If you've committed yourself to the serious study of art but are looking for a way to supplement your "starving artist" income, a career as an educator can help to raise your standard of living. A master's degree in art education can provide you with the opportunity to teach -- according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics -- in colleges, technical schools, museums or at the grade, middle and high school levels. Depending on your interests, you can receive a degree with a focus on studio art processes or teaching a specific grade group such as high school.
While working as an artist may seem like a completely non-educational career, having graduate level instruction in a specific studio process can help you to hone your craft, make "art world" contacts and create a professional portfolio. For example, the Master of Fine Arts program at Carnegie Mellon University includes a three-year curriculum that focuses on art-making processes at an intensive level. During a master's course of study in the arts you will typically have to choose your specific area of interest -- such as printmaking, photography or ceramics -- as a studio focus.
Not all art majors want to "make things" with their hands. Some art majors may decide on a career in a more philosophical or theoretical field such as art history. Choosing a master's degree in art history means you'll focus on a specific time period, culture, style or geographic area. For example, the University of Pennsylvania's M.A. in art history includes fields of study such as Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greek, East Asian, Modern or 19th-Century Art.
Contemporary college students may find the push toward digital media a factor in choosing a computer-type of art graduate program. At the master's level. digital design programs may focus on a specific use of media, such as New York University's M.A. in digital media design for learning. This program provides the digital art student with the chance to create media for educational or instructional use. Aside from the more traditional types of computer design courses, grad students in digital media programs may also take classes on creating mobile phone or app types of content.