A music degree can bring greater value to your future career than most think. With this versatile qualification, several career pathways will open to you. You can perform in orchestras or ensembles, teach in schools and conservatoires, work behind the scenes in composition, production or sound engineering, contribute to communities as art administrators and therapists, and so much more.

But the list of options is probably much longer thanks to one distinguishing feature of the best music degrees today: a focus on experiential learning. By connecting, exposing and engaging you with industry, these programmes equip you with time management, effective communication and creative problem-solving skills – soft skills that can set you up for success in many sectors.

What does it take to transform students into artists with such skills? These leading universities have it all figured out.

BIMM Music Institute

Founded in 1983 as the world-renowned Drumtech (now BIMM Music Institute London), BIMM University is today one of the UK’s newest universities for the creative industries. At its nine campuses in the UK, Ireland, and Germany, over 12,000 students are amassing the knowledge and skills they need to meet the demands of the creative industries. Students pursuing a BIMM University degree study at specialist colleges including BIMM Music Institute, Performers College and Northern Ballet School, MetFilm School and MetStudios.

They are studying specialist, practical programmes in contemporary music, performing arts, filmmaking and video games where they are guided by active practitioners, get to use industry-standard facilities, and meet inspiring figures from industry. Scores of students have made it big, from Isabel Abbott whose new single has a whopping 30 million views across TikTok and Instagram to many more Grammy and BRIT Award winners, Mercury Prize-nominated artists, agency heads, songwriters, and international booking agents.

BIMM Music Institute, part of BIMM University, is where it all starts. It is the largest and most connected music school in Europe and ranked among Billboard’s Top 100 Music Business Schools. Eschewing the standard conservatoire path, BIMM Music Institute pioneers modern music education, offering programmes designed with the industry, for the industry. From courses in performance and songwriting to music business, event management, and more, BIMM prepares you for success in a competitive, ever-changing landscape. To stand out further, consider combining not just one, but two programmes through their joint honours degrees like Music Performance with Music Production.

Whether you want to perform on stage or work at a music festival, you can do it all at BIMM Music Institute. The university’s Creative Futures team will help you transition into the workforce, from preparing your CV to organising masterclasses with Q&A sessions, live performances and workshops with industry professionals.

If you want something more hands-on, the music school is a partner of the 2000trees festival. Here, you get to try various roles, including site building, artist liaison, stage crew, lighting and sound engineer, social media, and more – all of which set you up for a strong start to your future career. Even better, with alumni like Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. and singer-songwriter Tom Odell, you’ll be in great company. “I’ve met so many other students that I wouldn’t normally get to meet. Plus, meeting the artists backstage and watching the crowd’s reactions to their performance is amazing,” says Amelie Murfett, a Music Business and Events Management student at BIMM Music Institute Brighton.

Notable alumni from the Norwegian Academy of Music include conductor Edvard Fliflet Bræin, singer Lalla Carlsen, and musicologist Henrik Hellstenius. Source: Norges musikkhøgskole/Facebook

Norwegian Academy of Music

The Norwegian Academy of Music is a music institution and home to Norway’s leading music community. It is here that students receive higher education in music, evolving into some of the best music therapists, instrumentalists, singers, church musicians, music educators, conductors, composers, music technologists, and piano tuners in the industry.

With a strong Norwegian and European musical heritage, the academy preserves its traditions while creating new expressions and forms of music. This is done through its undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes which encompass a range of specialisations within performance and theoretical disciplines. Whether you are pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or even a doctoral degree, programmes available here develop your talent to achieve your musical ambitions in music performance, composition, conducting, research, pedagogy, music therapy, church music, and piano tuning.

You will be taught by leading musicians, pedagogues, and researchers with a reputation for successful careers in their own fields. Under their guidance, you will be given the chance to show off your talents and what you have learned throughout your time here as students, instructors, and departments organise over 400 concerts each year. Ranging from multiple genres, from classical music to jazz and improvisation, you can participate in or enjoy the show, which takes place in and outside the academy at prestigious music venues.

With a global network, the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna contributes to Austria’s cultural life. Source: University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

At the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW), you will step into a world where tradition meets innovation. Since its establishment in 1817, MDW has been a global leader in music and the performing arts. It offers 3,000 students from 70 countries world-class education across 115 degree programmes and 41 supplementary programmes.

Here, you’ll learn in intimate classroom settings (4.7 students per teacher) and state-of-the-art facilities where your creativity can flourish. In 2024, the school took it a step further by joining IN.TUNE. It is the first European university alliance in music and arts with a focus on social engagement, knowledge transfer, audiovisual, and innovation in digital mobility and cooperation, – all geared at better preparing performing arts students for their careers.

As a student here, you’ll not only build a solid foundation but join a global family. Every year, the school welcomes students and scholars worldwide to join its thriving artistic community. To make their transition as smooth as possible, it launched the Buddy Programme to help first-year students settle into their studies and life in Vienna. From managing day-to-day tasks to exploring the city’s rich cultural life, local “buddies” make sure that every student feels supported. On the other hand, MDW’s international partnerships and networks are beneficial for students or faculty who want to study abroad.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International.