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Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Also Known As:
Art History Professor
Art Instructor
Art Professor
Assistant Professor
Associate Professor
Instructor
Music Instructor
Music Professor
Professor
Theater Professor
Wages
Annual wages for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
124,800
2% Change From 2024
Explore Business Teachers, Postsecondary video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
- Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as acting techniques, fundamentals of music, and art history.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
- Participate in campus and community events.
- Maintain or repair studio facilities.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
- Act as advisers to student organizations.
- Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and performance pieces.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
- Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and performance pieces.
- Organize performance groups and direct their rehearsals.
- Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers.
- Keep students informed of community events, such as plays and concerts.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
- Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
- Display students' work in schools, galleries, and exhibitions.
- Maintain or repair studio facilities.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- 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.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")