Postsecondary art, drama, and music teachers instruct college and university students in creative disciplines. You'll need a master's degree and extensive preparation. The work is deeply rewarding if you love both your craft and helping others develop theirs.
Pathly builds you a free, personalized roadmap and helps your counselor champion you along the way.
You teach art, drama, or music to students at colleges and universities. Your days involve thinking creatively alongside your students, demonstrating techniques, and coaching them through projects and performances. You communicate regularly with colleagues and supervisors about curriculum and student progress. You establish strong relationships with students, make decisions about course content and assignments, and solve problems that arise in the studio, classroom, or rehearsal space. You also evaluate student work and provide feedback that helps them grow as artists and thinkers.
Core work activities
Career video courtesy of CareerOneStop.
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary earn a median of $78,620 a year, based on 2025 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and location.
The outlook is modest. Employment is projected to grow 2 percent from 2024 to 2034, little or no change for all occupations, with about 9,000 openings a year.
Top skills
Knowledge areas
You'll need a master's degree in your discipline or a related field. This typically follows a bachelor's degree in art, drama, music, or a similar major. During your undergraduate years, focus on building a strong portfolio or performance record in your chosen discipline. Your graduate studies will deepen both your artistic skills and your knowledge of education and training methods. Many programs combine studio work with coursework in pedagogy, history, and theory specific to your field.
Most paths to this career start with a bachelor's degree in your art form, followed by a master's degree. Since the education timeline and program fit matter, Pathly can map the art, drama, and music teacher, postsecondary path that fits you with your counselor to map out a plan that matches your goals and circumstances.
You do not need a license to work as an art, drama, and music teacher, postsecondary, but professional certifications can strengthen your resume.
Common certifications
You're drawn to work that centers on people and helping others grow. You thrive in collaborative environments where you can build meaningful relationships and guide students toward their potential.
Reading about a career is the easy part. Turning it into a plan is where most students get stuck. Pathly takes you from curious to a clear next step, and gives your counselor the insight to champion you along the way.
Start with a quick quiz and assessments that surface your personality, your EQ, and what really motivates you, so your next steps are built around who you actually are.
Your free AI guide weighs this career against your strengths and goals, and surfaces the colleges, trades, and scholarships that match, so you know if it truly fits before you commit.
Get a personalized, step-by-step plan to reach this career, with the training, coursework, and credentials tracked in one place. Link your school or IEC and your counselor in the loop.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
Data sources. Career details from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Salary and outlook figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 wages; 2024–2034 projections), delivered via the CareerOneStop API. Certification, licensing, wage, and outlook data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).