Music: earnings, debt, and careers
CIP 50.09. Official graduate outcomes from the U.S. Department of Education across 2,319 programs, and the careers this field is linked to.
Graduate earnings by credential level
| Credential | Programs | Graduates (recent year) | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Typical program median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate certificate | 203 | 763 | $27,777 | $33,318 | $10,284 7 programs |
| Associate's degree | 338 | 1,945 | $26,345 | $34,056 | $20,646 6 programs |
| Bachelor's degree | 1,126 | 15,187 | $33,156 | $42,892 | $24,375 249 programs |
| Post-baccalaureate certificate | 19 | 0 | $32,626 | $45,232 | $27,000 1 programs |
| Master's degree | 373 | 5,766 | $39,213 | $48,285 | Data unavailable |
| Doctoral degree | 125 | 1,410 | $49,615 | $59,592 | Data unavailable |
| Professional degree (JD, MD, and similar) | 9 | 84 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Graduate certificate | 126 | 676 | $30,559 | $40,504 | Data unavailable |
National earnings are published by the Department of Education for each field and credential level Verified data. Typical program median debt is ConnectPrep's calculation: the median across programs of each program's median federal debt Calculated estimate. It covers federal loans only.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Field of Study Data. Varies by measure; see measure definitions. Published October 15, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Undergraduate certificate programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Institute of Music and Media GA · Private, for-profit · 25 graduates measured | $22,648 | $30,624 | $12,416 |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Associate's degree programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Sail University FL · Private, for-profit · 54 graduates measured | $30,177 | $34,987 | $27,304 |
| Valencia College FL · Public · 27 graduates measured | $28,815 | $38,507 | Data unavailable |
| Los Angeles Film School CA · Private, for-profit · 626 graduates measured | $25,633 | $33,046 | $25,250 |
| Snow College UT · Public · 21 graduates measured | $24,466 | Data unavailable | $13,875 |
| St Petersburg College FL · Public · 18 graduates measured | $19,763 | $32,573 | $13,798 |
| Atlanta Institute of Music and Media GA · Private, for-profit · 17 graduates measured | $17,213 | Data unavailable | $21,291 |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Bachelor's degree programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Texas at El Paso TX · Public · 28 graduates measured | $59,229 | $60,172 | $17,334 |
| Sam Houston State University TX · Public · 64 graduates measured | $58,677 | $58,743 | $25,000 |
| University of Florida FL · Public · 19 graduates measured | $56,011 | $61,446 | $10,872 |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley TX · Public · 57 graduates measured | $54,156 | $59,218 | $16,465 |
| Texas A&M University-Kingsville TX · Public · 55 graduates measured | $53,380 | $57,117 | $31,000 |
| Old Dominion University VA · Public · 26 graduates measured | $53,029 | $52,028 | Data unavailable |
| Stephen F Austin State University TX · Public · 84 graduates measured | $52,588 | $52,341 | $25,053 |
| Texas Tech University TX · Public · 57 graduates measured | $52,432 | $57,043 | $27,000 |
| Texas State University TX · Public · 108 graduates measured | $51,924 | $52,320 | $24,158 |
| James Madison University VA · Public · 56 graduates measured | $51,664 | $51,882 | $19,700 |
| Moravian University PA · Private, nonprofit · 21 graduates measured | $50,856 | $41,962 | $27,000 |
| East Texas A&M University TX · Public · 59 graduates measured | $50,443 | $55,438 | $25,960 |
| University of California-Berkeley CA · Public · 22 graduates measured | $49,985 | Data unavailable | $8,141 |
| Boston University MA · Private, nonprofit · 16 graduates measured | $49,329 | $39,426 | $25,000 |
| Northeastern University MA · Private, nonprofit · 34 graduates measured | $48,272 | $60,974 | $18,500 |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Post-baccalaureate certificate programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Conservatory of Music CA · Private, nonprofit · 22 graduates measured | $38,056 | Data unavailable | $27,000 |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Master's degree programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Washington University WA · Public · 81 graduates measured | $73,824 | $79,115 | Data unavailable |
| California State University-Los Angeles CA · Public · 21 graduates measured | $68,967 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Sam Houston State University TX · Public · 24 graduates measured | $67,549 | $68,888 | Data unavailable |
| Messiah University PA · Private, nonprofit · 52 graduates measured | $66,907 | $77,342 | Data unavailable |
| The University of Texas at El Paso TX · Public · 17 graduates measured | $63,586 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Northern State University SD · Public · 22 graduates measured | $61,168 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Southern Utah University UT · Public · 34 graduates measured | $59,825 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick NJ · Public · 18 graduates measured | $58,234 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| Rutgers University-Newark NJ · Public · 18 graduates measured | $58,234 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| George Mason University VA · Public · 19 graduates measured | $57,819 | $53,431 | Data unavailable |
| Ohio University-Main Campus OH · Public · 33 graduates measured | $52,875 | $50,365 | Data unavailable |
| Rider University NJ · Private, nonprofit · 17 graduates measured | $52,766 | $45,928 | Data unavailable |
| Georgia State University GA · Public · 27 graduates measured | $52,753 | $46,454 | Data unavailable |
| Bowling Green State University-Main Campus OH · Public · 83 graduates measured | $52,331 | $46,069 | Data unavailable |
| SUNY at Fredonia NY · Public · 34 graduates measured | $51,955 | $57,662 | Data unavailable |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Doctoral degree programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK · Public · 17 graduates measured | $63,619 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| University of California-Los Angeles CA · Public · 21 graduates measured | $62,866 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI · Public · 33 graduates measured | $57,032 | $75,367 | Data unavailable |
| University of Kentucky KY · Public · 18 graduates measured | $57,000 | $49,845 | Data unavailable |
| Northwestern University IL · Private, nonprofit · 23 graduates measured | $56,974 | $66,572 | Data unavailable |
| Michigan State University MI · Public · 44 graduates measured | $54,970 | $64,672 | Data unavailable |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus OH · Public · 23 graduates measured | $54,478 | $57,576 | Data unavailable |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus OH · Public · 37 graduates measured | $49,878 | $49,909 | Data unavailable |
| University of Maryland-College Park MD · Public · 19 graduates measured | $49,498 | $68,660 | Data unavailable |
| University of Colorado Boulder CO · Public · 18 graduates measured | $48,207 | $56,459 | Data unavailable |
| Florida State University FL · Public · 31 graduates measured | $46,785 | $60,076 | Data unavailable |
| University of North Texas TX · Public · 41 graduates measured | $46,394 | $64,315 | Data unavailable |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL · Public · 29 graduates measured | $46,245 | $58,016 | Data unavailable |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia SC · Public · 21 graduates measured | $46,123 | $46,203 | Data unavailable |
| University of Rochester NY · Private, nonprofit · 46 graduates measured | $45,704 | $52,257 | Data unavailable |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Graduate certificate programs with the highest early earnings
| School | Median earnings, 1 yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana University-Bloomington IN · Public · 27 graduates measured | $28,827 | Data unavailable | Data unavailable |
Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.
Careers linked to Music
| Occupation | Median wage, all workers | Change 2025 to 2035 | Typical entry education |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary | $78,620 | +2.2% | Master's degree |
| Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education | $72,040 | -0.2% | Bachelor's degree |
| Music directors and composers | $73,710 | +1.2% | Bachelor's degree |
| Musicians and singers | Data unavailable | +0.3% | No formal educational credential |
| Disc jockeys, except radio | Data unavailable | +3.8% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Sound engineering technicians | $73,130 | -3.1% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
Occupations mapped to this field in the NCES and BLS CIP to SOC crosswalk. Occupation wages describe all workers, not recent graduates.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk. CIP 2020 and SOC 2018 taxonomies. Published April 30, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, National. May 2025 reference period. Published April 30, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Table 1.2: Occupational projections, 2025-35, and worker characteristics, 2025. Base year 2025, projected year 2035. Published August 27, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Detailed CIP codes in this field (17)
- 50.0901 Music, General
- 50.0902 Music History, Literature, and Theory
- 50.0903 Music Performance, General
- 50.0904 Music Theory and Composition
- 50.0905 Musicology and Ethnomusicology
- 50.0906 Conducting
- 50.0907 Keyboard Instruments
- 50.0908 Voice and Opera
- 50.0910 Jazz/Jazz Studies
- 50.0911 Stringed Instruments
- 50.0912 Music Pedagogy
- 50.0913 Music Technology
- 50.0914 Brass Instruments
- 50.0915 Woodwind Instruments
- 50.0916 Percussion Instruments
- 50.0917 Sound Arts
- 50.0999 Music, Other