Music
Associate in Arts
Program Details
Successful completion of the Associate in Arts in Music degree prepares students to audition for performance opportunities, write critiques of music and produce musical events. An Associate in Arts degree may be earned by completing a minimum of 60 units of degree credit coursework, including the major requirements and breadth requirements, with a minimum grade point average of 2.0. Students must complete all courses for the major with a grade of C or better. It is advised that students complete Contra Costa College Associate in Arts degree general education breadth requirements before admittance to MUSIC-109, Applied Music: Individual Instruction. Music majors should complete MUSIC-108, History and Appreciation of Western Music, MUSIC-102 Beginning Voice: Cultural Perspective, and MUSIC-114, Pop, Rock and Jazz: Their Cultural Origins, as part of their arts and humanities and social sciences coursework.
Music Pathways
Pathways listed below are for the catalog year 2025-2026. Maps for previous years are available on each pathway page. What is a catalog year?
Featured Careers
Find your calling. Explore high-earning careers with entry-level data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
Master's degree, Doctoral degree
- Job growth: Stable
- Low salary: 47,040
- High salary: 194,530
- Average salary: 80190
Choreographers
High school diploma/GED, Certificate after high school
- Job growth: Stable
- Low salary: 33,080
- High salary: 94,090
- Average salary: 55600
Media Programming Directors
Bachelor's degree, High school diploma/GED
- Job growth: Rising
- Low salary: 43,060
- High salary: 198,530
- Average salary: 83480
All Careers in Music (8)
| Media Programming Directors | Bachelor's degree, High school diploma/GED | Rising | 83,480 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Media Technical Directors/Managers | Bachelor's degree | Rising | 83,480 |
| Producers and Directors | Bachelor's degree, High school diploma/GED | Rising | 83,480 |
| Talent Directors | Bachelor's degree, Associate's degree | Rising | 83,480 |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | Master's degree, Doctoral degree | Stable | 80,190 |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | Bachelor's degree, Master's degree | Declining | 64,580 |
| Music Directors and Composers | Master's degree, Bachelor's degree | Stable | 63,670 |
| Choreographers | High school diploma/GED, Certificate after high school | Stable | 55,600 |
Program Pathways Mapper incorporates information from O*NET Web Services by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes help you work towards your educational goals.
- Be able to demonstrate a basic familiarity with music theory.
- Possess the ability to express personal responses to aural listening, verbally, intellectually, and intuitively
- Possess the ability to make valid assessments of quality of expression in music.
- Possess the ability to understand and evaluate contemporary thinking about music
- Students who complete the program will be able to demonstrate the ability to read music by playing the written notation on their major instrument.