Research on the study of music
Did You Know?
Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to
medical school. Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate
majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66 percent of music majors
who applied to med school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group.
For comparison, (44 percent) of biochemistry majors were admitted. Also, a study
of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest
reading scores among all majors including English, biology, chemistry and math.
Sources: "The Comparative Academic Abilities of Students in Education and in
Other Areas of a Multi-focus University," Peter H. Wood, ERIC Document No.
ED327480
"The Case for Music in the Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, February, 1994
Did You Know?
A ten-year study, tracking more than 25,000 students, shows that music-making
improves test scores. Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making
students get higher marks in standardized tests than those who had no music
involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as
the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams.
Source: Dr. James Catterall, UCLA, 1997
Did You Know?
High school music students score higher on SATs in both verbal and math than
their peers. In 2001, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance
scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 41 points higher
on the math portion than students with no coursework/experience in the arts.
Source: Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, The College Board,
compiled by Music Educators National Conference, 2001.
For more information, see the Research section for the American Music Conference website: http://www.amc-music.org/research_briefs.htm.