Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$78,620

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$61,620 – $103,850

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

93,560

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+2.2%

Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)

Openings a year (projected)

8,000

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Master's degree

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Main tasks

• Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
• Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers.
• Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments.
• Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
• Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as acting techniques, fundamentals of music, and art history.
• Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
• Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Master's degree

O*NET Job Zone 5

Extensive preparation

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 67 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

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