Conducting

Types of Degrees Conducting Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many conducting graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	117
Doctor’s Degree	35
Graduate Certificate	8

What Conducting Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, conducting majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Conducting Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Skills for Conducting Majors

conducting majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Conducting Majors

As a conducting major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Conducting Major?

People with a conducting degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960
Music Composers and Arrangers	5.7%	$49,630
Music Directors	5.7%	$49,630

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Conducting?

This major attracts more men than women. About 64% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of conducting majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	8
Black or African American	4
Hispanic or Latino	12
White	58
International Students	22
Other Races/Ethnicities	13

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Conducting. About 18.8% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Conducting

Some degrees associated with conducting may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for conducting careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.0%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.3%
Some College Courses	6.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	20.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.8%
Master’s Degree	31.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.6%
Doctoral Degree	25.4%

Online Conducting Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	10	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	57	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	14	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Majors Related to Conducting

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to conducting.

Major	Number of Grads
General Music	10,957
Music Performance	7,240
Music Technology	1,763
Music Theory & Composition	1,236
Other Music	1,126
Voice Performance	747
Stringed Instruments	622
Jazz Studies	589
Keyboard Instruments	566
Music Pedagogy	450
Music History	186
Woodwind Instruments	175
Musicology & Ethnomusicology	148
Brass Instruments	120
Percussion Instruments	42
Sound Arts	33

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.