Jazz

Types of Degrees Jazz Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	377
Master’s Degree	192
Basic Certificate	7
Doctor’s Degree	6
Graduate Certificate	5
Associate Degree	2

What Jazz Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, jazz majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Jazz Majors

Jazz majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• 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 Jazz Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to jazz:

• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Jazz Majors

As you progress with your jazz degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• 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.
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Jazz Major?

People with a jazz degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960
Musicians, Instrumental	6.0%	NA
Singers	6.0%	NA

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 83% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	17
Black or African American	23
Hispanic or Latino	73
White	211
International Students	21
Other Races/Ethnicities	32

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Jazz. About 5.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Jazz

Some degrees associated with jazz may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to jazz have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	7.2%
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)	0.2%
Some College Courses	7.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	24.6%
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.	0.5%
Master’s Degree	33.5%
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.	0.8%
Doctoral Degree	19.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.8%

Online Jazz 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)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	8	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	28	1
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Majors Related to Jazz

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

Major	Number of Grads
General Music	10,957
Music Performance	7,240
Music Technology	1,763
Music Theory & Composition	1,236
Other Music	1,126
Voice Performance	747
Stringed Instruments	622
Keyboard Instruments	566
Music Pedagogy	450
Music History	186
Woodwind Instruments	175
Conducting	167
Musicology & Ethnomusicology	148
Brass Instruments	120
Percussion Instruments	42
Sound Arts	33

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.