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Religious/Sacred Music

Types of Degrees Religious/Sacred Music Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Religious/Sacred Music may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	5
Associate’s Degree	8
Bachelor’s Degree	243
Master’s Degree	113
Doctor’s Degree	25

What Religious/Sacred Music Majors Need to Know

Studies in Religious/Sacred Music emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Religious/Sacred Music graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Religious/Sacred Music emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Philosophy and Theology — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• History and Archeology — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set developed in a Religious/Sacred Music program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Religious/Sacred Music careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Religious/Sacred Music graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.3 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.9 / 7
Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People	3.8 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Religious/Sacred Music professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Learning management system LMS	Computer based training software	✓
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
University of California Thesaurus Linguae Graecae TLG	Dictionary software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Religious/Sacred Music graduates include:

• Online Philosophy Instructor
• Adjunct Faculty Member
• Church Music Professor
• Adjunct Philosophy Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Eastern Philosophy Professor
• Religious Studies Teacher
• Ethics Professor
• Religious Educator
• Western Philosophy Professor
• Old Testament Professor
• Jewish Educator
• Theology Teacher
• University Faculty Member
• Humanities Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Religious/Sacred Music graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	66.1%
Master’s degree	15.3%
Post-doctoral training	10.7%
Bachelor’s degree	3.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.2%
Some college courses	0.9%
Post-master’s certificate	0.8%
Less than a high school diploma	0.7%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Religious/Sacred Music?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 52.3% women and 47.7% men among Religious/Sacred Music graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	206	52.3%
Men	188	47.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Religious/Sacred Music graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	257	65.2%
Asian	19	4.8%
Hispanic or Latino	50	12.7%
Black or African American	18	4.6%
Two or More Races	15	3.8%
Race Unknown	24	6.1%
International Students	11	2.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Religious/Sacred Music Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Religious/Sacred Music graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$35,384
4 years	$38,039
5 years	$44,242

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $44,242 — roughly 25% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Religious/Sacred Music Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Religious/Sacred Music. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	2	0
Bachelor’s	8	5
Master’s	5	4
Doctoral (Research)	1	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Religious/Sacred Music Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Religious/Sacred Music graduates earn a median of $38,039 four years after completion — essentially in line with the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Religious Music and Worship	39.05
Religious Music and Worship, Other	39.0599
Worship Ministry	39.0502
Bible/Biblical Studies	39.0201
Chaplain/Chaplaincy Studies	39.0706
Divinity/Ministry	39.0602

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.