Music Theory & Composition

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2019

1,088

growing 4.51%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$8,500

declining 0.404%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$41,260

growing 4.06%

Average Wage

$60,149

growing 2.6%

People in Workforce

2.2M

growing 2.01%

Average Employee Age

41.1

growing 0.276%

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Music Theory & Composition degree recipients are Boston, MA, New York, NY, and Los Angeles, CA. The locations with a relatively high number of Music Theory & Composition degree recipients are Redmond, WA, Montpelier, VT, and Danbury, CT. The most common degree awarded to students studying Music Theory & Composition is a bachelors degree.

Photo by hobvias sudoneighm

Visual & Performing Arts Music

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Music Theory & Composition and the types of students that study this field. Berklee College of Music awards the most degrees in Music Theory & Composition in the US, but Los Angeles College of Music and Vermont College of Fine Arts have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Music Theory & Composition.

Tuition costs for Music Theory & Composition majors are, on average, $8,500 for in-state public colleges, and $41,260 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Music Theory & Composition programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (124 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (649 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Music Theory & Composition

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Music Theory & Composition, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (649 completions).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Music Theory & Composition programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$8,500

Median In-State Public

$41,260

Median Out of State Private

Berklee College of Music has the most Music Theory & Composition degree recipients, with 142 degrees awarded in 2019.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Music Theory & Composition.

Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

Out of all institutions that offer Music Theory & Composition programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Los Angeles College of Music and Vermont College of Fine Arts have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Music Theory & Composition, with 20.5% and 10.9%, respectively.

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Music Theory & Composition

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Music Theory & Composition by year.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Music Theory & Composition.

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Visual & Performing Arts graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Visual & Performing Arts majors is $60,149 and the most common occupations are Graphic designers, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Postsecondary teachers.

The industry that employs the most Visual & Performing Arts majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Clay building material & refractories manufacturing.

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

$60,149

Average Wage in Workforce

± $1,039

2.6%

1 Year Growth

± 2.39%

The average salary for Visual & Performing Arts majors is $60,149 and the most common occupations are Graphic designers, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Postsecondary teachers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Visual & Performing Arts majors.

Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

Highest Paying Pumas

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Visual & Performing Arts majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Visual & Performing Arts majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

Occupations

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

The most common occupations Visual & Performing Arts majors, by number of employees, are Graphic designers, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Postsecondary teachers.

Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Visual & Performing Arts majors working as Commercial and industrial designers, Graphic designers, and Interior designers.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Visual & Performing Arts majors are Physicians, Magnetic resonance imaging technologists, and Chief executives & legislators.

Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

2.2M

2019 Workforce

± 36,120

2.01%

1 Year Growth

± 2.29%

The number of Visual & Performing Arts graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.01%, from 2.15M in 2018 to 2.2M in 2019.

The largest single share of Visual & Performing Arts graduates go on to work as Graphic designers (5.11%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Visual & Performing Arts by share of the total number of graduates.

Industries

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

The most common industries that employ Visual & Performing Arts majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Specialized design services.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

The highest paying industries of Visual & Performing Arts majors, by average wage, are Clay building material & refractories manufacturing, Computer & peripheral equipment manufacturing, and Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals.

Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

2.2M

2019 Workforce

± 36,120

2.01%

1 Year Growth

± 2.29%

The number of Visual & Performing Arts graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.01%, from 2.15M in 2018 to 2.2M in 2019.

The industry which employs the most Visual & Performing Arts graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Visual & Performing Arts.

Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Visual & Performing Arts majors

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Visual & Performing Arts majors.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Visual & Performing Arts in the United States. The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Visual & Performing Arts is 41.1, and the most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Visual & Performing Arts degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Visual & Performing Arts (579 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

41.1

Average Age in 2019

± 0.215 Years

0.276%

1 Year Change

± 0.747%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Visual & Performing Arts. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 29 years old, which represent 3.56% and 3.35% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Music Theory & Composition are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Visual & Performing Arts are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

Gender Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (69.4%)

Most Common Gender with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by gender at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Music Theory & Composition.

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
579 degrees awarded
Non-resident Alien
183 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
114 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Music Theory & Composition for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

Race & Ethnicity by Gender

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Gender Combination

White Male
242 degrees awarded
White Female
96 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Male
42 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by gender for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Music Theory & Composition. White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and gender.

Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Music Theory & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course Visual & Performing Arts.

Most Common Countries of Origin

Korea
29,152 degree recipients
Mexico
19,787 degree recipients
China
19,182 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Singapore
5.42 times more than expected
Korea
5.29 times more than expected
Finland
4.25 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Singapore that hold Visual & Performing Arts degrees (5.42 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Korea (29,152 degree recipients).

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Music Theory & Composition field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Music Theory & Composition majors need many skills, but most especially Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Music Theory & Composition majors need more than the average amount of Coordination, Instructing, and Operations Analysis.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Music Theory & Composition majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Coordination is very distinctive for majors, but the Active Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking are the three most important skills for people in the field.