Western Illinois University is proud to announce that the WIU School of Music has been ranked in the Top 100 Best Colleges for Music in America by Niche for 2025, placing WIU among the nation’s leading music programs. WIU achieved an impressive ranking at No. 93, surpassing many of its top competitors. WIU stands out among Illinois institutions and shares this honor with only a few other Illinois colleges that also placed in the top 100: Northwestern University (No. 7), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (No. 36), Wheaton College (No. 40), DePaul University (No. 67) and Roosevelt University (No. 84).

“I was very excited to learn that WIU has earned this distinction! The WIU School of Music has a longstanding tradition of excellence, offering a wide range of degree paths in music alongside numerous top-notch music ensembles for both our music majors and the general University population. As an alum myself, I’m proud to see our hard work be recognized nationally and look forward to continuing to serve countless students for years to come,” WIU School of Music Assistant Director Jason Hawkins said.

The Niche rankings are based on a comprehensive analysis of academic, admissions, financial and student life data, as well as student and alumni reviews.

For more information about WIU’s School of Music and its programs, visit wiu.edu/Music.

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Sean Leary Director of Digital Media

Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.