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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 | 971 | 20,150 | 51% / 49% | 6% | $42,217 | 95% |
| Music | 830 | 7,068 | 52% / 48% | 3% | $40,587 | 94% |
| Music Performance | 317 | 3,439 | 52% / 48% | 8% | $39,513 | 94% |
| Music Education | 381 | 3,012 | 46% / 54% | 1% | $51,523 | 96% |
| Musical Theatre | 104 | 948 | 32% / 68% | 2% | $35,818 | 95% |
| Music Management | 66 | 823 | 49% / 51% | 7% | $42,525 | 96% |
| Music Technology | 61 | 533 | 77% / 23% | 1% | $39,522 | 95% |
| Music Theory and Composition | 113 | 476 | 62% / 38% | 13% | $38,670 | 94% |
| Electronic Production and Design | 1 | 365 | 68% / 32% | 40% | $39,382 | 100% |
| Music Therapy | 47 | 312 | 10% / 90% | 2% | $57,828 | 97% |
| Music Business | 6 | 285 | 42% / 58% | 2% | $45,099 | 96% |
| Intermedia/Multimedia | 16 | 260 | 42% / 58% | 5% | $40,285 | 91% |
| Voice and Opera | 62 | 239 | 30% / 70% | 5% | $38,442 | 94% |
| Jazz Studies | 27 | 225 | 82% / 18% | 13% | $36,177 | 91% |
| Music Production and Engineering | 1 | 175 | 75% / 25% | 22% | $47,108 | 100% |
| Music - Entertainment and Media Industries | 1 | 152 | 38% / 62% | 15% | $58,456 | 100% |
| Stringed Instruments | 17 | 143 | 45% / 55% | 22% | $39,329 | 92% |
| Recording Industry Studies | 1 | 114 | 74% / 26% | 1% | $40,147 | 95% |
| Keyboard Instruments | 45 | 112 | 48% / 52% | 42% | $38,655 | 92% |
| Music Industry | 4 | 106 | 46% / 54% | 5% | $43,985 | 94% |
| Music Pedagogy | 19 | 97 | 40% / 60% | 1% | $41,606 | 96% |
| Jazz/Jazz Studies | 25 | 92 | 78% / 22% | 2% | $42,062 | 93% |
| Recording Arts Technology/Technician | 6 | 82 | 77% / 23% | 1% | $47,000 | 98% |
| Organ | 1 | 72 | 57% / 43% | 4% | $32,036 | 92% |
| Recording Arts Technology | 7 | 66 | 79% / 21% | 0% | $47,766 | 94% |
| Sacred Music | 23 | 64 | 56% / 44% | 0% | $44,735 | 97% |
| Music History, Literature, and Theory | 20 | 64 | 45% / 55% | 6% | $38,699 | 95% |
| Strings | 3 | 57 | 37% / 63% | 35% | $31,342 | 85% |
| Lyric Theatre | 1 | 44 | 41% / 59% | 2% | $38,862 | 92% |
| Music Composition | 11 | 38 | 68% / 32% | 11% | $39,445 | 91% |
| Brass Instruments | 9 | 35 | 91% / 9% | 9% | $38,079 | 90% |
| Composition | 7 | 35 | 80% / 20% | 11% | $28,662 | 89% |
| Sound Arts | 4 | 28 | 79% / 21% | 0% | $44,982 | 95% |
| Woodwind Instruments | 8 | 27 | 52% / 48% | 19% | $38,489 | 89% |
| Music and Technology | 2 | 27 | 93% / 7% | 0% | $42,185 | 93% |
| Music Studies | 6 | 26 | 46% / 54% | 0% | $38,273 | 96% |
| Music Teacher Education | 46 | 25 | 40% / 60% | 0% | $49,614 | |
| Broadcasting Technology | 2 | 24 | 62% / 38% | 0% | $44,285 | 98% |
| Music Learning and Teaching | 1 | 23 | 61% / 39% | 0% | $54,599 | 97% |
| Global Jazz Studies | 1 | 22 | 36% / 64% | 9% | $50,858 | 83% |
| Audio Production | 2 | 20 | 95% / 5% | 10% | $47,176 | |
| Audio Recording Technology | 1 | 20 | 80% / 20% | 0% | $34,940 | 99% |
| Keyboard | 1 | 20 | 65% / 35% | 55% | $26,868 | 83% |
| Choral Music | 1 | 19 | 53% / 47% | 5% | $24,763 | 86% |
| Jazz | 3 | 18 | 89% / 11% | 6% | $37,465 | 84% |
| Music History | 3 | 17 | 53% / 47% | 0% | $38,246 | 88% |
| Music Education (Pre K-12) | 1 | 17 | 35% / 65% | 0% | $47,090 | 97% |
| Voice | 3 | 15 | 40% / 60% | 33% | $31,342 | 85% |
| Worship Music | 2 | 13 | 31% / 69% | 0% | $41,510 | 94% |
| Contemporary Music | 1 | 13 | 38% / 62% | 8% | $32,406 | 89% |
| Instrumental Music | 1 | 13 | 69% / 31% | 0% | $32,182 | 96% |
| Recording Technology | 1 | 13 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $49,489 | |
| Woodwinds | 2 | 12 | 67% / 33% | 25% | $27,094 | 82% |
| Computer Science + Music | 1 | 12 | 0% / 0% | 0% | $41,181 | |
| Audio Engineering Technology | 2 | 11 | 36% / 64% | 0% | $45,112 | |
| Brass | 2 | 11 | 82% / 18% | 27% | $27,094 | 82% |
| Instrumental Performance | 2 | 11 | 55% / 45% | 0% | $27,976 | 94% |
| Audio Arts and Acoustics | 1 | 11 | 82% / 18% | 0% | $46,106 | 96% |
| Sound Recording Technology | 1 | 11 | 73% / 27% | 0% | $45,721 | |
| Technology and Applied Composition | 1 | 11 | 82% / 18% | 45% | $27,321 | 81% |
| Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies | 1 | 9 | 67% / 33% | 0% | $24,436 | 100% |
| Music Engineering Technology | 1 | 9 | 78% / 22% | 0% | $85,529 | 100% |
| Keyboard Performance | 2 | 8 | 50% / 50% | 12% | $40,148 | 88% |
| Vocal Performance | 4 | 7 | 43% / 57% | 14% | $34,922 | 97% |
| Musicology | 2 | 7 | 86% / 14% | 14% | $39,412 | 89% |
| Music for New Media | 1 | 7 | 100% / 0% | 14% | $29,252 | 92% |
| Piano Performance | 3 | 6 | 50% / 50% | 17% | $36,585 | 98% |
| Metal Arts | 2 | 6 | 0% / 100% | 50% | $36,660 | 92% |
| Percussion | 2 | 6 | 83% / 17% | 17% | $27,094 | 82% |
| Audio Technology | 1 | 6 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $65,827 | 90% |
| Keyboard Studies | 1 | 6 | 50% / 50% | 83% | $27,321 | 81% |
| Percussion Instruments | 7 | 5 | 80% / 20% | 20% | $41,452 | 90% |
| Audio Engineering Technology/Technician | 1 | 5 | 60% / 40% | 20% | $57,009 | |
| Commercial Music | 1 | 5 | 60% / 40% | 20% | $40,380 | |
| Musicology and Ethnomusicology | 3 | 4 | 25% / 75% | 0% | $36,780 | 98% |
| Ethnomusicology | 2 | 4 | 75% / 25% | 0% | $36,106 | 88% |
| Audiovisual Technology | 1 | 4 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $39,574 | 94% |
| Music Theory and History | 1 | 4 | 75% / 25% | 0% | $45,065 | 94% |
| Teacher Education: Music Education | 1 | 4 | 25% / 75% | 0% | $53,836 | 91% |
| Conducting | 3 | 3 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $34,348 | 86% |
| Applied Music | 2 | 3 | 67% / 33% | 33% | $43,124 | 100% |
| Voice Performance | 2 | 3 | 33% / 67% | 0% | $32,390 | 98% |
| Musical Arts/Composition | 1 | 3 | 67% / 33% | 33% | $79,962 | 92% |
| Music Composition (CCS) | 1 | 2 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $33,149 | 100% |
| Piano | 1 | 1 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $39,836 | 93% |