Advertising account manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an advertising account manager. Advertising account managers usually study business, marketing, or communication. 81% of advertising account managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 10% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,234 real advertising account manager resumes to see exactly what advertising account manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for advertising account managers are the University of Washington and the University of Washington.

There are also many online advertising account manager courses to help get the education required to be an advertising account manager.

There are certain advertising account manager certifications that you should consider. These advertising account manager certifications include Certified Sales Professional (CSP) and Professional Certified Marketer (PCM).

What education do you need to become an advertising account manager?

What degree do you need to be an advertising account manager?

The most common degree for advertising account managers is bachelor's degree, with 81% of advertising account managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 10% and associate degree degree at 5%.

Bachelor's, 81%

Associate, 10%

Master's, 5%

High School Diploma, 2%

Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become an advertising account manager?

You should major in business to become an advertising account manager. 22% of advertising account managers major in business. Other common majors for an advertising account manager include marketing and communication.

Business, 22%

Marketing, 16%

Communication, 15%

English, 6%

Other Majors, 41%

Most common colleges for advertising account managers

Advertising account managers often get their degrees at University of Washington, Purdue University, and University of Maryland - College Park. Here are the most common colleges for advertising account managers in the US based on their resumes.

Advertising account manager common college	Percentages
University of Washington	7.41%
Purdue University	7.41%
University of Maryland - College Park	6.67%
Pennsylvania State University	6.67%
University of Iowa	5.93%

Show more common advertising account manager colleges

Best majors for advertising account managers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	21.9%
2	Marketing	15.7%
3	Communication	14.9%
4	English	5.9%
5	Advertising	5.2%

Show more common advertising account manager majors

Best colleges for advertising account managers

The best colleges for advertising account managers are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and University of Southern California.

An advertising account manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for advertising account managers. 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 advertising account managers.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

5. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

6. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

7. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

8. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,530

Enrollment

4,571

9. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

10. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$15,094

Enrollment

32,974

20 best online courses for advertising account managers

Advertising disclosure

1. Customer Service: How to sell more without advertising

4.5

(1,122)

Learn how to create a customer experience that earns you customer loyalty and creates word of mouth advertising...

2. KAM - Key Account Management - made simple

4.4

(360)

How to master KAM - Key Account Management process...

3. Financial Accounting & Excel-Comprehensive Accounting Course

4.3

(736)

Comprehensive accounting course to learn the accounting cycle in a practical way and pick up critical Excel fundamentals...

4. Become a Master of Client and Account Management

4.2

(1,124)

Learn how to effectively manage, retain and grow clients...

5. Managerial Accounting & Bookkeeping (Cost Accounting)

4.6

(297)

Management Accounting & Bookkeeping Basics. Accounting & Bookkeeping Concepts. Learn Accounting & Bookkeeping...

6. Sales and Marketing For Online Businesses

(1,581)

A Beginners Guide To Sales & Marketing For Your Online Business And Ventures...

7. Account Based Marketing (ABM) 2023 - B2B Marketing Strategy

4.4

(1,541)

ABM is upcoming new Marketing Strategy instead of lead generation used by both B2B Sales & Marketing teams...

8. Cost Accounting: Introduction to Management Accounting

4.6

(1,071)

Learn Cost Accounting for Management. Includes Process Costing, ABC Systems, Variance Analysis, Cash Budgets and more...

9. CRM: Customer Relationship Management

4.4

(1,546)

Practical Ideas To Generate Sales, Loyalty And Repeat Business Fast...

10. Meta Advertising for Beginners: Facebook Ads & Instagram Ads

4.6

(458)

Set Up Facebook Business Page & Meta Business Manager. Use Meta Business Suite. Launch Traffic & Lead Generation Ads...

11. Professional Diploma in CRM Platforms Management

4.2

(420)

CRM Platforms at Sales, Service, Marketing and Business Management (Siebel, Dynamics CRM/365, Salesforce, SAP CRM)...

12. Facebook Ads Copywriting & Facebook Ads for Real Estate 2023

4.5

(510)

Learn Facebook Ads Copywriting & Facebook Ads for Real Estate Fast & Fun! Enjoy Quizzes, Animations & Screen Recordings!...

13. Bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online (Bookkeeping & accounting)

4.6

(2,599)

Bookkeeping & Accounting with Quick Books Online. Bookkeeping & Accounting is Easy. Bookkeeping & Quick Books software...

14. Meta Ads for Beginners: Pixel, Catalog Sales & Facebook Shop

4.6

(808)

Unleash the Power Of Catalog Sales: Learn Meta Ads, Business Manager, Pixel, CAPI, Commerce Manager & Facebook Shopping...

15. Google Ads 2023: How to Drive Sales With PPC!

4.4

(316)

Get started with Google Ads and launch effective PPC advertising campaigns to reach new customers and grow your business...

16. Start Improving Customer Service

4.8

(2,040)

Creating a Customer Service advantage in Your department or business through communication and Customer Management...

17. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives

4.5

(941)

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

18. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

4.6

(2,666)

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

19. Account Management for Beginners

4.5

(5,235)

Practice Partner Relationship Management and Communication Strategies with Real World Scenarios...

20. Digital Advertising and Marketing 201: Top Topics & Trends

4.4

(1,362)

Advanced Digital Marketing Course Header Bidding, Fraud/Viewability, Big Data, Programmatic, Mobile Advertising & more...

Top 10 most affordable universities for advertising account managers

The most affordable schools for advertising account managers are University of Florida, suny farmingdale, and california state university - dominguez hills.

If the best universities for advertising account managers 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 advertising account managers.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

6. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

7. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

8. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

9. University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,368

Cost of attendance

21,034

10. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Cost of attendance

22,990

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for advertising account managers

The hardest universities for advertising account managers to get into are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and University of Southern California.

Some great schools for advertising account managers 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 advertising account managers 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

SAT average

1,508

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

6. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

7. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

8. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

9. Tulane University

New Orleans, LA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,428

10. Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

51%

SAT average

1,395

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for advertising account managers

The easiest schools for advertising account managers to get into are Barry University, oklahoma wesleyan university, and notre dame college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an advertising account manager 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 advertising account managers.

1. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

3. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

4. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

5. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

6. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

7. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

8. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

9. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

10. William Paterson University of New Jersey

Wayne, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

994

Average advertising account manager salary by education level

According to our data, advertising account managers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $84,542 annually. Advertising account managers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $81,999.

Advertising account manager education level	Advertising account manager salary
Master's Degree	$84,542
Bachelor's Degree	$81,999

Advertising account manager education FAQs

What is the best college for Advertising Account Managers?

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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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