Music

Types of Degrees Music Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	15,299
Master’s Degree	6,247
Associate Degree	1,952
Doctor’s Degree	1,357
Graduate Certificate	681
Basic Certificate	433
Undergraduate Certificate	198

What Music Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to music and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Music Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in music should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Music Majors

When studying music, 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:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Music Majors

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

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Music Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with music:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960
Music Composers and Arrangers	5.7%	$49,630
Music Directors	5.7%	$49,630
Musicians, Instrumental	6.0%	NA
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320
Singers	6.0%	NA
Sound Engineering Technicians	6.5%	$52,390

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Music?

Music runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #34 out of all the undergraduate majors we track. In 2021, about 15,362 graduates completed their bachelor’s degree in this field. Roughly 46% of the graduates are women, and 54% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	865
Black or African American	1,128
Hispanic or Latino	2,226
White	8,879
International Students	971
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,230

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Music. About 6.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Music

Some degrees associated with music may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.8%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	8.8%
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)	3.7%
Some College Courses	7.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	27.1%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.0%
Master’s Degree	22.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.4%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.4%
Doctoral Degree	13.9%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.8%

Online Music 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)	70	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	48	0
Associate’s Degree	372	9
Bachelor’s Degree	216	6
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	773	27
Post-Master’s	75	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	232	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	10	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	12	1

Majors Related to Music

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

Major	Number of Grads
Fine & Studio Arts	36,332
Design & Applied Arts	36,019
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	18,531
Drama & Theater Arts	16,853
General Visual & Performing Arts	6,785
Arts & Media Management	4,722
Dance	3,233
Other Visual Art	1,026
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry	102
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art	6

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.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.