Best Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree Programs Ranked for 2023

Published: Sep 21, 2021
Updated: Sep 8, 2023

Find top-ranked online bachelor’s in music degree programs for students looking to qualify to work in professional orchestras, service bands, and educational institutions.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

A degree in music is not a general requirement for musical performers, but this can open them to so many more opportunities in the music industry.
With an online bachelor’s in music degree, musicians learn a better and more solid foundation in their chosen craft as they go over theories, recording, composition, production, and mixing.
The degree allows music students to learn from musicians, top industry leaders, and executives.

Featured Programs

Reaching Every Performer’s Dream with a Bachelor’s in Music

An online degree in music requires four years of full-time study to complete, although there are some accelerated options to help you cut time and reduce costs. Landing a career in the music scene can give you immeasurable gratification. Students who excel in this field are usually very passionate about their craft. They have an immense love of music, and by nature, they have that desire to continuously improve their skills and knowledge.

Earning an online bachelor’s in music will teach you both theories and applications in the field. You can also develop your portfolio of compositions—something very important as you enter the job market.

Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree Program Concentrations

Music Composition (for TV, Games, and Film): You will develop the necessary skills in writing music for TV, interactive media, and television.

Music Production: This is the music concentration that will teach you the ins and outs of the music industry. You are honed to become a manager, promoter, and publisher.

Music Education: This will lead you to careers in music instruction and education.

Songwriting: This is a specialization that focuses on the techniques, methods, and components of songwriting, including the musical arrangements, lyrics, melody, and structure.

Although it is called an online bachelor’s, most schools require students to attend on-campus activities. For instance, some institutions culminate their programs with a musical capstone project, like a recital where the student will perform an original composition. Other schools require in-person performance classes. Those with no on-campus elements, however, usually require a final thesis.

Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree Careers

Music Director: Music directors are those who lead musical groups like an orchestra, choirs, and college bands. During rehearsals, the directors prepare musicians for their performances before conducting them throughout the program.

Usual tasks of musical directors include choosing musical arrangements, attending fundraisers, or auditioning and screening performers. They can also work in concert halls and may even travel as part of their job.

Music Instructor: These music degree holders can either work independently or look for careers as teachers at public or private K-12 schools. Public school music teachers, however, are required state licensure and an approved teacher preparation program.

A program music instructor no longer needs licensure and can focus on teaching an instrument of his/her choice. School educators can also direct school choirs and bands in addition to teaching.

Musician: Musicians play different musical instruments, performing either in a group (orchestra, band, or solo). These music professionals can perform in studios or live, recording soundtracks and albums. Some work as session musicians, providing back up for other artists.

Sound Engineering Technician: These technicians work with state-of-the-art sound equipment during live performances or in recording studios. Other tasks include synchronizing, mixing, or recording sounds while minimizing background noise to obtain the best possible music and vocals.

Courses in an Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree

Legal Aspects of Music and Entertainment: Those who specialize in music law or business should have a strong background in this field. An important piece of coverage is copyright because this pertains particularly to the music industry.

Music Distribution: This course is for both managers and performers, and includes many aspects of recording and publishing music. This course covers the principles of pricing, distribution, and structures of royalties.

Music Management: This will provide students with the foundation of skills needed to prepare them for their musical careers.

Music Theory: This is a basic course that every music student should expect during the early part of their schooling. Students learn music fundamentals, including harmony, composition, melody, and style.

Sight Reading: For those concentrating on performance, sight-reading is a must-have skill for a professional or academic career.

Frequently Asked Questions About Music Degrees

Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music will learn about the theory, history, and performance art behind music. Both online and on-campus programs are offered, and students will typically have the opportunity to choose an area of concentration, such as composition, music theory, musicology and ethnomusicology, or music education.

This undergraduate degree typically requires the completion of 120 credits, and can be earned in four to five years.

Students will take classes on musical composition, history, ensemble performance, and an array of electives.

Graduates often go on to earn a master’s degree in music. However, those with a bachelor’s degree in music will qualify to work in professional orchestras, service bands, and educational institutions.

What’s the difference between a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Music Studies?

Though a Bachelor of Music (BMus) and a Bachelor of Music Studies (BMusStudies) both dive into selected music concentrations, they have distinct differences. A BMus is typically awarded at a conservatory, though there are also many universities that provide this undergraduate program. Students pursing this degree typically study within a highly concentrated area of specialization, such as jazz composition, music production and engineering, songwriting, or piano performance. A BMusStudies, usually referred to as a Bachelor of Arts in Music Studies, is a liberal arts degree that is offered through colleges and universities.

What will I learn in a BMus or BMusStudies. program?

Students in BMus programs will gain technical proficiency in their specialization and have the opportunity to choose a minor in another instrument or music category, such as composition or songwriting. Students will be able to analyze and transcribe music and participate in solo and group performances.

Along with a comprehensive liberal arts education, students in a BMusStudies program will study a broad range of music-related courses, such as music history, applied music, and music theory. Bachelors of music studies will also select a specialization and participate in performances.

How long does it take to earn one of these bachelor’s degrees?

Both the BMus and the BMusStudies require the completion of 120 credits, which most students earn in four to five years.

What can I do with a BMus or BMusStudies?

Graduates with a BMus can take up performance with orchestras, opera companies, or chamber ensembles. Some may continue in academia and earn a postgraduate degree or gain accreditation to teach music.

Graduates with a BMusStudies can apply their knowledge through positions in musicology, music librarianship, private studio teaching, music administration, music therapy, and more. Students may also qualify to join performance companies.

How do we determine the best online music bachelor's degree programs?

Methodology

Pursuing your degree online doesn’t mean you need to settle for an inferior school. Today, most universities and colleges offer online degrees, and many respected schools are seeing significant growth in their numbers of online students.

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence — i.e., the academic impact of faculty and alumni associated with a school — gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. The combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. For our online degree rankings, we focus on the academic influence of faculty and alumni in the specific disciplines we’re ranking.

If you are serious about finding the best online colleges, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Median Salaries of Similar Careers in the U.S.

The following graph depicts the average salaries of similar occupations to Music Directors and Composers in the U.S.

Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Annual Salary

49630Choreographers

50550Coaches and Scouts

51710Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials

65080Music Directors and Composers

116930Athletes and Sports Competitors

Best Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree Programs

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.

Best Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree Programs Ranked for 2023

Key Takeaways

Featured Programs

Reaching Every Performer’s Dream with a Bachelor’s in Music

Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree Program Concentrations

Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree Careers

Courses in an Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree

Frequently Asked Questions About Music Degrees

What will you learn when getting a bachelor’s in music?

How long does it take to get a bachelor’s in music?

What classes are taken when getting a bachelor’s in music?

What can you do with a bachelor’s in music?

What’s the difference between a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Music Studies?

What will I learn in a BMus or BMusStudies. program?

How long does it take to earn one of these bachelor’s degrees?

What can I do with a BMus or BMusStudies?

Median Salaries of Similar Careers in the U.S.

Best Online Bachelor’s in Music Degree Programs

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Concentrations

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Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

What can I expect from an online college course?+

Is online college easier than campus-based college?+

Why does accreditation matter in online college?+

Will I be able to transfer my online college degree?+

Will employers respect my online degree?+

What are the disadvantages of online classes?+

What are the advantages of online classes?+

Resources for Online College-Bound Students