Music, Master of
Master of Music
About the Degree
The degree Master of Music is offered by the School of Music with options in music education, performance, composition, theory, technology, and accompanying.
We offer eight specializations within our MM degree. They will receive mention where relevant in later sections of this document. Note that the last three are in name related to the second, given that the Graduate Bulletin designates them as “performance options” (as in “Performance Option: Choral Conducting”; same for Orchestral and Wind Conducting). But since these final three specializations have significantly different requirements and credit-totals than the other music-performance MMs, they are listed separately here:
- Music Education: this MM comes in two varieites, non-thesis (32 credits) and thesis (34).
- Music Performance: 34 credits.
- Composition: 34 credits.
- Music Technology: 33 credits.
- Accompanying: 33 credits.
- Choral Conducting: 36 credits.
- Orchestral Conducting: 37 credits.
- Wind Conducting: 37 credits
The titles of the specializations are indicative of the subject matter in a general way. The degrees do aim students toward different careers, however, a point that will be dealt with below. Commonalities between the degrees are many. With rare exceptions, all non-Music-Education students must take a particular course in music theory (Theory IV), and all must choose among roughly the same history, theory, and conducting options for their core courses.
Salary and Career Outlook
Careers in music are not always easy to come by, but there are nevertheless good opportunities for our MM students. Music Education has a high success rate placing graduates in the public school system. A large number of our performers and accompanists, composers and theorists, use the MM degree as a springboard into doctoral programs. Performers and conductors often find work in regional orchestras and churches. Many performers additionally teach privately. The music technology degree offers a wide range of career possibilities, including recording-studio positions, music-related computer programming, and teaching.
Salaries for music educators are commensurate with those of other public-school teachers.
Many of our graduates bound for doctoral programs are ultimately aiming for college-level teaching positions, so can expect their first full-time salaries to fall in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. Those who teach privately can expect to earn between $30 and $60 an hour, depending on the instrument, location and the demand.
Why Akron?
With nearly 400 majors, we are one of the 50 largest public university schools of music in the United States. Our 30 full-time and 33 part-time faculty are dedicated to helping you discover your future in the many diverse fields of music.
Contact Information
Contact Information:
Dr. Ann Usher, Interim School Director
(330) 972-6923