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Art Education

A program that prepares individuals to teach art and art appreciation programs at various educational levels.

Types of Degrees Art Education Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Art Education have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	11
Associate’s Degree	4
Bachelor’s Degree	1,088
Master’s Degree	742
Doctor’s Degree	15

What Art Education Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Art Education develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Art Education graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Art Education emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Art Education program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Art Education careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Art Education graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.7 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.4 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.4 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Developing Objectives and Strategies	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Art Education professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Desmos	Analytical or scientific software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Art Education graduates include:

• Educator
• Assistant Professor
• College Professor
• Associate Professor
• Adjunct Lecturer
• Instructor
• Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• Art Instructor
• Art Educator
• Music Educator
• Band Teacher
• Orchestra Teacher
• Violin Teacher
• Choral Teacher

What Can You Do With a Art Education Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Art Education commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Education Teachers, Postsecondary	2.4%	$98,329	$80,157–$116,500
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary	9.1%	$46,983	$40,423–$53,543

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Art Education graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	43.1%
Bachelor’s degree	28.7%
Master’s degree	18.2%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	5.5%
Less than a high school diploma	1.8%
Post-master’s certificate	1.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.0%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Art Education?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 88.2% of Art Education degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,640	88.2%
Men	220	11.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Art Education graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,277	68.7%
Asian	73	3.9%
Hispanic or Latino	280	15.1%
Black or African American	74	4.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	6	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	0.1%
Two or More Races	50	2.7%
Race Unknown	48	2.6%
International Students	50	2.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Art Education Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Art Education graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$49,919
4 years	$50,204
5 years	$56,331

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $56,331 — roughly 13% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Art Education Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for Art Education. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	6	5
Master’s	19	12

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Art Education Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Art Education graduates earn a median of $50,204 four years after completion — roughly 32% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	39,881
Secondary Education and Teaching	10,594
Teacher Education, Multiple Levels	8,732
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching	6,964
Reading Teacher Education	5,986
Music Teacher Education	4,544
English/Language Arts Teacher Education	3,018
Mathematics Teacher Education	2,993
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching	2,976
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas, Other	2,352
Social Studies Teacher Education	1,963
Health Teacher Education	1,472

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.