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Lecturer, Art, Drama & Music

Education

Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

EducationCreative Arts & Media

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workA lecture hall

  • Mostly indoors
  • Dealing with customers or the public
  • Regular working hours

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

In Malaysia

In Malaysia, arts lecturers work at ASWARA (the national arts academy), UiTM's art, music and performing-arts faculties, UPSI, UM's Cultural Centre, USM and UNIMAS, and at private colleges focused on design and music. Teaching often includes traditional forms such as gamelan, wayang kulit and Malay dance alongside Western art and music.

How people get into it here
SPM → STPM/Matriculation/Foundation/Diploma → Bachelor's in Fine Art, Music, Theatre/Drama, Dance or Creative Arts → Master's (minimum for a DS11 public-university post) → PhD (strongly preferred; needed for Senior Lecturer and above); a strong portfolio or performance record counts heavily

Sources:pengambilancns.uitm.edu.myperlis.uitm.edu.myappsmu.ukm.myspp.gov.my

Pay in Malaysia

Government starting pay

RM3,320 – RM3,650

per month

Senior grade

RM6,210 – RM14,370

per month

Official basic pay for the government grade, before allowances. Private-sector pay can differ.

UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA) · Dec 2025

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationMaster's degree
The full route to this careerThe steps from school, UPU programmes and sourced costs, read against your answers.

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

IPG (Teacher Training)

Explore KPM's teacher-training route. Check current funding and apply through KPM's PISMP portal, not UPUOnline.

~5 years
Compare routes against your results and interests

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

Quick answers

How do you become a Lecturer, Art, Drama & Music in Malaysia?

SPM → STPM/Matriculation/Foundation/Diploma → Bachelor's in Fine Art, Music, Theatre/Drama, Dance or Creative Arts → Master's (minimum for a DS11 public-university post) → PhD (strongly preferred; needed for Senior Lecturer and above); a strong portfolio or performance record counts heavily.

What should I study to become a Lecturer, Art, Drama & Music?

Related fields of study: Education and Creative Arts & Media. SPM subjects that help most: Visual Art (PSV), English, Bahasa Melayu and History (Sejarah).

How much does a Lecturer, Art, Drama & Music earn in Malaysia?

The official pay scale put starting pay at RM3,320 – RM3,650 a month, and RM6,210 – RM14,370 with experience (source: UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA), Dec 2025).

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
  2. 2Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers.
  3. 3Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments.
  4. 4Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  5. 5Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as acting techniques, fundamentals of music, and art history.
  6. 6Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  7. 7Organize performance groups and direct their rehearsals.
  8. 8Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  9. 9Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  10. 10Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
  11. 11Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  12. 12Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
  13. 13Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
  14. 14Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and performance pieces.
  15. 15Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
  16. 16Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
  17. 17Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
  18. 18Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
  19. 19Maintain or repair studio facilities.
  20. 20Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
  21. 21Display students' work in schools, galleries, and exhibitions.
  22. 22Participate in campus and community events.
  23. 23Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
  24. 24Keep students informed of community events, such as plays and concerts.
  25. 25Act as advisers to student organizations.
  26. 26Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
  27. 27Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
  28. 28Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Professor
  • Instructor
  • Art Educator
  • Arts Teacher
  • Band Teacher
  • Art Professor
  • Baton Teacher
  • Choir Teacher
  • Drama Teacher
  • Organ Teacher

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Visual Art (PSV)Draws directly on Fine Arts — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Bahasa MelayuDraws directly on Communications and Media — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
History (Sejarah)Draws directly on History and Archeology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Islamic / Moral StudiesDraws directly on Philosophy and Theology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Fine Arts98%

    Visual Art (PSV)

  • Education and Training93%
  • English Language86%

    English

  • Communications and Media71%

    EnglishBahasa Melayu

  • History and Archeology68%

    History (Sejarah)

  • Psychology68%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicHigh
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentRarely
  • Time spent sittingA little

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Direct theater productions.
  • Mentor students.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

38%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.12%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job, and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

What beginner adverts asked for

We read 11 internship and fresh-graduate adverts in related fields (August 2026). A small sample from one job site, not every vacancy.

10 of 11 were internships

Allowance or pay, when stated

RM700 – RM900

3 of 11 adverts printed an amount: usually between RM700 and RM900 a month. Many print none.

An empty line means the adverts did not say, not that employers have no requirement. Check each employer's own advert before you plan around it.

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

Source: UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA) · as of Dec 2025

Check the salary figures yourself:UiTM academic job advertisement (Pensyarah Universiti DS11/DS13, SSPA)

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org