What do they do?

Plan, organize, direct, or assess clinical and evidenced-based music therapy interventions to positively influence individuals' physical, psychological, cognitive, or behavioral status.

Also known as:

Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC), LCAT (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist), Music Therapist, Neurologic Music Therapist, Public School System Music Therapist, Therapist

Typical Wages

Wages$0$28K$56K$84K$112K$140KPercentiles10th25thMedian75th90th$40k$50k$63k$89k$124k

Projected Growth Rate

Faster than average

Employment of Therapists, All Other is projected to grow 12 percent from 2022 to 2032, faster than average compared to all occupations.

Projected Employment in OH

No Data Available
Employment2022203242,30047,500
  • 12.3%

    Change

    Select a state to see its job growth rate ranking
    3,200

    Job Openings

    Select a state to see its net job growth ranking

Best colleges for Music Therapists

Search

Colleges with the most graduates that become Music Therapists

Search

Looking for colleges that offer a specific major? Use the College Match Tool to find your best-matched schools and discover your estimated Net Price!

Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • Master's degree  (58%)
  • Bachelor's degree  (23%)
  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (7%)
  • Associate's degree  (5%)
  • Some college, no degree  (4%)
  • High school diploma equivalent  (3%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (1%)

Typical College Majors

Most Popular Majors that prepare Music Therapists

Select Type of Degree:

People in this career often have these skills:

  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

People in this career often know a lot about:

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • 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.
  • Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  • 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.

People in this career often have talent in:

  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Treat patients using psychological therapies.
  • Develop treatment plans that use non-medical therapies.
  • Interact with patients to build rapport or provide emotional support.
  • Develop medical treatment plans.
  • Establish treatment goals.
  • Prepare reports summarizing patient diagnostic or care activities.
  • Record patient medical histories.
  • Evaluate patient functioning, capabilities, or health.
  • Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
  • Gather medical information from patient histories.
  • Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals.
  • Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
  • Communicate test or assessment results to medical professionals.
  • Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
  • Adjust tuning or functioning of musical instruments.
  • Treat medical emergencies.
  • Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
  • Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
  • Communicate health and wellness information to the public.
  • Analyze quantitative data to determine effectiveness of treatments or therapies.
  • Supervise patient care personnel.
  • Evaluate treatment options to guide medical decisions.
  • Develop health assessment methods or programs.
  • Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Logo Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Join thousands of students and parents learning about finding the right college, admissions secrets, scholarships, financial aid, and more.

College Raptor Loading Screen College Raptor Loading Screen