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Academic support director education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an academic support director. Academic support directors usually study english, business, or psychology. 64% of academic support directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 145 real academic support director resumes to see exactly what academic support director education sections show.

The most common colleges for academic support directors are the The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler and the The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler.

There are also many online academic support director courses to help get the education required to be an academic support director.

What education do you need to become an academic support director?

What degree do you need to be an academic support director?

The most common degree for academic support directors is bachelor's degree, with 64% of academic support directors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 19% and master's degree degree at 7%.
  • Bachelor's, 64%
  • Master's, 19%
  • Doctorate, 7%
  • Associate, 6%
  • Other Degrees, 4%

What should I major in to become an academic support director?

You should major in english to become an academic support director. 14% of academic support directors major in english. Other common majors for an academic support director include business and psychology.

Most common colleges for academic support directors

Academic support directors often get their degrees at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Colby College, and Johnson & Wales University. Here are the most common colleges for academic support directors in the US based on their resumes.
Academic support director common collegePercentages
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler10.00%
Colby College6.67%
Johnson & Wales University6.67%
Wilmington College6.67%
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey6.67%

Best majors for academic support directors

RankMajorPercentages
1English13.8%
2Business12.6%
3Psychology8.0%
4Special Education6.9%
5Communication6.9%

Best colleges for academic support directors

The best colleges for academic support directors are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University.

An academic support director with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for academic support directors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become academic support directors.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

5. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

9. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

10. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

20 best online courses for academic support directors

Advertising disclosure

1. Academic English: Writing

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The skills taught in this Specialization will empower you to succeed in any college-level course or professional field. You’ll learn to conduct rigorous academic research and to express your ideas clearly in an academic format. In the final Capstone Project, all the knowledge that you’ve gained over the span of these courses will culminate into an academic research paper on an issue of your choice...

2. Academic Skills for University Success

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Develop skills in information & digital literacy, problem-solving, critical thinking and communication.\n\nThis Specialization is a high-level academic skills course designed to increase your level of academic preparedness prior to commencement of your studies in an English-medium university. The course equips you for full participation and engagement with your studies by building awareness and understanding of the core values and expectations of academic culture...

3. Academic Word List: Learn the Most Common Academic Words

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4. Double Your Academic Writing Quality: Practical Writing Tips

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Learn principles, practices for writing with meaning and clarity to complete your academic writing project on time...

5. Lesson Planning with the ELL in Mind

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In this course you will learn how to design lesson plans around the needs of your ELL students and their language level through the analysis of content language and cognitive demands. You will learn how to align language objectives to the adopted standards of your school and content area. You will learn how to modify existing course materials as well as develop graphic organizers and languages frames to support ELLs’ access to content. Analysis of second language acquisition theories will be...

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7. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

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8. Effective Academic Writing: Write Papers that Get Results

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A toolkit for making small business operations effective and efficient...

10. Writing Academic English for Beginner

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The Writing Process, Academic Style, Using Sources, Organising...

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12. Academic Writing: 10 Essential Essays You Should Know

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13. Academic Essay Writing for English Language Learners

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Academic writing is easy... if you know how. Learn to write essays from an experienced university teacher and pass exams...

14. PTE Academic Exam Preparation: Writing Mastery (Achieve 79+)

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Complete preparation tutorials from an experienced native teacher to succeed in the Writing section of the PTE exam...

15. Academic Writing Essentials: University Writing Crash Course

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Learn the strategies, tools, and secrets to write successfully at the university level...

16. IELTS 7 Plus: Complete IELTS Preparation [Academic]

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IELTS Preparation for all sections of the academic IELTS test...

17. Mastering IELTS Writing: Task 1 Academic (Band 9 Answers)

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Eighteen model answer walkthroughs for IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic for the best in IELTS Academic Writing preparation...

18. IT service operations and Service Desk management

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Improve Service Desk and IT support processes and service functions. Better preparation for the professional exam...

19. Operations Management: Facilities Planning and Management

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Operations Management Training Program (Course 8 of 8)...

20. Operational Risks Management ORM

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Operational Risks Management ORM Case Studies for Risk Management, Compliance, Audit, IS Security, Banking Professionals...

Top 10 most affordable universities for academic support directors

The most affordable schools for academic support directors are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for academic support directors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for academic support directors.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

6. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

7. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

8. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,210

Cost of attendance

14,359

9. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

10. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for academic support directors

The hardest universities for academic support directors to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University.

Some great schools for academic support directors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for academic support directors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

7. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

8. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

9. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

10. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for academic support directors

The easiest schools for academic support directors to get into are D'Youville College, gwynedd mercy university, and mount saint mary's university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an academic support director without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for academic support directors.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

3. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

6. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

7. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

8. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

9. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

10. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

Average academic support director salary by education level

According to our data, academic support directors with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $98,626 annually. Academic support directors with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $83,157.
Academic support director education levelAcademic support director salary
Master's Degree$83,157
Bachelor's Degree$65,294
Doctorate Degree$98,626

Academic support director education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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