How To Become A Music Therapy Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a music therapy internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Music is a form of therapy in and of itself, much like other forms of art. A music therapist is an individual that uses music to treat patients in a therapeutic environment. They help patients with mental health issues like anxiety, depression, or excessive levels of stress. Moreover, they may also treat those with age-related diseases like Alzheimer's.

The duties of a music therapist mostly revolve around conducting therapy sessions with individuals or groups. Other than that, they track patients' progress and coordinate with other healthcare providers to improve the treatment of each patient.

Most music therapists have degrees in rehabilitation science, and many also have master's degrees. You may also qualify for this job if you have a degree in music, psychology, education, or other related majors. Furthermore, a common requirement for this job includes experience using music in a therapeutic setting and good knowledge of different types of music.

The average salary for a music therapist is $49,000 per year. If you are interested in this job, some of the best states to go to are Alaska, California, and Wyoming.

ScoreMusic Therapy InternshipUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,844

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.30%

Asian 9.55%

Black or African American 4.65%

Hispanic or Latino 5.99%

Unknown 3.68%

White 75.82%

Gender

female 79.96%

male 20.04%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a music therapy internship

Explore music therapy internship education requirements

Most common music therapy internship degrees

Bachelor's

72.4 %

Master's

17.0 %

Associate

6.8 %

Start to develop specific music therapy internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	26.32%
Occupational Therapy	7.54%
Mental Health	6.68%
Individual Therapy Sessions	6.03%
Group Therapy Sessions	3.82%

Complete relevant music therapy internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New music therapy interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a music therapy internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real music therapy internship resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed music therapy internship usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed music therapy internship in most of states. 37 states require music therapy interns to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	-	Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Occupational Therapy Assistant
Arkansas	Specific course required	State exam required	Occupational Therapist Assistant (OTA)
California	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Occupational Therapy Assistant
Colorado	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Occupational Therapy Assistant

Research music therapy internship duties and responsibilities

Customize recreational therapy interventions with patients who have acquired either a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury.
Help with casting limbs and making splints.
Assist occupational therapists with fabricating splints for orthopedic conditions involving the upper extremities.
Develop and implement therapeutic activities for individuals, groups under direction of OTR/L.

Prepare your music therapy internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your music therapy internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a music therapy internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable music therapy internship resume templates

Build a professional music therapy internship resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your music therapy internship resume.