Lead data architect education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a lead data architect. Lead data architects usually study computer science, business, or electrical engineering. 57% of lead data architects hold a bachelor's degree, and 25% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 1,584 real lead data architect resumes to see exactly what lead data architect education sections show.

The most common colleges for lead data architects are the DeVry University and the DeVry University.

There are also many online lead data architect courses to help get the education required to be a lead data architect.

What education do you need to become a lead data architect?

What degree do you need to be a lead data architect?

The most common degree for lead data architects is bachelor's degree, with 57% of lead data architects earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 25% and master's degree degree at 7%.

Bachelor's, 57%

Master's, 25%

Associate, 7%

High School Diploma, 6%

Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a lead data architect?

You should major in computer science to become a lead data architect. 20% of lead data architects major in computer science. Other common majors for a lead data architect include business and electrical engineering.

Computer Science, 20%

Business, 19%

Electrical Engineering, 7%

Computer Engineering, 6%

Other Majors, 48%

Most common colleges for lead data architects

Lead data architects often get their degrees at DeVry University, New York University, and University of Maryland - College Park. Here are the most common colleges for lead data architects in the US based on their resumes.

Lead data architect common college	Percentages
DeVry University	8.42%
New York University	6.32%
University of Maryland - College Park	6.32%
Wright State University	5.26%
Boston University	5.26%

Show more common lead data architect colleges

Best majors for lead data architects

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Computer Science	19.9%
2	Business	18.9%
3	Electrical Engineering	6.8%
4	Computer Engineering	6.2%
5	Computer Information Systems	5.7%

Show more common lead data architect majors

Best colleges for lead data architects

The best colleges for lead data architects are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A lead data architect with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for lead data architects. 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 lead data architects.

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. Maine Maritime Academy

Castine, ME • Private

In-state tuition

$13,478

Enrollment

979

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

6. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

7. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

8. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

9. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

10. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

20 best online courses for lead data architects

Advertising disclosure

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

4.4

(2,977)

ETL Testing and Data Quality Management for beginners with practical exercises and certificate of completion...

2. Data Engineering - ETL, Web Scraping ,Big Data,SQL,Power BI

4.2

(300)

Hands on Data Interaction using - ETL, Web Scraping ,Big Data,SQL,Power BI...

3. Data Warehouse - The Ultimate Guide

4.6

(4,246)

Master Data Warehousing, Dimensional Modeling & ETL process...

4. Complete Data Wrangling & Data Visualisation With Python

4.4

(853)

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

5. Fundamentals of Data Analysis for Big Data

4.5

(270)

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

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

4.6

(130,823)

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

7. Data Warehouse Developer-SQL Server/ETL/SSIS/SSAS/SSRS/T-SQL

4.3

(1,477)

Develop and Implement a Data Warehouse Solution Step by step...

8. Data Science:Data Mining & Natural Language Processing in R

4.7

(387)

Harness the Power of Machine Learning in R for Data/Text Mining, & Natural Language Processing with Practical Examples...

9. Implementing a Data Warehouse with SQL Server 2012

4.6

(2,088)

Implementing a Data Warehouse with SQL Server 2012 (Exam 70-463)...

10. Data Warehouse Development Process

4.3

(790)

Specific aspects of Data Warehouse Development Process...

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

4.6

(505)

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

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

4.1

(1,296)

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

13. Data Warehousing & Visualization in Microsoft BI & Power BI

4.3

(481)

Learn ETL, Data Analysis and Visualization using Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Business Intelligence tools and Power BI...

14. Data Engineer/Data Scientist - Power BI/ Python/ ETL/SSIS

4.6

(319)

Hands-on Data Interaction and Manipulation...

15. Complete SQL Bootcamp for Data Science, Analytics, Marketing

4.7

(1,909)

Master SQL for Job Interview Preparation, Data Analysis, Big Data, and Business Intelligence...

16. Modeling Data Warehouse with Data Vault 2.0

4.5

(2,342)

Course covers the basics and fundamentals of Data Vault 2.0 along with Agile Methodology and Big Data...

17. SQL Course 2023: SQL for Data Analysis and Data Science.

(894)

Master the Art of SQL Querying and Postgre SQL for Data Analysis and Data Science An using Real World SQL Database...

18. SQL - MySQL for Data Analytics and Business Intelligence

4.6

(53,305)

SQL that will get you hired – SQL for Business Analysis, Marketing, and Data Management...

19. Teradata SQL for Data Science and Data Analytics

4.5

(1,525)

A complete course on learning SQL using Teradata Database...

20. Statistics for Business Analytics and Data Science A-Z™

4.4

(11,124)

Learn The Core Stats For A Data Science Career. Master Statistical Significance, Confidence Intervals And Much More!...

Top 10 most affordable universities for lead data architects

The most affordable schools for lead data architects are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and baruch college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for lead data architects 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 lead data architects.

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. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

6. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

7. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

8. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

9. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Cost of attendance

22,990

10. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for lead data architects

The hardest universities for lead data architects to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for lead data architects 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 lead data architects 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. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

7. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

8. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

9. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

10. Brandeis University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

31%

SAT average

1,398

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for lead data architects

The easiest schools for lead data architects to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, notre dame de namur university, and holy names university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a lead data architect 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 lead data architects.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

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. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

6. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

7. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

8. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

9. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

10. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

Average lead data architect salary by education level

According to our data, lead data architects with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $120,854 annually. Lead data architects with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $112,763.

Lead data architect education level	Lead data architect salary
Master's Degree	$120,854
High School Diploma or Less	$108,762
Bachelor's Degree	$112,763
Some College/ Associate Degree	$105,984

Lead data architect education FAQs

What is the best college for Lead Data Architects?

Have more questions? See all answers to common computer and mathematical questions.

Search for lead data architect jobs

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

Browse computer and mathematical jobs