Database manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a database manager. Database managers usually study business, computer science, or computer information systems. 68% of database managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 13% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 4,005 real database manager resumes to see exactly what database manager education sections show.

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

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

There are certain database manager certifications that you should consider. These database manager certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Manager Certification (CM).

What education do you need to become a database manager?

What degree do you need to be a database manager?

The most common degree for database managers is bachelor's degree, with 68% of database managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 13% and master's degree degree at 12%.

Bachelor's, 68%

Master's, 13%

Associate, 12%

High School Diploma, 2%

Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a database manager?

You should major in business to become a database manager. 22% of database managers major in business. Other common majors for a database manager include computer science and computer information systems.

Business, 22%

Computer Science, 15%

Computer Information Systems, 8%

Psychology, 5%

Other Majors, 50%

Most common colleges for database managers

Database managers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, University of Maryland - College Park, and New York University. Here are the most common colleges for database managers in the US based on their resumes.

Database manager common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	11.76%
University of Maryland - College Park	8.98%
New York University	6.81%
DeVry University	5.88%
University of Massachusetts Boston	5.26%

Show more common database manager colleges

Best majors for database managers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	21.9%
2	Computer Science	14.9%
3	Computer Information Systems	7.7%
4	Psychology	4.7%
5	Accounting	4.4%

Show more common database manager majors

Best colleges for database managers

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

A database 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 database 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 database 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. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

6. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

7. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

10. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,530

Enrollment

4,571

20 best online courses for database managers

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3. Fundamentals of Data Analysis for Big Data

4.5

(270)

This course prepares participants to begin running data analysis on databases...

4. Data Warehouse ETL Testing & Data Quality Management A-Z

4.4

(2,977)

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5. Data Management with Databricks: Big Data with Delta Lakes

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6. Statistics / Data Analysis: Survey Data and Likert Scales

4.6

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How to Process Survey Data and Analyze Likert Scales In SPSS...

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Master SQL using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (Updated for 2023)...

13. Complete Data Wrangling & Data Visualisation With Python

4.4

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Learn to Preprocess, Wrangle and Visualise Data For Practical Data Science Applications in Python...

14. SQL Server Analysis Services - SSAS, Data Mining & Analytics

4.1

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Develop SSAS cubes from data warehouse on Multidimensional & Tabular modes with Dimensional & Data Mining Models...

15. Practical SQL Bootcamp for Data Analysts and Data Scientists

4.6

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16. SQL Masterclass for Data Analysis with BigData

4.4

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17. Data Analyst - ETL/SSIS/SQL/PowerBI

4.2

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Learn to extract ,transform, and analyse data...

18. Statistics / Data Analysis in SPSS: Inferential Statistics

4.7

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Increase Your Data Analytic Skills – Highly Valued And Sought After By Employers...

19. SQL - Master Class For Data Analysis

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Writing SQL Server queries for Data Analysis...

20. The Data Science Course: Complete Data Science Bootcamp 2023

4.6

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Complete Data Science Training: Mathematics, Statistics, Python, Advanced Statistics in Python, Machine & Deep Learning...

Top 10 most affordable universities for database managers

The most affordable schools for database managers are California State University - Bakersfield, suny farmingdale, and brooklyn college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for database 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 database managers.

1. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

7. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

8. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

9. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

10. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for database managers

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

Some great schools for database 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 database 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. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

7. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

8. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,415

9. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

10. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

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

The easiest schools for database managers to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, barry university, and nyack college.

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

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

3. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

4. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

5. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

6. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

7. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

8. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

9. Iona College

New Rochelle, NY • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,089

10. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

Average database manager salary by education level

Database managers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $118,431 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, database managers earn a median annual income of $110,096 compared to $94,873 for database managers with an Associate degree.

Database manager education level	Database manager salary
Master's Degree	$118,431
Bachelor's Degree	$110,096
Some College/ Associate Degree	$94,873

Database manager education FAQs

What is the best college for Database 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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