Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
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.
Also called: Art History Professor · Art Instructor · Art Professor · Assistant Professor · Associate Professor · Instructor
Median pay (national)
$80,190
$47,040–$194,530 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
97,890
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+1.7%
~9,000 openings/yr
Typical entry
Master's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $194,530 versus $47,040 at the bottom 10% — 4.1x. The median of $80,190 leaves roughly 143% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +1.7% from 2024 to 2034 — slower than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 9,000 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 52 states with released data, Hawaii pays the most for this role (median $129,330, +61% vs the national median), while Nevada sits lowest at $49,520 — a 161% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Speaking, Learning Strategies, Reading Comprehension as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Learning management system LMS as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Speaking
- Learning Strategies
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments.
- 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.
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
- Participate in campus and community events.
- 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.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
Tools & technology
- Learning management system LMS
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Cascading style sheets CSS
- Hypertext markup language HTML
- JavaScript
- Linux
- Microsoft Visual Studio
- MySQL
- PHP
- Adobe Audition
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Apple DVD Studio Pro
Knowledge areas
- Fine Arts
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Communications and Media
- Psychology
- History and Archeology
- Philosophy and Theology
- Computers and Electronics