Online Music Education Degree: Master's Guide

By the Transforming Education editorial team. Reviewed for accuracy against the sources listed below.

An online music education degree is, in almost every case, a master's degree for people who already teach music. The Master of Music (M.M.) in Music Education and the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Music Education cover research, philosophy, psychology of music learning, curriculum and advanced pedagogy, and they can be delivered fully online because the student's own rehearsal room or classroom is the laboratory.

What online programs generally do not do is turn a non-musician into a licensed music teacher. Performance juries, ensembles, conducting labs and student teaching keep initial-licensure music degrees mostly on campus. This guide explains that split, what NASM accreditation means, how to tell licensure programs from non-licensure ones, what the degrees cost, and what the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports about teacher pay. It ends with four verified online master's programs at regionally accredited public and private non-profit universities.

What a music education degree is

Music education degrees exist at three levels:

• Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.) or B.M. in Music Education. The initial teacher preparation degree: applied lessons on your instrument or voice, ensembles, theory, aural skills, music history, conducting, instrumental and choral methods, and student teaching. This is the degree that leads to a first K-12 music license, and it is rarely available online.
• Master of Music in Music Education (M.M.) or M.A. in Music Education. Graduate study for practicing teachers. Coursework typically includes research methods, philosophy and history of music education, psychology and sociology of music learning, curriculum and assessment, and electives in conducting, technology or a specialty area such as general, instrumental or choral music. Kent State's online M.M., for example, asks students to focus on two of those three areas.
• Doctorates (Ph.D. or D.M.A. in Music Education) for researchers and college faculty.

Online delivery is concentrated at the master's level, which is what this guide covers.

What can and cannot be done online

Works well online:

• Research, philosophy, history, psychology and sociology of music education, which are reading, writing and discussion courses.
• Curriculum design, assessment and program leadership, where you apply the work in your own classroom.
• Music technology, which is often better online than in a campus lab.
• Theory and analysis at the graduate level. Liberty requires a Graduate Music Theory Assessment before its theory course.
• Capstone work: a thesis, a curriculum project (Liberty) or a capstone project (Kent State).

Does not work online, or only partly:

• Applied lessons, juries and large ensembles at the standard required for an initial license.
• Conducting labs with live ensembles.
• Student teaching for a first license, which is in person at every program.

That is why the four programs reviewed here are built for current teachers. Kent State requires a current state teaching license and a year of full-time teaching for admission. Boston University describes its M.M. as a program for applicants who already hold a license or who do not want licensure to teach in American schools. The University of Florida's FAQ expects applicants to demonstrate interest and experience in teaching music.

If you need an initial license, look for a Master of Arts in Teaching with a music option rather than an M.M. Liberty's online M.A.T. in Secondary Education lists Music (Instrumental and Vocal/Choral) for PreK-12 among its 18 content options, with online coursework and an in-person student teaching semester.

Who the degree is for

• Licensed music teachers who want an advanced certificate, a salary step, or stronger grounding in research and curriculum without leaving their job. Kent State describes its program as built for practicing teachers who can earn the degree without leaving their current position.
• Teachers planning a doctorate who need a research-based master's first.
• Musicians and worship leaders who teach in private studios, community programs or higher education where no state license is required. Liberty's M.A. explicitly serves settings where licensure is not required.
• Teachers changing specialties, for example a band director moving toward general or choral music, which is where Kent State's dual-focus curriculum fits.

Licensure track vs non-licensure track

All four programs below are non-licensure master's degrees, and each says so in its own way:

• Kent State: the program is not intended to provide licensure, and a current teaching license is required to enroll.
• Boston University: designed for applicants who already possess a teaching license or do not want licensure to teach in American primary and secondary schools.
• Liberty: notes that K-12 teaching jobs require state licensure, which the M.A. does not provide; the separate M.A.T. does.
• University of Florida: a graduate degree for people with experience teaching music.

Whether a non-licensure master's counts toward an advanced certificate, certificate renewal or a salary lane depends entirely on your state and district. Ask your district's human resources office in writing before you enroll.

NASM accreditation and why it matters

The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is the specialized accreditor for music units in U.S. colleges and universities. A music school that is an accredited institutional member has been reviewed against national standards for faculty qualifications, curriculum, facilities, and the rigor of its degrees.

For a music education master's, NASM matters for three reasons. It confirms the music unit, not just the university, meets the field's standards. It is a common expectation among doctoral programs and higher education employers. And in some states it is a factor in how out-of-state music degrees are evaluated for certificates.

All four programs below sit in NASM-accredited music units according to their own pages: Boston University states that it holds accreditation by NASM; Kent State lists NASM among its accreditations; Liberty states its music education degree is accredited by NASM; the University of Florida describes its program as offered by a NASM- and CAEP-accredited university.

Two other accreditations round out the picture. Regional (institutional) accreditation of the university (NECHE for Boston University, the Higher Learning Commission for Kent State, SACSCOC for Liberty) governs federal aid and credit transfer. CAEP accreditation of the education unit matters most for licensure programs; it is a quality signal rather than a requirement for a non-licensure M.M.

Admissions basics

• A bachelor's degree in music or music education. Kent State requires a bachelor's in music education; Liberty accepts music, worship, music education or a related field with a 3.0 GPA, and will consider other degrees with at least 18 music credit hours or ten years of professional music experience; Florida requires a bachelor's degree and expects evidence of music teaching.
• Teaching license and experience. Kent State requires a current state teaching license and one year of full-time teaching; Boston University's program is designed for licensed teachers.
• GPA. 3.0 at Kent State and Liberty.
• No GRE, no audition. Kent State states no testing, no GRE, no auditions; Florida's FAQ states GRE scores are not necessary; Liberty lists no standardized testing.
• Materials. Resume, goal statement and three recommendations at Kent State; transcripts everywhere.
• Start dates. Boston University accepts applications six times a year; Kent State enrolls every seven weeks; Liberty runs 8-week terms.

Curriculum, credits and duration

Try this: Download the capstone or thesis guidelines from each program. A curriculum project you can use in your own school the following year is worth more to many teachers than a thesis, and the choice is often yours.

What it costs

All figures are approximate and come from the cited program pages and NCES.

• National context: NCES reports average 2021-22 graduate tuition and required fees of about $12,600 per year at public institutions and about $29,900 at private non-profits (Digest Table 330.50).
• University of Florida: total tuition of $20,979.75 for the 33-credit program at 2025-26 rates.
• Kent State: estimated $655 per credit for Ohio residents and $665 for non-residents, about $20,300 to $20,600 total, plus a $15 per-credit distance learning fee.
• Liberty: $600 per credit full-time for 2026-27, about $23,400 for 39 credits.
• Boston University: tuition is not listed on the program page; contact the program.

A range of roughly $20,000 to $24,000 in tuition is a realistic expectation for these online master's programs, before fees and books.

Online format realities

• Asynchronous is the norm. Florida describes its courses as completely asynchronous with weekly deadlines; Boston University says work is completed on your own schedule; Liberty's courses have no set login times.
• One course at a time. Florida and Kent State sequence courses so teachers can study during the school year.
• No residency requirements are listed on the four program pages reviewed, which is unusual among education master's degrees.
• Your classroom is the lab. Expect assignments that require access to students or ensembles. Private studio teachers should confirm how projects are handled.

State reciprocity caveat

Because these degrees do not grant a license, reciprocity applies to the license you already hold rather than to the degree. Whether a master's earned in another state counts toward your own state's advanced certificate or salary schedule is a state and district decision. Boston University's page notes, for example, that its M.M. does not lead to P-12 licensure or a subject endorsement in Arkansas. Check with your state department of education and district before enrolling.

Career outlook and pay

BLS does not report music teachers separately. From the Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections:

• High school teachers: median $72,040; 0 percent projected change; about 63,500 openings a year.
• Middle school teachers: median $64,370; 0 percent; about 38,800 openings a year.
• Kindergarten and elementary school teachers: median $63,820; 0 percent; about 99,400 openings a year.
• Postsecondary teachers: median $85,330; 7 percent growth, much faster than average; a doctorate is typical, though a master's may be enough for some community college positions.

The all-occupations median was $50,980. For most K-12 music teachers the financial return on a master's comes through the district salary schedule rather than a new job title, so check your district's lane structure before you commit.

Programs to consider

The programs below are online music education master's degrees from regionally accredited public and private non-profit universities whose music units state NASM accreditation, verified on each program's own page. All four are non-licensure degrees for current music educators. The list is in no particular order and is not a ranking. Confirm current tuition, admission requirements and how your state treats the degree before applying.