Branch manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a branch manager. Branch managers usually study business, finance, or marketing. 65% of branch managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 16% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 79,904 real branch manager resumes to see exactly what branch manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for branch managers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online branch manager courses to help get the education required to be a branch manager.

There are certain branch manager certifications that you should consider. These branch manager certifications include Certified Sales Professional (CSP) and Certified Professional, Life and Health Insurance Program (CPLHI).

What education do you need to become a branch manager?

What degree do you need to be a branch manager?

The most common degree for branch managers is bachelor's degree, with 65% of branch managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 16% and associate degree degree at 8%.

Bachelor's, 65%

Associate, 16%

High School Diploma, 8%

Master's, 7%

Other Degrees, 4%

What should I major in to become a branch manager?

You should major in business to become a branch manager. 41% of branch managers major in business. Other common majors for a branch manager include finance and marketing.

Business, 41%

Finance, 8%

Marketing, 6%

Accounting, 5%

Other Majors, 40%

Most common colleges for branch managers

Branch managers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Pennsylvania State University, and Western Washington University. Here are the most common colleges for branch managers in the US based on their resumes.

Branch manager common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	23.93%
Pennsylvania State University	5.58%
Western Washington University	5.21%
Purdue University	4.84%
University of Wisconsin Colleges	4.76%

Show more common branch manager colleges

Best majors for branch managers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	41.5%
2	Finance	7.7%
3	Marketing	6.0%
4	Accounting	5.5%
5	Management	5.1%

Show more common branch manager majors

Best colleges for branch managers

The best colleges for branch managers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A branch 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 branch 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 branch managers.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

4. Maine Maritime Academy

Castine, ME • Private

In-state tuition

$13,478

Enrollment

979

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

6. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

7. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

8. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

9. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

10. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

20 best online courses for branch managers

Advertising disclosure

1. Supply Chain Management A-Z: Operations & Logistics Basics

4.5

(2,394)

Supply Chain Management Basics: An MBA style course to boost your career as a business operations & logistics manager...

2. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service

4.5

(3,822)

Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...

3. Business Communication Skills: Handling Clients & Customers

4.4

(1,161)

Soft Skills Training Social Skills Business Etiquette Business English Customer Service Training...

4. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

4.7

(18,204)

Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

5. 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...

6. Customer Service

4.6

(11,267)

How to Approach New Customers and Maintain Existing Ones...

7. 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...

8. Payroll Management

4.5

(338)

Use free UK payroll software to perform essential payroll management...

9. Customer Service Training: Dealing with Difficult Customers

4.5

(1,035)

Learn how to deal with difficult customers Master customer relationship management Gain conflict management skills...

10. Certification Course in Human Resource Management

4.3

(1,337)

Curriculum commensurate to Top B School's Management Program : with downloadable resources, quiz, assessments & exercise...

11. HR,HR Analytics, Human Resource Management, Black Friday Ed

4.6

(1,691)

HR Analytics ,HR Courses, human resource management, ,HR certification, HRM, hr payroll, people management, 2022...

12. Financial Statement Analysis

4.7

(255)

Learn how to make understanding financial statements your superpower!...

13. Customer Experience Management (CX): MASTERCLASS 2023

4.3

(3,732)

#1 Customer Experience Management Course. Discover The Art Of A Client-Centric Culture. Customer Journey. B2B. B2C...

14. Customer Service: 6 Keys To Exceptional Customer Service

4.6

(601)

Master Customer Satisfaction & Astonish Your Customers With A+ Customer Service...

15. Master Course in Human Resources 2.0

4.3

(312)

Strategic human resource management, strategic planning, recruiting, training, HR management,Labour welfare...

16. Ultimate Payroll Management with Income Tax & Year-End 23-24

4.2

(351)

Basic to Advanced: Certification in Payroll, Compensation Benefits, Income Tax,Year Ending for Payroll & Human Resources...

17. Online Reputation Management: Negative Business Reviews

4.4

(1,296)

Techniques to help you solve negative reviews and earn better reviews; increase sales and gain more happy customers!...

18. SAP Customer Service (CS/SM) - Service Management module

4.4

(960)

Real World SAP CS and SD, Repair Orders, Service Orders, Service Contracts...

19. Ultimate HR Generalist and Human Resource Management Course

4.3

(1,866)

Hands-on HR Certification: All HRM topics. Master Employee Life Cycle, Payroll, Recruitment, Engagement, EXDesign and AI...

20. Customer Service Success: Take Your Skills to the Next Level

4.5

(2,276)

3-in-1 Customer Service Training: Levels 1, 2, 3 Improve Your Soft Communication Skills, Customer Support & Experience...

Top 10 most affordable universities for branch managers

The most affordable schools for branch managers are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and baruch college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for branch 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 branch managers.

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. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

6. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

7. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

8. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

9. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Cost of attendance

22,990

10. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for branch managers

The hardest universities for branch managers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for branch 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 branch 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. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

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. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

8. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

9. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

10. Brandeis University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

31%

SAT average

1,398

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for branch managers

The easiest schools for branch managers to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, notre dame de namur university, and holy names university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a branch 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 branch managers.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

3. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

4. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

5. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

6. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

7. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

8. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

9. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

10. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

Average branch manager salary by education level

According to our data, branch managers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $73,878 annually. Branch managers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $70,425.

Branch manager education level	Branch manager salary
Master's Degree	$70,425
High School Diploma or Less	$50,240
Bachelor's Degree	$61,802
Doctorate Degree	$73,878
Some College/ Associate Degree	$50,234

Branch manager education FAQs

What is the best college for Branch Managers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.

Search for branch manager 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

Browse executive management jobs