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Music Therapy Major

Music Therapy

492 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
143 Master's Degrees Annually
#360 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Music Therapy Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many music therapy graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree 489
Master’s Degree 174
Graduate Certificate 44
Doctor’s Degree 2
Undergraduate Certificate 1

What Music Therapy Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to music therapy were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Music Therapy Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

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  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Music Therapy Majors

When studying music therapy, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Music Therapy Majors

A major in music therapy will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Music Therapy Major?

People with a music therapy degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors 25.9% $97,370
Therapists 19.9% $50,980

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Therapy?

489 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
89% Percent Women
20% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This major is dominated by women with about 89% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of music therapy majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 17
Black or African American 11
Hispanic or Latino 52
White 354
International Students 16
Other Races/Ethnicities 39

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Music Therapy. About 3.3% of those with this major are international students.

Some careers associated with music therapy require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for music therapy careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 2.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 4.6%
Bachelor’s Degree 12.5%
Master’s Degree 35.9%
Doctoral Degree 24.9%
Post-Doctoral Training 19.1%

Online Music Therapy Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 1 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 1 0
Associate’s Degree 0 0
Bachelor’s Degree 7 0
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 33 1
Post-Master’s 2 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 1 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to music therapy.

Major Number of Grads
Physical Therapy/Therapist 13,762
Occupational Therapy 10,262
Rehabilitation Science 1,239
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling 947
Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy 822
Art Therapy 698
Other Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions 670
Orthotist/Prosthetist 325
Assistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering 156
Animal-Assisted Therapy 109
Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist 106
Play Therapy 52
Dance Therapy 35
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions, General 33
Horticulture Therapy 8
Drama Therapy 0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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