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Lecturer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a lecturer. Lecturers usually study english, electrical engineering, or business. 49% of lecturers hold a bachelor's degree, and 33% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 19,716 real lecturer resumes to see exactly what lecturer education sections show.
The most common colleges for lecturers are the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
There are also many online lecturer courses to help get the education required to be a lecturer.
There are certain lecturer certifications that you should consider. These lecturer certifications include Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP) and Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP).
What education do you need to become a lecturer?
What degree do you need to be a lecturer?
- Bachelor's, 49%
- Master's, 33%
- Doctorate, 13%
- Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 3%
What should I major in to become a lecturer?
Most common colleges for lecturers
| Lecturer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of California, Santa Barbara | 8.31% |
| University of California - Davis | 7.50% |
| New York University | 6.62% |
| University of California, Berkeley | 5.51% |
| Ohio State University | 5.37% |
Best majors for lecturers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | 13.5% |
| 2 | Electrical Engineering | 7.0% |
| 3 | Business | 6.3% |
| 4 | Chemistry | 5.8% |
| 5 | Computer Science | 5.6% |
Best colleges for lecturers
The best colleges for lecturers are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Carnegie Mellon University.
A lecturer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for lecturers. 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 lecturers.
1. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,465
Enrollment
6,483
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
6. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
7. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
8. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
9. Temple University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$16,970
Enrollment
28,965
10. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
20 best online courses for lecturers
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The lectures of this course are based on the first 11 chapters of Prof. Raymond Yeung’s textbook entitled Information Theory and Network Coding (Springer 2008). This book and its predecessor, A First Course in Information Theory (Kluwer 2002, essentially the first edition of the 2008 book), have been adopted by over 60 universities around the world as either a textbook or reference text. At the completion of this course, the student should be able to: 1) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding...
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16. Chemistry 101 - Part 1 Principles of Chemistry
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17. Lectures on Greek History and Culture
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18. Introduction to Cheminformatics and medicinal chemistry
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20. Information Technology Essentials
Introduction to Information Technology and Information Systems...
Top 10 most affordable universities for lecturers
The most affordable schools for lecturers are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and university of south florida.
If the best universities for lecturers 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 lecturers.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
3. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
4. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
5. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
6. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
7. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
8. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Cost of attendance
25,527
10. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for lecturers
The hardest universities for lecturers to get into are Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Some great schools for lecturers 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 lecturers 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. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
3. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
4. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
5. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
6. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
7. University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN • Private
Admissions rate
18%
SAT average
1,502
8. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
9. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
10. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,471
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for lecturers
The easiest schools for lecturers to get into are Wayland Baptist University, mount saint mary's university, and barry university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a lecturer 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 lecturers.
1. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
2. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
3. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
4. Texas Woman's University
Denton, TX • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,059
5. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
6. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
7. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
8. The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,035
9. San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,054
10. La Roche College
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
99%
SAT average
1,008
Average lecturer salary by education level
| Lecturer education level | Lecturer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $58,477 |
| Doctorate Degree | $72,658 |
Lecturer education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025