Access control specialist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an access control specialist. Access control specialists usually study business, criminal justice, or general studies. 50% of access control specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 26% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,039 real access control specialist resumes to see exactly what access control specialist education sections show.

The most common colleges for access control specialists are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online access control specialist courses to help get the education required to be an access control specialist.

There are certain access control specialist certifications that you should consider. These access control specialist certifications include Security 5 Certification and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

What education do you need to become an access control specialist?

What degree do you need to be an access control specialist?

The most common degree for access control specialists is bachelor's degree, with 50% of access control specialists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 26% and associate degree degree at 15%.

Bachelor's, 50%

Associate, 26%

High School Diploma, 15%

Master's, 4%

Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become an access control specialist?

You should major in business to become an access control specialist. 27% of access control specialists major in business. Other common majors for an access control specialist include criminal justice and general studies.

Business, 27%

Criminal Justice, 26%

General Studies, 6%

Computer Science, 5%

Other Majors, 36%

Most common colleges for access control specialists

Access control specialists often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, University of Maryland - College Park, and Bowie State University. Here are the most common colleges for access control specialists in the US based on their resumes.

Access control specialist common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	16.30%
University of Maryland - College Park	10.37%
Bowie State University	7.41%
American University	7.41%
Strayer University	5.93%

Show more common access control specialist colleges

Best majors for access control specialists

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	27.0%
2	Criminal Justice	25.6%
3	General Studies	6.0%
4	Computer Science	4.6%
5	Psychology	4.4%

Show more common access control specialist majors

Best colleges for access control specialists

The best colleges for access control specialists are Boston University, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

An access control specialist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for access control specialists. 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 access control specialists.

1. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

2. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

3. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

4. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

5. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

6. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

7. SUNY at Albany

Albany, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$10,011

Enrollment

13,434

8. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

9. SUNY College at Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,369

Enrollment

5,229

10. SUNY College at Oswego

Oswego, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,440

Enrollment

7,039

20 best online courses for access control specialists

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3. VPC Networks - Controlling Access

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In this MOOC, we learn RBAC and ABAC access control to facilitate the specification and management of access policies. We learn examples of how RBAC is supported by modern systems such as Docker and AWS IAM. We learn XACML 3.0 and an ABAC implementation for controling secure access to web documents and network resources with attribute certificates, and XACML architecture components. We show how to exhance the data security with GeoEncryption, Secure Enhanced Geolocking, and R2D2 concepts which...

5. Microsoft Access Networking 2: Maximum Security

4.8

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Control what users can and can't do in your networked database...

6. Master Microsoft Access - Access from Beginner to Advanced

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Develop dynamic Access databases fast in this easy to learn Microsoft Access Course (2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 & 365)...

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9. ISO/IEC 27002:2022. Information security controls

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17. SAP GRC BusinessObjects Access Control 10.0

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SAP GRC Access Control 10 Implementation and Configuration...

18. Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO)

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Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO) Certification Exam Prep Course...

19. Microsoft Access: Networking Made Simple

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How to Setup and Easily Maintain Access Databases on a Windows Network...

20. Control Systems: From Mathematical Modelling to PID Control

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Learn the mathematics that will allow you to model and control any engineering system. Make machines do what you want!...

Top 10 most affordable universities for access control specialists

The most affordable schools for access control specialists are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and usf sarasota-manatee.

If the best universities for access control specialists 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 access control specialists.

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

2. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

7. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

8. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

9. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

10. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for access control specialists

The hardest universities for access control specialists to get into are Boston University, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for access control specialists 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 access control specialists 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. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

4. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

5. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

6. University of Tulsa

Tulsa, OK • Private

Admissions rate

41%

SAT average

1,321

7. Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY • Private

Admissions rate

50%

SAT average

1,284

8. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

9. University of Denver

Denver, CO • Private

Admissions rate

56%

SAT average

1,300

10. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for access control specialists

The easiest schools for access control specialists to get into are Nyack College, notre dame college, and gwynedd mercy university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an access control specialist 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 access control specialists.

1. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

2. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

3. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

4. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

5. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

6. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

7. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

8. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

9. Manor College

Jenkintown, PA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

898

10. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

Average access control specialist salary by education level

According to our data, access control specialists with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $62,289 annually. Access control specialists with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $54,572.

Access control specialist education level	Access control specialist salary
Master's Degree	$62,289
Bachelor's Degree	$54,572
Some College/ Associate Degree	$43,613

Access control specialist education FAQs

What is the best college for Access Control Specialists?

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Search for access control specialist jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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