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Critical care unit manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a critical care unit manager. Critical care unit managers usually study nursing, business, or medical technician. 47% of critical care unit managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 33% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 152 real critical care unit manager resumes to see exactly what critical care unit manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for critical care unit managers are the Wright State University and the Wright State University.

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

What education do you need to become a critical care unit manager?

What degree do you need to be a critical care unit manager?

The most common degree for critical care unit managers is bachelor's degree, with 47% of critical care unit managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 33% and associate degree degree at 17%.
  • Bachelor's, 47%
  • Associate, 33%
  • Master's, 17%
  • Diploma, 3%
  • Other Degrees, 0%

What should I major in to become a critical care unit manager?

You should major in nursing to become a critical care unit manager. 64% of critical care unit managers major in nursing. Other common majors for a critical care unit manager include business and medical technician.

Most common colleges for critical care unit managers

Critical care unit managers often get their degrees at Wright State University, Kean University, and University of Arizona. Here are the most common colleges for critical care unit managers in the US based on their resumes.
Critical care unit manager common collegePercentages
Wright State University8.57%
Kean University8.57%
University of Arizona5.71%
Purdue University5.71%
William Paterson University of New Jersey5.71%

Best majors for critical care unit managers

RankMajorPercentages
1Nursing63.7%
2Business8.9%
3Medical Technician3.4%
4Social Work3.4%
5Management2.7%

Best colleges for critical care unit managers

The best colleges for critical care unit managers are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

A critical care unit 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 critical care unit 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 critical care unit managers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

4. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

5. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

6. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

7. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

8. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

20 best online courses for critical care unit managers

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1. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

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COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...

2. Trauma Emergencies and Care

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Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

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Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

4. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

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

5. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course

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The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...

6. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care

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In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...

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Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...

8. The Key to Happiness: Self Care

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Discover Self Care as a tool for creating positive change in your mental health, behaviours, and well-being...

9. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

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Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...

10. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

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This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

11. Self-Care Life Coach Certification (Boundary Setting)

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Empower Your Life Coach Your Clients to Develop Self-Care, Self-Love, Boundary Setting and How to Say No...

12. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities

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A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...

13. The Critical Role of IT Support Staff in Healthcare

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This is a very exciting time to be exploring a career in Health IT Support! In this introductory course, you’ll learn about various roles in IT support that are common in healthcare. IT support staff play critical roles in many different healthcare venues. In addition to helping clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms, you may end up providing support in a skilled nursing facility, ambulatory surgical center, virtual care setting, or even a patient’s home! On any given day, you may interact...

14. Thinking About Care

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Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will...

15. Health for All Through Primary Health Care

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This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...

16. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

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Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

17. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations

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18. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

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Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...

19. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

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20. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers

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This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...

Top 10 most affordable universities for critical care unit managers

The most affordable schools for critical care unit managers are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and california state university - dominguez hills.

If the best universities for critical care unit 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 critical care unit 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. 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 International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

6. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

7. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

8. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

9. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

10. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for critical care unit managers

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

Some great schools for critical care unit 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 critical care unit 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. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

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. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

10. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for critical care unit managers

The easiest schools for critical care unit managers to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, d'youville college, and holy names university.

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

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

3. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

4. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

5. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

6. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

7. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

8. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

9. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

10. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

Average critical care unit manager salary by education level

According to our data, critical care unit managers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $126,130 annually. Critical care unit managers with a Doctorate degree earn an average annual salary of $110,528.
Critical care unit manager education levelCritical care unit manager salary
Master's Degree$126,130
Bachelor's Degree$103,101
Doctorate Degree$110,528
Some College/ Associate Degree$79,697

Critical care unit manager education FAQs

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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.

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