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What you'll do in college
Music majors balance performance, theory, history, and ear training. Performers spend hours each day practicing their instrument or voice, take private lessons with a faculty member, and play in ensembles ranging from orchestras and choirs to jazz combos.
Composition tracks add classes in writing for various instruments and increasingly include electronic music production. Music education tracks add teaching methods and student-teaching placements. Conservatories are intense and pre-professional; university music programs may offer more flexibility.
What you'll do after college
Grads work as performers, teachers, composers, music producers, recording engineers, music therapists, arts administrators, and church musicians. Some pursue further training at conservatories or in graduate school, while others go directly into freelancing, teaching, or music technology.
Pay is famously uneven—a few become stars, most piece together careers from teaching, gigs, and side work. The major is for students who genuinely can't imagine doing anything else.
Famous graduates
- Sheryl Crow — Grammy-winning musician; B.S. in Music Education from University of Missouri
- Renée Fleming — Legendary opera soprano; B.M. in Music Education from SUNY Potsdam
- Esperanza Spalding — Grammy-winning jazz bassist and singer; B.M. from Berklee College of Music
Selectivity vs. earnings
By acceptance rate
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings
By SAT median
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings
Earnings vs. selectivity rank
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings
Majors in this category
| Major | Colleges | Degrees ▼ | Male/Female | Intl | Earnings | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | 984 | 20,026 | 52% / 48% | 7% | $42,713 | 95% |
| Music | 849 | 7,131 | 54% / 46% | 3% | $41,401 | 94% |
| Music Performance | 341 | 3,358 | 53% / 47% | 8% | $40,331 | 94% |
| Music Education | 394 | 2,663 | 45% / 55% | 0% | $53,271 | 96% |
| Musical Theatre | 114 | 1,036 | 35% / 65% | 3% | $36,370 | 96% |
| Music Management | 74 | 872 | 50% / 50% | 9% | $43,444 | 96% |
| Music Technology | 67 | 541 | 75% / 25% | 2% | $40,079 | 95% |
| Music Theory and Composition | 120 | 517 | 61% / 39% | 18% | $38,644 | 94% |
| Electronic Production and Design | 1 | 454 | 63% / 37% | 47% | $37,008 | 100% |
| Music Production and Engineering | 1 | 291 | 73% / 27% | 32% | $44,764 | 100% |
| Music Therapy | 49 | 280 | 11% / 89% | 4% | $59,512 | 97% |
| Intermedia/Multimedia | 18 | 252 | 46% / 54% | 4% | $40,622 | 91% |
| Music Business | 6 | 232 | 43% / 57% | 1% | $46,238 | 96% |
| Voice and Opera | 70 | 228 | 29% / 71% | 7% | $38,361 | 94% |
| Jazz Studies | 28 | 215 | 79% / 21% | 19% | $36,177 | 91% |
| Music - Entertainment and Media Industries | 1 | 151 | 23% / 77% | 3% | $56,914 | 100% |
| Stringed Instruments | 19 | 136 | 41% / 59% | 15% | $38,405 | 92% |
| Jazz/Jazz Studies | 25 | 129 | 85% / 15% | 2% | $42,116 | 93% |
| Music Industry | 4 | 102 | 32% / 68% | 6% | $42,771 | 94% |
| Recording Industry Studies | 1 | 102 | 79% / 21% | 0% | $42,408 | 95% |
| Music Pedagogy | 20 | 94 | 44% / 56% | 0% | $41,776 | 96% |
| Recording Arts Technology/Technician | 6 | 94 | 85% / 15% | 0% | $47,388 | 98% |
| Keyboard Instruments | 48 | 89 | 38% / 62% | 39% | $38,533 | 92% |
| Recording Arts Technology | 9 | 74 | 73% / 27% | 0% | $48,744 | 94% |
| Organ | 1 | 73 | 37% / 63% | 11% | $31,469 | 92% |
| Music Teacher Education | 45 | 66 | 42% / 58% | 0% | $51,305 | |
| Music History, Literature, and Theory | 21 | 57 | 58% / 42% | 2% | $38,468 | 95% |
| Strings | 3 | 54 | 44% / 56% | 24% | $28,284 | 85% |
| Music Composition | 11 | 47 | 66% / 34% | 9% | $38,713 | 91% |
| Sacred Music | 23 | 46 | 57% / 43% | 2% | $48,773 | 97% |
| Woodwind Instruments | 8 | 37 | 51% / 49% | 27% | $37,784 | 89% |
| Music Studies | 6 | 33 | 55% / 45% | 0% | $39,673 | 96% |
| Brass Instruments | 9 | 31 | 77% / 23% | 6% | $37,675 | 90% |
| Composition | 7 | 31 | 68% / 32% | 19% | $27,268 | 89% |
| Sound Arts | 4 | 31 | 81% / 19% | 0% | $44,541 | 95% |
| Music and Technology | 2 | 30 | 73% / 27% | 10% | $39,192 | 93% |
| Lyric Theatre | 1 | 26 | 31% / 69% | 8% | $39,551 | 92% |
| Choral Music | 1 | 24 | 58% / 42% | 4% | $21,859 | 86% |
| Audio Engineering Technology | 2 | 23 | 39% / 61% | 0% | $48,848 | |
| Broadcasting Technology | 2 | 22 | 64% / 36% | 0% | $42,243 | 98% |
| Global Jazz Studies | 1 | 22 | 41% / 59% | 14% | $44,895 | 83% |
| Voice | 3 | 21 | 33% / 67% | 38% | $28,284 | 85% |
| Jazz | 3 | 19 | 95% / 5% | 0% | $35,265 | 84% |
| Audio Recording Technology | 1 | 19 | 95% / 5% | 5% | $35,398 | 99% |
| Music for New Media | 1 | 17 | 59% / 41% | 76% | $28,061 | 92% |
| Instrumental Music | 1 | 15 | 73% / 27% | 0% | $32,753 | 96% |
| Music History | 3 | 14 | 57% / 43% | 14% | $37,218 | 88% |
| Audio Technology | 1 | 14 | 93% / 7% | 0% | $64,587 | 90% |
| Music Education (Pre K-12) | 1 | 14 | 29% / 71% | 0% | $49,369 | 96% |
| Music Learning and Teaching | 1 | 14 | 21% / 79% | 0% | $53,937 | 97% |
| Recording Technology | 1 | 13 | 77% / 23% | 0% | $50,912 | |
| Keyboard | 1 | 12 | 67% / 33% | 67% | $24,757 | 83% |
| Percussion Instruments | 8 | 11 | 82% / 18% | 27% | $39,664 | 90% |
| Brass | 2 | 11 | 73% / 27% | 18% | $24,330 | 82% |
| Technology and Applied Composition | 1 | 11 | 55% / 45% | 18% | $23,902 | 81% |
| Music Engineering Technology | 1 | 10 | 50% / 50% | 10% | $78,411 | 100% |
| Woodwinds | 2 | 9 | 44% / 56% | 33% | $24,330 | 82% |
| Computer Engineering Technology | 1 | 9 | 100% / 0% | 0% | ||
| Vocal Performance | 4 | 8 | 38% / 62% | 25% | $36,468 | 97% |
| Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies | 1 | 7 | 43% / 57% | 0% | $27,012 | 100% |
| Worship Music | 1 | 7 | 57% / 43% | 0% | $42,840 | 94% |
| Applied Music | 2 | 6 | 33% / 67% | 33% | $45,124 | 100% |
| Instrumental Performance | 2 | 6 | 50% / 50% | 17% | $29,067 | 94% |
| Music Composition (CCS) | 1 | 6 | 67% / 33% | 0% | $29,891 | 100% |
| Musicology | 2 | 5 | 80% / 20% | 40% | $38,430 | 89% |
| Audio Arts and Acoustics | 1 | 5 | 60% / 40% | 0% | $45,861 | 96% |
| Audio Engineering Technology/Technician | 1 | 5 | 80% / 20% | 20% | $58,133 | |
| Commercial Music | 1 | 5 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $37,036 | |
| Contemporary Music | 1 | 5 | 0% / 100% | 40% | $32,124 | 89% |
| Musicology and Ethnomusicology | 5 | 4 | 75% / 25% | 0% | $37,058 | 98% |
| Voice Performance | 2 | 3 | 33% / 67% | 0% | $34,057 | 98% |
| Keyboard Studies | 1 | 3 | 67% / 33% | 100% | $23,902 | 81% |
| Musical Arts/Composition | 1 | 3 | 33% / 67% | 0% | $84,465 | 92% |
| Piano | 1 | 3 | 33% / 67% | 0% | $36,193 | 93% |
| Piano Performance | 3 | 2 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $35,939 | 98% |
| Audio Production | 2 | 2 | 100% / 0% | 100% | $49,174 | |
| Ethnomusicology | 2 | 2 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $32,580 | 88% |
| Metal Arts | 2 | 2 | 0% / 100% | 50% | $35,216 | 92% |
| Percussion | 2 | 2 | 100% / 0% | 50% | $24,330 | 82% |
| Audiovisual Technology | 1 | 2 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $40,987 | 94% |
| Music Theory and History | 1 | 2 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $42,643 | 94% |
| Teacher Education: Music Education | 1 | 2 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $54,394 | 91% |
| Keyboard Performance | 2 | 1 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $38,802 | 88% |
| Sound Recording Technology | 1 | 1 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $45,404 |