Post job

Administrative support clerk education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an administrative support clerk. Administrative support clerks usually study business, health care administration, or accounting. 38% of administrative support clerks hold a bachelor's degree, and 32% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,129 real administrative support clerk resumes to see exactly what administrative support clerk education sections show.

The most common colleges for administrative support clerks are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

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

There are certain administrative support clerk certifications that you should consider. These administrative support clerk certifications include Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) and Microsoft Office Specialist: Expert (Office 365 and Office 2019).

What education do you need to become an administrative support clerk?

What degree do you need to be an administrative support clerk?

The most common degree for administrative support clerks is bachelor's degree, with 38% of administrative support clerks earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 32% and associate degree degree at 14%.
  • Bachelor's, 38%
  • Associate, 32%
  • High School Diploma, 14%
  • Diploma, 8%
  • Other Degrees, 8%

What should I major in to become an administrative support clerk?

You should major in business to become an administrative support clerk. 28% of administrative support clerks major in business. Other common majors for an administrative support clerk include health care administration and accounting.

Most common colleges for administrative support clerks

Administrative support clerks often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Central State University, and Florida State College at Jacksonville. Here are the most common colleges for administrative support clerks in the US based on their resumes.
Administrative support clerk common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix17.33%
Central State University5.33%
Florida State College at Jacksonville5.33%
DeVry University5.33%
American InterContinental University5.33%

Best majors for administrative support clerks

Best colleges for administrative support clerks

The best colleges for administrative support clerks are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

An administrative support clerk with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for administrative support clerks. 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 administrative support clerks.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

2. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

5. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

6. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

8. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Enrollment

14,629

9. Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, OH • Private

In-state tuition

$11,105

Enrollment

13,729

10. Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$39,216

Enrollment

1,303

20 best online courses for administrative support clerks

Advertising disclosure

1. Support Vector Machine Classification in Python

coursera

In this 1-hour long guided project-based course, you will learn how to use Python to implement a Support Vector Machine algorithm for classification. This type of algorithm classifies output data and makes predictions. The output of this model is a set of visualized scattered plots separated with a straight line. You will learn the fundamental theory and practical illustrations behind Support Vector Machines and learn to fit, examine, and utilize supervised Classification models using SVM to...

2. Introduction to Technical Support

coursera

Technical Support professionals are in great demand! This is the first course in the IBM IT Support Professional Certificate program, designed to prepare you for a rewarding career in technical support. You will begin this self-paced course by learning what Informational Technology (IT) support is all about. You'll find out the roles and responsibilities of Technical Support professionals and become familiar with all the different career paths you can take in Technical Support. You will also...

3. Effective Legal Office Administration

udemy
4.5
(1,067)

Effective Legal Office Administration...

4. Microsoft Office 365 Administration

udemy
4.5
(2,676)

Microsoft Office 365 Administration...

5. Medical Diagnosis using Support Vector Machines

coursera

In this one hour long project-based course, you will learn the basics of support vector machines using Python and scikit-learn. The dataset we are going to use comes from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and contains anonymized diagnostic measurements for a set of female patients. We will train a support vector machine to predict whether a new patient has diabetes based on such measurements. By the end of this course, you will be able to model an existing...

6. Support for Visual Processing with Microsoft Word

coursera

By the end of this project, you will have created multiple tools to assist students in your classroom who need support for visual processing. Whether they would benefit from reading trackers or organizational supports for their work, you will become confident at how to support their needs in order to encourage their success in the classroom...

7. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives

udemy
4.5
(941)

Learn Customer Service Skills & Provide Excellent Customer Support, Customer Experience & How To Manage Upset Customers...

8. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

udemy
4.6
(2,666)

Customer service, customer support, and customer experience training. Loyal clients through world-class customer service...

9. Desktop IT Support Level 1 & 2 in real life (Troubleshooting

udemy
4.2
(1,443)

Learn everything in real life Troubleshooting for IT Help Desk , Helpdesk , IT Support , System Administration and IT...

10. Professional Diploma in Office Administration Management

udemy
4.2
(632)

Principles of work of Office Administrator. Required hard and soft skills. Introduction to MS Office and banking area...

11. Practical Office 365 Administration

udemy
4.2
(291)

Learn in depth about Office 365 for Administrators and also find useful tips and resources to enhance your role as an Of...

12. IT Support Technical Skills Bootcamp

udemy
4.5
(1,653)

Hands-on Technical skills for IT Support Professionals...

13. Essential Tools for Windows System Administrators

udemy
4.2
(325)

[Windows] [System Administration] Learn Windows Builtin Tools & Open Source Tools for Efficient System Administration...

14. IT Support Technical Skills Helpdesk

udemy
4.7
(1,561)

Hands-on Technical skills for IT Support Learners...

15. Training for Zendesk Administrators

udemy
4.4
(444)

Learn how to set up and configure Zendesk Support Professional Edition...

16. IT & Technical Support Guide to Helpdesk, Desktop & Servers

udemy
4.2
(1,138)

Learn how the different levels of IT technical support work, from service desk to infrastructure and server support...

17. IT service operations and Service Desk management

udemy
4.4
(2,841)

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

18. Support Vector Machines in Python: SVM Concepts & Code

udemy
4.6
(497)

Learn Support Vector Machines in Python. Covers basic SVM models to Kernel-based advanced SVM models of Machine Learning...

19. IT Support and Service Desk jobs -Crash Course for Beginners

udemy
4.6
(787)

Let me help you land your first job in IT. Learn about different roles, procedures, tools, and applications - Part 1...

20. Computer Network Fundamentals- IT Helpdesk & Desktop Support

udemy
4
(409)

Learn the basic fundamentals of computer networking & OSI model for desktop support and IT service desk technicians...

Top 10 most affordable universities for administrative support clerks

The most affordable schools for administrative support clerks are Baruch College of the City University of New York, california state university - bakersfield, and suny farmingdale.

If the best universities for administrative support clerks 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 administrative support clerks.

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. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

6. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

7. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

8. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

9. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

10. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for administrative support clerks

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

Some great schools for administrative support clerks 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 administrative support clerks 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. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

7. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

8. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

9. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

10. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for administrative support clerks

The easiest schools for administrative support clerks 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 administrative support clerk 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 administrative support clerks.

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. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

5. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

6. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

7. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

8. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

10. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

Average administrative support clerk salary by education level

According to our data, administrative support clerks with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $37,107 annually. Administrative support clerks with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $36,499.
Administrative support clerk education levelAdministrative support clerk salary
Master's Degree$37,107
High School Diploma or Less$34,795
Bachelor's Degree$36,499
Some College/ Associate Degree$35,479

Administrative support clerk education FAQs

Search for administrative support clerk jobs

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.

Browse office and administrative jobs