Occupation · SOC 25-1121
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.
Median wage
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Projected growth
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Annual openings
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per year
Employed (US)
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Job Zone 5
Typical preparation
Extensive preparation
Stackable credential programs
4,429 mapped
Core skills
SpeakingInstructingLearning StrategiesActive LearningActive ListeningReading ComprehensionWritingMonitoring
Knowledge areas
Fine ArtsEducation and TrainingEnglish LanguageCommunications and MediaPsychology
Technology & tools
Document management softwareVideo creation and editing softwareMusic or sound editing softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareWeb page creation and editing software
Representative tasks
Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers.Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments.Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as acting techniques, fundamentals of music, and art history.Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and performance pieces.Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.Display students' work in schools, galleries, and exhibitions.Participate in campus and community events.Keep students informed of community events, such as plays and concerts.Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.Act as advisers to student organizations.Organize performance groups and direct their rehearsals.Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.Maintain or repair studio facilities.Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Artistic techniques in foundational disciplines — demonstrate and explain under faculty mentorship within undergraduate studio or performance classroom settings.Course syllabi and basic instructional handouts — prepare and distribute following departmental templates and curriculum guidelines at a postsecondary institution.Student attendance records and grade entries — maintain accurately using institutional learning management systems under supervisory review.Classroom discussions on art history or music fundamentals — initiate and facilitate with structured prompts in an introductory undergraduate course.Prepared lectures on acting techniques or visual arts concepts — deliver to small undergraduate cohorts using provided curriculum frameworks.Student class work and introductory assignments — evaluate against established rubrics with guidance from senior faculty in a postsecondary arts program.Current literature and professional journals in the fine arts — read and summarize to stay abreast of field developments during initial faculty appointment.Document management and calendar scheduling software — use to organize course materials, track deadlines, and coordinate student communications in an academic department.Students preparing for entry-level performances or studio critiques — support through structured rehearsal guidance and assignment scaffolding under departmental supervision.Active listening and social perceptiveness — apply when responding to diverse student needs and questions in a postsecondary arts classroom environment.
developing
Artistic techniques across multiple media or performance styles — explain and demonstrate independently to undergraduate and early graduate students in studio, lab, or rehearsal settings.Lectures on music theory, art history, or drama fundamentals — prepare and deliver to undergraduate and graduate courses with minimal oversight, adapting content to class proficiency levels.Grading and formative feedback on student projects, papers, and performances — conduct routinely using self-developed rubrics aligned to departmental learning outcomes.Student preparation for recitals, exhibitions, or academic assessments — facilitate through individualized coaching sessions and structured rehearsal cycles in a postsecondary context.Classroom discussions integrating critical theory, cultural context, and interdisciplinary perspectives — moderate with confidence across familiar course topics in an arts department.Course materials including syllabi, assignment sequences, and multimedia handouts — develop independently using desktop publishing and document management software.Video creation, music editing, or graphics software — integrate into instructional design to enhance student engagement in technology-supported arts courses.Professional conferences and collegial dialogue — participate in actively to incorporate emerging disciplinary developments into course content and pedagogy.Student attendance, grade distributions, and required academic records — manage with full compliance to institutional policy using learning management and scheduling systems.Learning strategies tailored to varied artistic skill levels — select and apply to improve student outcomes across studio, lecture, and ensemble course formats.
proficient
Advanced artistic techniques in specialized performance, studio, or compositional practice — demonstrate and teach autonomously to graduate-level students in a research-intensive postsecondary environment.Complex, non-routine student performance challenges and creative blocks — diagnose and resolve through individualized mentorship and evidence-based instructional strategies.Graduate seminars and upper-division lectures on topics spanning art history, philosophy of aesthetics, and communications theory — design and deliver with scholarly depth and pedagogical rigor.Comprehensive assessment of student theses, capstone performances, and professional portfolios — evaluate using self-constructed, discipline-specific criteria that reflect current field standards.Sustained Socratic and discipline-specific discourse — initiate and moderate in graduate seminars, pushing students toward original critical and creative thinking across full course sequences.Multisemester curriculum sequences and program-level learning outcomes — design and refine independently, integrating fine arts knowledge with cross-disciplinary perspectives in psychology, sociology, and media.Peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and active professional networks — engage with regularly to sustain scholarly currency and incorporate evolving artistic practices into teaching.Web platform, CAD, computer-based training, and multimedia production tools — deploy strategically to create immersive, technology-enhanced learning environments for arts students.Inductive and deductive reasoning in artistic problem-solving — model explicitly for students navigating ambiguous creative or interpretive challenges in studio and performance contexts.Judgment and decision-making in complex student evaluation scenarios — exercise with full autonomy, balancing artistic standards, equity considerations, and institutional accountability requirements.
advanced
Departmental curriculum vision and program-level artistic identity — establish and champion across faculty governance structures, aligning postsecondary arts programs with national disciplinary standards and institutional mission.Faculty hiring, mentorship, and professional development — lead within an arts department, cultivating a culture of pedagogical innovation and scholarly excellence among emerging and mid-career instructors.Institutional assessment frameworks for fine arts programs — architect and implement, guiding accreditation processes and translating outcomes data into systemic curriculum improvements.Cross-departmental and interdisciplinary academic initiatives — lead in collaboration with colleagues across communications, humanities, and social sciences to advance integrated arts education at the institutional level.Strategic partnerships with professional arts organizations, industry stakeholders, and community institutions — cultivate to create experiential learning pipelines and post-graduation pathways for students.Original scholarly or artistic research at the leading edge of the discipline — produce and disseminate through peer-reviewed venues, positioning the institution as a center of creative and intellectual excellence.Departmental technology strategy for arts instruction — set and oversee, directing adoption of advanced multimedia, CAD, and web platform tools to keep the program aligned with evolving professional practice.Complex ethical and equity dilemmas in student assessment, faculty relations, and academic freedom — navigate and resolve, modeling principled judgment and transparent decision-making for the entire arts faculty.National and international professional conferences and discipline-shaping bodies — represent the institution within, contributing to field-wide conversations that influence postsecondary arts education policy.Long-range enrollment, resource allocation, and program sustainability plans — develop and execute for arts disciplines, integrating systems analysis and institutional data to ensure enduring program viability.
Also known as
180 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
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