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Digital consultant education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a digital consultant. Digital consultants usually study business, marketing, or communication. 67% of digital consultants hold a bachelor's degree, and 18% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 586 real digital consultant resumes to see exactly what digital consultant education sections show.

The most common colleges for digital consultants are the School of Visual Arts and the School of Visual Arts.

There are also many online digital consultant courses to help get the education required to be a digital consultant.

There are certain digital consultant certifications that you should consider. These digital consultant certifications include Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate and Certified Blockchain & Digital Marketing Professional.

What education do you need to become a digital consultant?

What degree do you need to be a digital consultant?

The most common degree for digital consultants is bachelor's degree, with 67% of digital consultants earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 18% and master's degree degree at 10%.
  • Bachelor's, 67%
  • Master's, 18%
  • Associate, 10%
  • High School Diploma, 2%
  • Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a digital consultant?

You should major in business to become a digital consultant. 14% of digital consultants major in business. Other common majors for a digital consultant include marketing and communication.

Most common colleges for digital consultants

Digital consultants often get their degrees at School of Visual Arts, New York University, and University of California - Davis. Here are the most common colleges for digital consultants in the US based on their resumes.
Digital consultant common collegePercentages
School of Visual Arts8.33%
New York University6.94%
University of California - Davis6.94%
Clemson University6.94%
San Jose State University5.56%

Best majors for digital consultants

RankMajorPercentages
1Business13.9%
2Marketing11.0%
3Communication11.0%
4English6.6%
5Photography6.2%

Best colleges for digital consultants

The best colleges for digital consultants are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University.

A digital consultant with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for digital consultants. 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 digital consultants.

1. University of Georgia

Athens, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,830

Enrollment

29,474

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-state tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

5. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

6. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

7. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

8. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

9. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

10. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

20 best online courses for digital consultants

Advertising disclosure

1. Data Analysis Immersive (Full-time)

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Learn to problem solve, and effectively communicate, like an analyst. This course teaches you to use industry-standard tools to make ethical, data-driven decisions. Experience hands-on training to master SQL, Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, and Python – tools listed in virtually every data analytics job posting across industries...

2. Data Analytics (Part Time)

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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...

3. Data Analyst

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Use Python, SQL and Statistics to advance your programming skills and refine your ability to work with messy, complex datasets...

4. Marketing Analytics

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Gain an in-depth understanding of Google Analytics and marketing analytics. Analyze data and build models with Excel, Data Studio, and create informative data visualizations with Tableau...

5. Digital Business Strategy

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Develop your ability to design and implement strategies that will help your company prosper in the digital age. In this course, developed by the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Professor Mike Lenox will help you understand the critical function of strategic thinking in the digital age, the role of data and analytics in creating value, the challenge of establishing a dominant platform, the impact of digital technologies on competition, and the importance of appropriating...

6. Online Business Masterclass: Sell Your Own Digital Products

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4.5
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Create, Launch & Market an Online Business w/ Digital Products: Online Courses, Coaching, e Books Passive Income Course...

7. Building a Digital Business Strategy

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4.4
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Learn to develop and align digital business strategies for products, marketing and operations...

8. Digital Marketing (Part Time)

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Build confidence and capability to apply modern marketing strategies on the job. Drive growth with multichannel campaigns powered by data and customer insight. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

9. Intro to Data Analytics

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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...

10. Data Structures and Algorithms

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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...

11. Data Visualization

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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...

12. Best of Digital Marketing: #1 Digital Marketing Course 2023

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Best of SEO, Digital Marketing & Social Media 2023: Ultimate Pro Edition. Be a Digital Marketing Consultant. Have Fun...

13. Professional Diploma in Digital Products Management

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4.3
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Program with business cases (Fintech, Retail Banking, Digital Business) & Interactive part...

14. Digital Marketing

udacity

Gain real-world experience running live campaigns as you learn from top experts in the field. Launch your career with a 360-degree understanding of digital marketing...

15. Intro to Data Analysis

udacity

Start your data science journey right with this hands-on introduction to the discipline of data analysis. In this course you'll learn the 5 key stages of the data analysis process and apply them to real data sets using Python libraries NumPy, pandas, and Matplotlib...

16. Digital Marketing Course 2023: Be a Digital Marketing Nomad

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4.5
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Learn Digital Marketing, Copywriting, Ads, SEO, Video Creation. Become a Digital Marketing Nomad. Freelance and Travel...

17. Digital Marketing Agency Start a Social Media Business

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4.7
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Build a Digital Marketing Agency Business with Social Media (SMMA), Chat GPT, Facebook Ads, Instagram, Word Press, SEO...

18. Data Visualization

udacity

Discover how data visualization can communicate insights far more effectively than text or tables. In this course, you’ll learn how to build data visualizations programmatically using Python, and how you can use visualization to both discover and convey trends in your data...

19. Experimental Design & Recommendations

udacity

Learn two of the most in-demand skills in the entire field of data science! By the end of this course, you’ll know how to generate personalized recommendations based on user data, as well as run statistically valid tests that produce clean, interpretable results...

20. Digital Marketing Business With Google My Business - 2023

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Tutorial to appear on Google Maps & Organic Search Listing - Free Website - SEO - Digital presence for local business...

Top 10 most affordable universities for digital consultants

The most affordable schools for digital consultants are Baruch College of the City University of New York, suny farmingdale, and university of florida.

If the best universities for digital consultants 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 digital consultants.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

4. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

6. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

7. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

8. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

9. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

10. California State University - Fresno

Fresno, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,587

Cost of attendance

16,915

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for digital consultants

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

Some great schools for digital consultants 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 digital consultants 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. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

4. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

7. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

8. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

9. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

10. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for digital consultants

The easiest schools for digital consultants to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, university of the incarnate word, and holy names university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a digital consultant 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 digital consultants.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

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. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

6. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

7. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

8. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

9. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

10. Iona College

New Rochelle, NY • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,089

Average digital consultant salary by education level

According to our data, digital consultants with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $115,409 annually. Digital consultants with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $114,682.
Digital consultant education levelDigital consultant salary
Master's Degree$114,682
Bachelor's Degree$104,906
Doctorate Degree$115,409

Digital consultant 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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