Rowan University makes Billboard’s 2026 list of top music business schools

For the third consecutive year, Rowan University’s music industry program has earned a spot on Billboard’s Top Music Business Schools list, placing it among the world’s leading programs for aspiring music industry professionals.

The recognition, announced on Oct. 6, highlights Rowan’s commitment to preparing students for dynamic careers in the music business.

“Rowan’s Music Industry program is innovative, exciting, student-centered and deserving of this continued recognition of excellence,” said Rick Dammers, dean of the College of the Arts.

Where industry knowledge meets real-world opportunity

Housed in the Department of Music, the Bachelor of Science in Music Industry enables students to choose between two concentrations – Music Technology and Music Business – and provides deep experience working in everything from audio production and live sound to music marketing and PR.  

At the center of the program is the Artist Services course series, where students operate a fully functioning record label, Red Oak Records, as a core part of the curriculum. 

Program founder and director Mathieu Gendreau brings a depth of industry experience to Rowan. A seasoned music producer and label owner, he worked with the bands Goldfrapp, New Order and Erasure. 

“Our B.S. in Music Industry is as much about sharing essential industry knowledge with the students as it is about building a bridge to opportunities,” Gendreau said. 

RU in partnership with Live Nation

One example is a burgeoning partnership with Live Nation’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion where students spent the summer working shows and running the #RUattheshow campaign on Instagram.

Steven Feinberg, a 1990 Rowan alum and teaching professor, whose roster of managed artists includes New Constellations, Good Charlotte, My Morning Jacket, Flight of the Conchords and The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks), expanded on the role industry partnerships play in the program.

“Through partnerships with companies like Live Nation and others across the business, our students get to work alongside people who are doing this work every day, build relationships, and see firsthand how the industry operates,” Feinberg said. “We’re grateful for the continued recognition from Billboard because it tells us that the program we’re building is not only keeping pace with the industry but giving our students a meaningful way into it.” 

Billboard does not rank the programs on its list and focuses on schools that are:

• Nonprofit
• Degree-granting
• Campus-based
• Alma maters of music industry executives
• Accredited

Rowan joins the list alongside renowned programs including Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts, Berklee, NYU, Syracuse, USC and BIMM University in London.