For aspiring music educators, completing a graduate program in music education – one of the easiest online master’s degrees – is a big part of preparing to teach in a school setting. However, not all master’s in music education programs qualify you for a teaching license or certification. If you want to be a music teacher in a public school classroom, you need to choose a music education program that prepares you to earn K-12 certification.
The Differences Between Licensure and Non-Licensure Music Education Programs
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Whether you want to get certified as a music teacher is a question that should be top of mind as you explore music education degree programs. Some programs prepare you for certification, while others don’t.
At colleges that offer both certification and non-certification programs in graduate-level music education, there’s a stronger focus on pedagogy in the curricula of licensure programs. While students seeking a non-certification degree may take a couple of courses in pedagogy, choosing from a list of course options, those pursuing certification take a much more robust sequence of courses in teaching and pedagogy.
Perhaps the biggest difference between certification and non-certification master’s degree programs in music education is the requirement for supervised teaching experience. Hands-on student teaching is generally a requirement for acquiring a teaching certification regardless of which state you work in, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Aspiring music teachers typically choose whether to fulfill their student teaching requirements at an elementary school or a secondary school.
Because their curriculum is so full of pedagogy courses, students in a certification program may not have the time to take coursework in music literacies and research in music and the arts, which students in non-certification programs can study.
Getting Certified as a Music Teacher
Besides completing your student teaching requirement and earning your degree, you may need to take teaching certification tests to become licensed. Often, prospective teachers have to pass both a general teaching certification test, like the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators Tests, and a content area test specially tailored to their field. For music educators, this means the Music: Content Knowledge Praxis exam.
This test consists of more than 80 questions covering topics in music history and theory, musical performance, instructional activities in music and instruction, professional issues and technology. Students begin the test with a 25-minute listening section that presents questions about the excerpts of recorded music and then complete a 95-minute non-listening question that consists primarily of selected-response questions with three open-ended, short-answer questions.
Passing your teaching certification tests is a surprisingly difficult feat. In fact, the bar exam that attorneys must pass to get their license to practice law has a higher pass rate than the most widely used licensing exam for elementary teachers, Education Week reported.
Who Doesn’t Need a Licensure Program?
If you already have your teaching certification, you don’t necessarily need to complete these requirements all over again. You can choose a non-licensure program if you simply want to improve your musical skills or classroom teaching skills and become a better teacher. Some licensed teachers of other subjects choose to earn a master’s in music education because they would like to be licensed in this content area, which is another instance in which a non-certification program might be valuable.
You might also opt for a non-licensure master’s in music education program if you don’t intend to teach in a classroom, even as a backup plan. If your plan is to be a private music instructor, a concert hall conductor or a musician working for a nonprofit music organization, the additional requirements of a licensure program might not add much value to your career plans. However, before you settle on a music education program that won’t lead to licensure, think carefully about your ideal career plan and potential backup plans. Music education roles both inside and outside the classroom are popular among music lovers, the BLS reported. The competition for these positions, especially those that allow for a flexible schedule to accommodate your own musical performance schedule, can be fierce.
Students interested in becoming a music librarian would be better off choosing a dual degree program in music education and library science than in earning their teaching certification, unless they plan to work in a school library.
Additional Resources
Do Most Schools Require a Performance to Be Able to Get Into the Music Education Program?
Are There Many Jobs Outside of Academia for Someone With a Music Education Degree?