This is the most well-rounded degree and typically focuses on composition, performance, business and production. Graduates with this degree typically go on to run recording studios, work with music publishers and labels or become sound engineers. Major colleges that offer bachelor's degrees have a program like this. Among them are Berklee College of Music, MIT, MCNally Smith College of Music and Purdue University.
Where the BS degree focuses more on the technical aspects of music, the BA degree focuses on the theory, history and performance. This degree is desirable if you want to be a professional musician or vocalist, historian or educator. This program may also be combined with other majors for a career in music journalism, film production or songwriting.
As a more fine-tuned music-related degree program, music business combines elements of law, marketing, management and distribution with a musical focus to prepare you for a career in the music industry. This is also the most successful path, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with successful managers and producers earning an average of $85,000 per year. The knowledge you gain from a program in music business enables you to be an entertainment lawyer, record label owner, artist representative, promoter, media liaison, marketing associate or talent scout.
Perhaps your true passion is the essence of music itself. Recording and engineering is for individuals with an acute ear for the many qualities of music and who strive to perfect its capture and archival. While the industry has been marginalized somewhat by the invention of digital software solutions, an education in the recording arts focuses on more than the technology used in the recording studio. Students learn critical listening, sound fundamentals and recording techniques, which prepares them for careers in sound design, recording, production and broadcasting.
Many schools offer vocational and associate's degrees in applied areas such as recording, production software like ProTools or performance programs in individual instruments. These types of degrees or programs are great for individuals who may already be working in a music-related field or who have a bachelor's degree or existing study in a complementary discipline. Popular topics for associate's programs are engineering, media arts and music marketing. These programs are much shorter than a bachelor's program, averaging at about a year to complete.