---
title: Is a Music degree worth the debt?
cip: 5009
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Music degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **216** colleges (216 of 216 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $24,982 ($25,774 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.94× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $20,114–$31,029 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $22,380 | $20,000 | 0.98× | 4 | 4/4 |
| Bachelor's | $24,982 | $25,500 | 0.94× | 216 | 216/216 |
| Master's | $25,040 | $39,946 | 1.60× | 96 | 96/96 |
| Doctoral | $38,444 | $57,628 | 1.66× | 28 | 28/28 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Houston (TX) | $49,557 | $25,000 |
| The University of Texas at El Paso (TX) | $48,653 | $14,894 |
| Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TX) | $48,541 | $31,000 |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (TX) | $47,631 | $15,175 |
| The University of Texas at Austin (TX) | $46,478 | $24,625 |
| Texas Southern University (TX) | $44,510 | — |
| East Texas A&M University (TX) | $43,755 | $24,728 |
| Texas Tech University (TX) | $43,170 | $27,000 |
| West Texas A & M University (TX) | $42,424 | $22,500 |
| Sam Houston State University (TX) | $41,865 | $25,630 |
| The University of Texas at Arlington (TX) | $41,236 | $22,714 |
| Texas State University (TX) | $40,576 | $23,250 |
| Stephen F Austin State University (TX) | $39,195 | $26,000 |
| North Dakota State University-Main Campus (ND) | $39,104 | — |
| Northwestern University (IL) | $38,199 | $18,039 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/music.jsonld` · `/education/fields/music.json`