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Job outlook for graduate school deans in the United States
Are graduate school dean jobs in demand?
Graduate school dean job and salary trends over time
Graduate school dean jobs over time
Graduate school dean job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 217 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 196 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 201 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 199 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 198 | 0.00% |
Average graduate school dean salary over time
Graduate school dean salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $71,921 | $34.58 | +2.2% |
| 2024 | $70,380 | $33.84 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $69,590 | $33.46 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | $68,130 | $32.75 | +1.8% |
| 2021 | $66,949 | $32.19 | +2.5% |
Graduate school dean jobs by state
Most common states for graduate school deans
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 739,795 | 86 | 12% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 61 | 9% |
| 3 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 271 | 8% |
| 4 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 110 | 8% |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 80 | 8% |
| 6 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 844 | 7% |
| 7 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 75 | 7% |
| 8 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 311 | 6% |
| 9 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 266 | 6% |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 322 | 5% |
| 11 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 294 | 5% |
| 12 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 272 | 5% |
| 13 | Delaware | 961,939 | 48 | 5% |
| 14 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 30 | 5% |
| 15 | Vermont | 623,657 | 29 | 5% |
| 16 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 382 | 4% |
| 17 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 373 | 4% |
| 18 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 252 | 4% |
| 19 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 74 | 4% |
| 20 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 48 | 4% |
Most common cities for graduate school deans
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aurora | 1 | 0% | $63,799 |
| 2 | Memphis | 1 | 0% | $58,913 |
Graduate School Dean job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of graduate school dean experts
University of Toledo
West Virginia University
Bluefield State College
Council of Graduate Schools
What will help Graduate School Deans increase their earning potential?
Linda Vogel Ph.D.: The ability to support diverse student needs is paramount now and will likely only increase in the future. Also, the ability to look at challenges with flexibility. This may include hybrid/blended/virtual learning options to meet student needs. Partnerships with community agencies and businesses will also likely be an increasing strength in the future as education options become more competitive.
Melissa Gregory
Dean and ProfessorUniversity of Toledo
Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
What Graduate School Dean skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Melissa Gregory: I'm copying some UToledo faculty on this message in case you want to reach out to them for quotes:
Dr. Barry Jackisch, History
Dr. Patrick Lawrence, Geography and Planning
Dr. Kim Nielsen, Disability Studies
What will help Graduate School Deans increase their earning potential?
Melissa Gregory: Today's contemporary liberal arts degrees typically do two things:
(1) prepare you for a lifetime of career adaptation by cultivating deep infrastructure skills such as communication, analysis, creativity, quantitative abilities, and others, which prepares you to adapt to the jobs that don't even exist, yet; and (2) offer you real-life professional experience in the form of internships and other kinds of hands-on training that provide you with specific credentials for graduate school or the current job market.
In other words, the key to a liberal arts degree is its flexibility. A liberal arts degree isn't as explicitly career-aligned as, say, a degree in pharmacy or engineering. But that is the whole point: a liberal arts degree takes the long view of how a graduate might advance successfully through a lifetime of work where economic, political, and technological forces regularly close out old jobs and create new opportunities (e.g., "sustainability" did not used to be a job category - now it is!). When coupled with professional experience, a flexible degree that has rigorously trained you to be smart and adaptive prepares you to enter the workforce quickly and also sets you up for long-term success.
Stephanie Lorenze
Service Associate Professor, Coordinator for Teacher EducationWest Virginia University
Department of Curriculum and Instruction/Literacy Studies
What will help Graduate School Deans increase their earning potential?
Stephanie Lorenze: Legislators and communities who value their work through actions.
What experience really stands out on Graduate School Dean resumes?
Amanda Banks Ph.D.: Adaptability and expertise in teaching diverse students in inclusive classrooms are growing focal points of many school districts nationally. With recent changes in federal education legislation (Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015), there has been a growing need for educators to universally design effective learning opportunities for a wide range of learners (Universal Design for Learning) to ensure students' academic progress regardless of their socioeconomic background or learning ability. Identifying potential teachers who can help students and schools successfully meet state and federal accountability standards is paramount to hiring committees.
Candidates should showcase any firsthand experiences they have in working with students within and outside of the classroom, especially diverse student populations (e.g., special education, bilingual education). Strong collaboration skills, content expertise, and instructional flexibility are three professional qualities that definitely set a candidate apart from the rest. Recent graduates who anticipate entering the job market in the near future should actively search for such volunteer opportunities if they didn't have these types of experiences in their preparation program.
What type of skills will young Graduate School Deans need?
Suzanne T. Ortega: Young graduates entering the workforce will need to be highly adaptable to a changing environment. This isn't a new trend, but the pandemic has made it even more important. They will also need to be able to work collaboratively. The workplace has become increasingly team-based, even in a college setting, and knowing how to work with people from other backgrounds and across disciplines is imperative. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, young graduates will need to keep their "learner mentality." The workforce is changing, and employees need to be ready to expand upon existing knowledge and learn new skills throughout the course of their careers; this includes proficiency in new learning technologies and teaching pedagogies that meet the needs of online and hybrid classrooms. It is highly likely that the flexibility in course content and methods of delivery will continue for years to come.