College Music Society "promotes music teaching and learning, musical creativity and expression, research and dialogue, and diversity and interdisciplinary interaction. A consortium of college, conservatory, university, and independent musicians and scholars interested in all disciplines of music, the Society provides leadership and serves as an agent of change by addressing concerns facing music in higher education." For young theorists, this organization provides opportunities for giving papers at a national conference and publishing articles in the journal College Music Symposium, which includes many studies related to pedagogy.
- CMS offers "Forums and Dialogues" in the areas of Composition, Ethnomusicology, Music Education, Music in General Studies, Music Theory, Musicology, and Performance.
- In addition to the journal mentioned above, CMS also provides many resources, including a Music Vacancy List, Directory of Music Faculties, Sourcebooks in American Music, Music Administration Handbook, a database of music organizations, and a database of upcoming events of the profession.
According to the website: "The College Music Society makes available a wealth of information concerning the field of music, as well as the music and higher education community. Through development and maintenance of databases of information about the music field, the Society hopes to meet the needs of the music profession for information services. Several immensely valuable reference works are described below. The Society hopes college, conservatory, and university music faculty, as well as the general public, will find this information useful." These many services are open only to members, who pay an annual fee of $70.00.