Best Online Master’s in Music Education

An online master of music education is a graduate degree that can prepare you to teach music at various levels and take on leadership roles in the field. A typical program covers music theory, pedagogy, technology, and research. Online programs offer added flexibility that can make it easier to earn your degree while you work.

If you’re a musician looking to expand your career opportunities, a master’s in music education can help open the door to teaching, conducting, and composing roles. Teachers at the K-12 level can consider music education master’s degrees to increase their earning potential.

This guide explores what to expect from a typical online master of music education program, including popular courses and specializations. Discover potential careers and salaries for graduates.

Online master of music education programs can help you develop advanced knowledge and skills in teaching music. Graduates can teach music at the K-12 and postsecondary levels and pursue administrative and supervisory positions in the field. Music education graduate programs focus on music technology, curriculum development, music theory and composition, and music history.

A typical online music education master’s degree takes 1.5-2 years for full-time students to complete and requires 30-32 credits. The curriculum usually includes classes like introduction to music technology, contemporary issues in music education, history of musical styles, and seminar in music history. Concentrations may include instrumental music, choral music, and general music.

Online music education programs may hold programmatic accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music.

Students learn to develop class sequences for various groups of students, taking into account social, psychological, historical, and theoretical issues. Other topics include the implementation and assessment of curricula.

This course explores how teachers can use technology to provide music instruction. Topics include music technology teaching skills, the theory of using technologies to teach music, and the ways to design music curricula that incorporate technology.

This class teaches you how to find, understand, and analyze research relevant to music education. You also get experience applying music research to practice. The course also introduces research design in music teaching.

This class usually occurs in the last semester of an online master’s in music education program. Each student designs a final project or portfolio that combines the knowledge and skills developed throughout the program. The capstone usually addresses a real-world issue in contemporary music education to provide real-world skills and a project to show future employers.

The psychology of music explores psychological theories that underpin the human relationship to music. You can use your understanding of music psychology to improve your teaching practice.

Schools offer various master’s degree options in music education. You may find programs that offer a master of music (MM), M.Ed., MS, or MA degree in music education. These master’s degrees can prepare you to teach music, but they may focus on different aspects of music education or take different approaches.

An MS or MA may be more likely to require a thesis and focus on research. An M.Ed. or MM, on the other hand, might devote more time to theories and practices of teaching, requiring a capstone project instead of a thesis.

Some online master’s in music education offer concentrations that allow you to focus on an area of interest. Explore three popular specializations below.

An instrumental music concentration focuses on the skills and knowledge necessary to teach music typically performed by bands and/or orchestras. Classes for this specialization include advanced instrumental conducting and instrumental music techniques and materials.

If you want to teach music that includes singing, consider a choral music emphasis. This concentration requires classes like choral methods, advanced choral conducting, and choral music literature.

Master’s in music education programs that offer a general concentration usually prepare students to teach choral and instrumental music instead of making them choose a specific field. You’ll take a broad variety of classes in a general concentration.

Specific graduation requirements for online master’s in music education programs vary by school. However, most programs require a minimum number of core and elective courses, along with a final capstone or portfolio project.

A capstone lets students complete a hands-on project that incorporates and synthesizes the skills and knowledge gained during the program. A portfolio is another way to showcase to employers what you’ve learned throughout your degree.

An online master of music education degree can prepare you for various careers teaching music or taking on other leadership roles in the field, like conductor or composer. If you want to work in a K-12 school, you will likely need a teaching license.

In general, there isn’t a lot of growth in this field, but you may find more job openings for postsecondary music teachers than in other areas. College-level teachers also earn higher salaries than most of the other potential careers in this field. If you want to teach at a university, you’ll likely need to earn a Ph.D., but community colleges hire applicants with master’s degrees.

Below, we describe some popular occupations in the music education field.

Many factors will determine the right online master’s in music education program for you. Consider the following characteristics to help you make the right decision about where to earn your degree.

Paying for a graduate degree can seem intimidating, but you might be surprised how many potential financing options might be open to you. We describe some popular ways to help pay for an online master’s in music education below.

Getting an online master of music education is a flexible and convenient way to advance your career as a music teacher. Most programs allow you to keep working while earning your degree.

It depends on what type of music teacher you want to become. If you want to teach at the college or university level, you likely need at least a master’s in music education. You don’t necessarily need a master’s degree to become a private music teacher or to teach music in K-12 schools, but it can potentially open the door to better jobs and higher salaries.

An online master’s in music education takes about 1.5-2 years for full-time students to complete. If you attend part-time or need more time to finish a thesis project, it might take longer for you to graduate.

It depends on what type of teacher you want to become. If you plan to work at a public K-12 school, you usually need a state-issued teaching license. If you want to teach privately or at the postsecondary level, you don’t need a license.

An online master’s degree in music education can be a worthwhile venture if you want to gain advanced skills and qualify for better career opportunities in the music education field. Before enrolling in a program, consider your professional aspirations and whether this degree can help you meet your goals.