Online Music Programs: 9 matching program records at 6 institutions across 5 states, each linked to its official program page. 9 document an online option, 1 are at public institutions, and 6 hold specialised arts accreditation such as NASM, NASAD, NAST, ACF, or ACCSC. Credential levels represented: Bachelor degree (8), Master degree (1). Portfolio output is unaffected for production and composition tracks, where work is produced and exchanged digitally anyway. Industry access is adjusted for delivery mode, since remote students miss the studio and venue proximity that campus students use. In our Creative Arts Career Outcomes Survey 2026, the Art and Art History subsample of 268 graduates reported 81 percent employment within six months and a median bachelor level starting salary of $52,000. Reviewed by Maya Thompson, Director of Music and Creative Industries, ArtDegree.org. Last updated August 2026.
Online music degrees work extremely well for production and business, and poorly for ensemble performance. Latency is not a solvable problem for playing together in real time, and any program claiming otherwise is selling you something. Be precise about which music degree you are actually buying.
What is in this ranking?
An online music degree works extremely well for production and business and poorly for ensemble performance. Latency is not a solvable problem for playing together in real time, and programs claiming otherwise are overselling.
These are the music programs in our database documenting an online option, with the format's limits stated rather than glossed.
Online music education has improved dramatically, and it now serves some tracks better than campus study serves them. Production and business translate cleanly. Ensemble performance does not. This ranking covers documented online options and separates the two cases instead of pretending they are equivalent.
Every card below links to the institution's own program page, which is the authority on curriculum, cost, and accreditation. Our record is a pointer to it, not a replacement for it.
This is a thin category and we would rather say so than pad it. 9 program records matched, which reflects how few institutions publish a dedicated program under this heading. Most people entering this specialisation do it through a broader degree with relevant coursework, so treat the list below as a starting point and read the guidance underneath it.
A thin list also changes how you should search. With 9 matching records, comparison shopping inside this category is not really possible, so widen the frame deliberately: look at the adjacent broader ranking on this site, check accredited programs in neighbouring states, and treat any program that does match as a candidate to investigate directly rather than as a recommendation. Our database holds 456 records at 278 institutions in total, and a small count here reflects how few institutions publish a dedicated program under this specific heading rather than how much provision exists.
Be sceptical of any site presenting a long list in a category this narrow. Padding a thin category with loosely related programs is the standard way rankings manufacture the appearance of authority, and it is precisely the practice that makes rankings useless to the people relying on them. We would rather show you 9 records and explain the gap.
| Composition of this category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Credential levels represented | Bachelor degree (8), Master degree (1) |
| Subject areas | Music (9), Music production (4), Music business (4), Music education (1) |
| States with the most records | Massachusetts (4), Florida (2), Tennessee (1), Indiana (1), Virginia (1) |
| Specialised arts accreditation recorded | 6 of 9 programs |
| Institutional control | 1 public, 8 private |
| Online option documented | 9 of 9 programs |
How does online delivery affect music scoring?
Portfolio output is unaffected for production and composition tracks, where work is produced and exchanged digitally anyway. Industry access is adjusted for delivery mode, since remote students miss the studio and venue proximity that campus students use.
Accreditation matters particularly for education tracks, where state approval determines whether the degree leads to licensure. This is the single most common place online music students get stuck.
The full seven factor arithmetic lives on the methodology page rather than being reprinted here. Scores cluster: a three point gap is usually one documentation decision rather than a difference in the education itself.