Contract administrator/contract specialist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a contract administrator/contract specialist. Contract administrator/contract specialists usually study business, law, or accounting. 60% of contract administrator/contract specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 18% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 725 real contract administrator/contract specialist resumes to see exactly what contract administrator/contract specialist education sections show.

The most common colleges for contract administrator/contract specialists are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online contract administrator/contract specialist courses to help get the education required to be a contract administrator/contract specialist.

There are certain contract administrator/contract specialist certifications that you should consider. These contract administrator/contract specialist certifications include Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM) and Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM).

What education do you need to become a contract administrator/contract specialist?

What degree do you need to be a contract administrator/contract specialist?

The most common degree for contract administrator/contract specialists is bachelor's degree, with 60% of contract administrator/contract specialists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 18% and associate degree degree at 10%.

Bachelor's, 60%

Associate, 18%

Master's, 10%

Doctorate, 5%

Other Degrees, 7%

What should I major in to become a contract administrator/contract specialist?

You should major in business to become a contract administrator/contract specialist. 43% of contract administrator/contract specialists major in business. Other common majors for a contract administrator/contract specialist include law and accounting.

Business, 43%

Law, 6%

Accounting, 6%

Management, 6%

Other Majors, 39%

Most common colleges for contract administrator/contract specialists

Contract administrator/contract specialists often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, University of Maryland - College Park, and Strayer University. Here are the most common colleges for contract administrator/contract specialists in the US based on their resumes.

Contract administrator/contract specialist common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	13.64%
University of Maryland - College Park	9.09%
Strayer University	6.82%
Duquesne University	5.68%
Georgia State University	5.68%

Show more common contract administrator/contract specialist colleges

Best majors for contract administrator/contract specialists

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	42.5%
2	Law	5.9%
3	Accounting	5.9%
4	Management	5.6%
5	Communication	4.5%

Show more common contract administrator/contract specialist majors

Best colleges for contract administrator/contract specialists

The best colleges for contract administrator/contract specialists are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

A contract administrator/contract 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 contract administrator/contract 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 contract administrator/contract specialists.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

3. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

5. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

6. SUNY College at Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,369

Enrollment

5,229

7. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

8. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$45,542

Enrollment

14,159

9. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,570

Enrollment

3,721

10. Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,853

Enrollment

14,759

20 best online courses for contract administrator/contract specialists

Advertising disclosure

1. American Contract Law II

Course description: Contracts I & II provides a comprehensive overview of contract law in the United States. The course covers most of the key concepts found in a first year law school class. Each lecture is based on one or more common-law cases, integrating legal doctrines with policy discussions. The course also covers key sections from the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which governs the sale of goods. By the end of the course, the learner should be able to understand: Formation defenses:...

2. Contracts Management in Construction Projects

4.3

(730)

Contracts Management, Contract Administration, FIDIC, Bank Guarantees, Contracts, Letter Drafting, Quantity Surveying...

3. Learning Business Contracts for Beginners

4.5

(2,448)

An Introductory Guide to Drafting Winning Contracts, Negotiating Well, and Getting What You Want...

4. Introduction to Contract Management

4.4

(1,511)

Understand what is involved in the contract management process and put this knowledge to work with confidence...

5. Learn Federal Government Contracting From An Expert

(443)

A comprehensive guide to Register, Search Opportunities, GSA, Certifications, Accounting, Marketing& Bidding to the feds...

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

4.4

(960)

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

7. Blockchain For Finance: Using Blockchain & Smart Contracts

4.3

(647)

Emerging Blockchain & Smart Contract Applications Are Impacting The Financial Industry Today! Get Smart on Blockchain...

8. Complete Contract Management Bootcamp: Zero to Hero

4.4

(1,217)

Learn essential post-contract management principles and practices, and gain access to over 30 free MS tools...

9. Wholesale Real Estate Contracts: Flip Houses Risk Free

4.5

(743)

Download A Full Package Of Strategically Developed Real Estate Contracts And Learn How To Leverage Them In Your Business...

10. Microservices Contract Testing with Pact

4.2

(750)

This Course explains Why/How to write contract tests for Testing Microservices using Pact Testing tool on Live Projects...

11. Law of Contracts in 60 Minutes: A Fast Track Course

(619)

A 60 minute fast track summary of the Law of Contracts, targeting all common law LL.B examinations!...

12. Contracts, Delays and Claims with Primavera P6

4.6

(737)

Learn all about Contracts, Delays & Claims along with practical Delay Analysis using Primavera P6 software...

13. Create NFTs, Tokens and DAOs - Smart Contracts Masterclass

4.4

(645)

Create NFT collections with pre-reveal/reveal, deploy token/cryptocurrency & DAOs, with NO coding experience needed!...

14. The Complete Solidity Course - Blockchain - Zero to Expert

4.4

(2,049)

Master Solidity and Smart Contracts - Blockchain Development: 2022 - Programming & Ethereum - Code Along - DApplications...

15. Solidity & Ethereum with React/Next - Complete Guide (2023)

4.5

(650)

Build Smart Contracts in Solidity and Web3 DApps with React/Next. Understand Ethereum, Polygon, Hardhat and Ganache...

16. English for Business and Law - Contract Law

4.5

(552)

An English language course for business and law...

17. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service

4.5

(3,822)

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

18. The Art of Negotiation - Become a Master Negotiator

4.6

(1,507)

Negotiation Tactics. Negotiation Skills. Salary Negotiation. How to Negotiate. Contract Negotiation. Price Negotiation...

19. Complete DApp - Solidity & React - Blockchain Development

4.4

(1,399)

Master DApp Development - Smart Contracts - Solidity, Web3, React, Mocha, Ethereum Blockchain Programming for Front-end...

20. [2023] Negotiating: Become a Better Negotiator in 70 Minutes

4.4

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

7. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

8. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

9. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

10. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for contract administrator/contract specialists

The hardest universities for contract administrator/contract specialists to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for contract administrator/contract 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 contract administrator/contract 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. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

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. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

5. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

7. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

8. Fordham University

Bronx, NY • Private

Admissions rate

46%

SAT average

1,354

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

10. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

Average contract administrator/contract specialist salary by education level

Contract administrator/contract specialists with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $70,989 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, contract administrator/contract specialists earn a median annual income of $61,205 compared to $49,259 for contract administrator/contract specialists with an High School Diploma degree.

Contract administrator/contract specialist education level	Contract administrator/contract specialist salary
Master's Degree	$70,989
High School Diploma or Less	$49,259
Bachelor's Degree	$61,205
Some College/ Associate Degree	$47,488

Contract administrator/contract specialist education FAQs

What is the best college for Contract Administrator/Contract Specialists?

Have more questions? See all answers to common business and financial questions.

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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.

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