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Business analyst/quality analyst education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a business analyst/quality analyst. Business analysts/quality analysts usually study business, computer science, or electrical engineering. 65% of business analysts/quality analysts hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 2,122 real business analyst/quality analyst resumes to see exactly what business analyst/quality analyst education sections show.
The most common colleges for business analysts/quality analysts are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online business analyst/quality analyst courses to help get the education required to be a business analyst/quality analyst.
There are certain business analyst/quality analyst certifications that you should consider. These business analyst/quality analyst certifications include Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) and ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL).
What education do you need to become a business analyst/quality analyst?
What degree do you need to be a business analyst/quality analyst?
- Bachelor's, 65%
- Master's, 24%
- Associate, 6%
- Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 3%
What should I major in to become a business analyst/quality analyst?
- Business, 23%
- Computer Science, 15%
- Other Majors, 48%
Most common colleges for business analysts/quality analysts
| Business analyst/quality analyst common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 13.10% |
| New York University | 7.59% |
| DeVry University | 6.90% |
| University of Virginia | 6.21% |
| University of Houston | 5.52% |
Best majors for business analysts/quality analysts
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 23.4% |
| 2 | Computer Science | 15.5% |
| 3 | Electrical Engineering | 6.6% |
| 4 | Computer Information Systems | 6.5% |
| 5 | Information Technology | 6.5% |
Best colleges for business analysts/quality analysts
The best colleges for business analysts/quality analysts are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
A business analyst/quality analyst with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for business analysts/quality analysts. 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 business analysts/quality analysts.
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 business analysts/quality analysts
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3. Data Analyst
Use Python, SQL and Statistics to advance your programming skills and refine your ability to work with messy, complex datasets...
4. Programming for Data Science with R
Prepare for a data science career by learning the fundamental data programming tools: R, SQL, command line, and git...
5. Tableau Business Intelligence Analyst
Whether you are just starting out or looking for a career change, the Tableau Business Intelligence Analytics Professional Certificate will prepare you for entry-level roles that require fundamental Tableau skills, such as business intelligence analyst roles. If you are detail-oriented and have an interest in looking for trends in data, this program is for you. Through hands-on, real-world scenarios, you learn how to use the Tableau platform to evaluate data to generate and present actionable...
6. The Complete Salesforce Certified Business Analyst Course
Salesforce Business Analyst Certification Exam - Earn Salesforce's Newest Certification and Learn Business Analysis...
7. Business Analyst: Software Testing Processes & Techniques
Reduce project bugs with repeatable testing processes. Learn to create test cases, scenarios, track defects, & more!...
8. Data Science Immersive (Full-time)
Harness the power of data science to solve the world’s most challenging problems by developing your skills in predictive modeling, pattern recognition, data visualization, wrangling massive data sets, forecasting trends, and informing strategy across diverse industries like public policy, robotics, and FinTech...
9. Data Analytics (Part Time)
Harness Excel, SQL, and Tableau to drive powerful analysis and insights. Build confidence and credibility to apply this versatile skill set to countless jobs. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
10. Intro to Machine Learning with PyTorch
Learn foundational machine learning techniques -- from data manipulation to unsupervised and supervised algorithms...
11. Full Stack Web Developer
Design and develop modern web applications.Students will also learn how to deploy a Flask-based web application to the cloud using Docker and Kubernetes...
12. The Business Intelligence Analyst Course 2023
The skills you need to become a BI Analyst - Statistics, Database theory, SQL, Tableau – Everything is included...
13. IQBBA Certified Foundation Level Business Analyst (CFLBA)
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Create robust predictive models with statistics and Python programming. Build confidence and credibility to tackle complex machine learning problems on the job. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
15. Python Programming (Part Time)
Gain fluency in Python — the world's fastest-growing major programming language — and start leveraging its versatile capabilities to build web and data science applications. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
16. Data Structures and Algorithms
Get hands-on practice with over 80 data structures and algorithm exercises and guidance from a dedicated mentor to help prepare you for interviews and on-the-job scenarios...
17. Data Visualization
You will start by building data visualizations and dashboards, considering your audiences to be as effective as possible. Then, you’ll move into drafting presentations using storytelling techniques, visualizations, and animations to provide data-driven recommendations...
18. Business Analyst: Project Management Techniques and Tools
Learn project management techniques to increase your project success rate as a Business Analyst!...
19. Become A Business Analyst
Foundation course in Business Analysis core concepts, tools and key modelling techniques essential in the work place...
20. Intro to Data Analytics
Discover if data is a career fit for you Regardless of your industry or role, fluency in the language of data analytics will allow you to contribute to data driven decision making. In this free, two-hour livestream, you’ll learn to understand, analyze, and interpret data so you too can join the data conversation. We’ll cover how to ask the right questions of your data and basic analytic functionality. Then you’ll apply your new found data analytic skills to a real-world dataset, allowing you...
Top 10 most affordable universities for business analysts/quality analysts
The most affordable schools for business analysts/quality analysts are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for business analysts/quality analysts 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 business analysts/quality analysts.
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 business analysts/quality analysts
The hardest universities for business analysts/quality analysts to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for business analysts/quality analysts 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 business analysts/quality analysts 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. 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 business analysts/quality analysts
The easiest schools for business analysts/quality analysts 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 business analyst/quality analyst 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 business analysts/quality analysts.
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 business analyst/quality analyst salary by education level
| Business analyst/quality analyst education level | Business analyst/quality analyst salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $82,996 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $76,397 |
| Doctorate Degree | $82,413 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $68,370 |
Business analyst/quality analyst education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025