly a third of what Southeastern Louisiana music grads make. Even accounting for the small sample size (under 30 graduates), this number should concern any parent, especially when paired with $25,115 in debt. That's nearly two years of earnings to pay off student loans, and it leaves graduates scrambling to cobble together multiple income streams just to stay afloat.

Music degrees rarely lead to high immediate earnings—the national median of $26,036 isn't impressive—but this program's outcomes fall well below even those modest expectations. Graduates here are earning about half the national average for music majors and ranking in just the 10th percentile statewide. The debt burden, while close to typical for Louisiana music programs, becomes problematic when earnings are this suppressed.

The small sample means these numbers could shift significantly year to year, but until data shows otherwise, families should seriously question whether this particular program justifies its cost. If your child is committed to studying music in Louisiana, other state universities are demonstrating substantially better graduate outcomes.