This paper draws upon the concept of “time poverty” as theorized by Wladis et al. (2024) to describe the ways that a lack of time among college students contributes to inequitable college outcomes, exacerbated in particular by race/ethnicity and gender. We argue that music students and music education majors in the U.S. specifically experience time poverty at levels above and beyond that of other majors. Wladis et al. (2024) assert that “time poverty, a byproduct of other demographic and environmental factors, reduces the quantity and quality of time that different student groups have available to engage in academic study, and that this negatively impacts various outcome measures” (p. 2). Music education students experience time poverty through their already hectic schedules at a rate disproportionate to other majors, often to the detriment of their wellbeing (e.g. Conway, 2010). When music students have responsibilities beyond their role as a student such as employment, caretaking, etc., the requirements of a music education degree may become unsustainable. This qualitative study explores the construct of time poverty and its manifestation among music education students. We consider demographics alongside the complexity of music student schedules which often include multiple ensembles, private lessons, music education classes, alongside “core” classes such as music theory and history We will interview thirty undergraduate music education students from two institutions to explore students’ schedules and time priorities. This narrative inquiry explores the complexities of the schedules of music students as they intersect with students’ identities and outside commitments. The research is pending IRB approval at both institutions and interviews will take place from December 2025 through the end of January 2026. We will undertake coding and data analysis in February and March 2026 and plan to present findings at ISME in July 2026.Pending results will consider the time inequities uncovered by the Wladis et al. (2024) study and analyze the construct of time poverty specifically for music education majors. The results from this study will add to the ongoing conversation about ensemble requirements (Hill et al., 2023) and stress and mental health among music education students (Bernhard 2021, Payne et al., 2020). We also, following Wladis et al. (2024), examine the decisions that music education majors are forced to make when they experience time poverty.