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Gallery assistant education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a gallery assistant. Gallery assistants usually study fine arts, graphic design, or photography. 77% of gallery assistants hold a bachelor's degree, and 9% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 4,718 real gallery assistant resumes to see exactly what gallery assistant education sections show.

The most common colleges for gallery assistants are the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

There are also many online gallery assistant courses to help get the education required to be a gallery assistant.

What education do you need to become a gallery assistant?

What degree do you need to be a gallery assistant?

The most common degree for gallery assistants is bachelor's degree, with 77% of gallery assistants earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 9% and associate degree degree at 7%.
  • Bachelor's, 77%
  • Associate, 9%
  • Master's, 7%
  • High School Diploma, 5%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a gallery assistant?

You should major in fine arts to become a gallery assistant. 51% of gallery assistants major in fine arts. Other common majors for a gallery assistant include graphic design and photography.

Most common colleges for gallery assistants

Gallery assistants often get their degrees at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, New York University, and School of Visual Arts. Here are the most common colleges for gallery assistants in the US based on their resumes.
Gallery assistant common collegePercentages
School of the Art Institute of Chicago9.33%
New York University8.81%
School of Visual Arts7.77%
Savannah College of Art and Design7.25%
University of North Texas5.96%

Best majors for gallery assistants

RankMajorPercentages
1Fine Arts51.2%
2Graphic Design9.7%
3Photography7.2%
4Business3.7%
5Visual And Performing Arts3.4%

Best colleges for gallery assistants

The best colleges for gallery assistants are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Yale University.

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

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

2. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

4. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

In-state tuition

$53,430

Enrollment

5,963

5. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

6. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

8. University of Chicago

Chicago, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$58,230

Enrollment

6,600

9. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

10. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

20 best online courses for gallery assistants

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1. Advanced App Development in Android Capstone

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This capstone project has been designed as an opportunity to practice what you have learned in the first 3 courses of this specialisation. This capstone project consists of 4 assignments. You will have to develop an immersive Android app with the use 3D graphics, sensor control and VR. For the first assignment, you will have to develop a virtual art gallery using the Android Canvas drawing functions introduced in Course 1 "Introduction to Android graphics". The second assignment entails the...

2. Custom Reports in Google Analytics

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In this project, you will create three custom reports in Google Analytics, using three different methods. You will understand the building blocks of a custom report. You will determine what data is needed for a custom report. And, you will create the custom report to best meet your analysis and monitoring needs. You will also discover the Google Gallery where you can find various types of custom reports, and import the ones that best meet your needs. Note: This course works best for learners...

3. The Ultimate WordPress Boot Camp Course - Build 10 Websites

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Master the art of using Word Press to build a full portfolio of different types of websites...

4. Unreal Engine: Intro to Game Design

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4.5
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Like Fortnite? Master the tools used to build it as we build a simple shooting gallery game using the Unreal Engine!...

5. App Development with Power Apps: Create Custom Components

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Imagine having a rental company, in this case bike rental company, and having problems with managing the company's data. We can help you with that! You can make your life easier with no-code or low-code Power Apps capabilities. In this guided project, we will create a SharePoint site and list that will contain data about all the bikes for rent owned by the company. Among other info, the bikes will also have the status Available or Unavailable for rent, so we can track them. After that we are...

6. In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting

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Want to know how some of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists made abstract paintings? This course offers an in-depth, hands-on look at the materials, techniques, and thinking of seven New York School artists, including Willem de Kooning, Yayoi Kusama, Agnes Martin, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, and Mark Rothko. Through studio demonstrations and gallery walkthroughs, you’ll form a deeper understanding of what a studio practice means and how ideas develop from close...

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10. The Art of Figure to Ground: Photography's untaught secret

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For years, the Art of Figure to Ground was only taught to artists...

11. The Art of Seeing Photography training for the Artist in you

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Discover how to see like an artist & take the best photos of your life...

12. How To Use Photoshop To Make Digital Design Paper Fast, Easy

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Learn how to create digital design paper using Adobe Photoshop, for creative projects or art backgrounds...

13. How to Throw Events and Attract Corporate Sponsors

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48 Industry Secrets that Make You More Money and Get More People to Your Events...

14. Long Exposure Photography

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Your complete guide to gear, how-to's, composition, and editing. Shoot at night and with filters like a pro...

15. Photoshop and Photography Digital Art Compositing Course

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Learn Adobe Photoshop CC and photography by designing levitation digital art composites from four photoshoots...

16. The Art of Finding Light: Photography for the artist in you

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Spotting great lighting is not a gift, it is Skill. Become a photographer who knows how to find great light...

17. 100 Days of JavaScript

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Sharpen your Java Script skills by building Amazing projects over the next 100 Days with HTML, CSS and Java Script...

18. WPBakery Page Builder / Visual Composer Master Course

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Easily Build Wordpress Web Pages / Wordpress Website - For Yourself, For Your Business, or For Someone Else...

19. Projects In JavaScript & JQuery

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Learn Java Script and JQuery Building Ten Projects...

20. Start Improving Customer Service

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Creating a Customer Service advantage in Your department or business through communication and Customer Management...

Top 10 most affordable universities for gallery assistants

The most affordable schools for gallery assistants are California State University - Long Beach, queens college of the city university of new york, and brigham young university.

If the best universities for gallery assistants 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 gallery assistants.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

2. Queens College of the City University of New York

Queens, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,338

Cost of attendance

14,281

3. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

4. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

5. Fashion Institute of Technology

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$5,740

Cost of attendance

17,864

6. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

7. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

8. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

9. California State University - Northridge

Northridge, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,893

Cost of attendance

18,870

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for gallery assistants

The hardest universities for gallery assistants to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Yale University.

Some great schools for gallery assistants 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 gallery assistants 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. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

4. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

5. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

6. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

7. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

8. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

9. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

10. University of Chicago

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions rate

7%

SAT average

1,520

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for gallery assistants

The easiest schools for gallery assistants to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, notre dame de namur university, and kean university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a gallery assistant 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 gallery assistants.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

3. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

4. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

5. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

6. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

7. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

8. Grand View University

Des Moines, IA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,060

9. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

10. Centenary University

Hackettstown, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

67%

SAT average

987

Average gallery assistant salary by education level

Gallery assistants with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $41,936 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, gallery assistants earn a median annual income of $40,027 compared to $37,931 for gallery assistants with an Associate degree.
Gallery assistant education levelGallery assistant salary
Master's Degree$41,936
High School Diploma or Less$37,355
Bachelor's Degree$40,027
Some College/ Associate Degree$37,931

Gallery assistant 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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