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Music at Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's Degree
32 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
35
Optimistic
32
Base Case
27
Pessimistic
Earnings $21,759/yr (-23% vs median)
AI Risk High (47% exposed)
Job Market Very Large (101,600 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Music graduates.

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $453K $258K $161K
Earnings Multiple 2.7x 1.5x 1.0x
Viable Career Paths 6 of 6 6 of 6 5 of 6
DegreeWorth Score 35 32 27

10-Year Earnings Projection

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition
$166,512
Median Debt at Graduation
$27,250
15.0 months of Year 1 earnings
Reported Earnings (5 Year)
$38,722
78% growth from Year 1

Career Paths

Where Music graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 101,600 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary $80,190 9,000 +1.7% 44%
Sound engineering technicians $66,430 1,200 -1.7% 43%
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education $64,580 66,200 -1.6% 33%
Music directors and composers $63,670 4,300 -0.3% 71%
Musicians and singers N/A 19,400 +1.1% 41%
Disc jockeys, except radio N/A 1,500 +3.8% 53%

Compare & Explore

Music at Other Schools

Sam Houston State University ($59,926) The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ($56,373) Texas A & M University-Kingsville ($56,072) The University of Texas at El Paso ($56,062) University of Houston ($52,799) Texas A & M University-Commerce ($52,282) Texas State University ($51,158) West Texas A & M University ($50,881)

Other Majors at Elmhurst University

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($73,820) Computer Science ($72,910) Accounting and Related Services ($59,734) Finance and Financial Management Services ($57,171) Business Administration, Management and Operations ($49,771) Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods ($48,105) Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas ($46,789) Communication and Media Studies ($41,423)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Music at Elmhurst University?
This program scores 32/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 35 (optimistic) to 27 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Music career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Music graduates retain 6 of 6 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $160,841 (pessimistic) to $452,707 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Music graduates?
The career paths mapped to Music have roughly 101,600 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a very large job market.
Is Music at Elmhurst University worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 1.5x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 1.0x. The spread between scenarios tells you how sensitive this degree is to AI disruption.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Scenarios use a continuous weighting function combining AI exposure and BLS job growth projections. "Earnings Multiple" is total 10-year projected earnings divided by tuition — not a discounted financial ROI. Last updated 2025.