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Marketing and creative director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a marketing and creative director. Marketing and creative directors usually study graphic design, marketing, or communication. 79% of marketing and creative directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 10% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,297 real marketing and creative director resumes to see exactly what marketing and creative director education sections show.
The most common colleges for marketing and creative directors are the School of Visual Arts and the School of Visual Arts.
There are also many online marketing and creative director courses to help get the education required to be a marketing and creative director.
There are certain marketing and creative director certifications that you should consider. These marketing and creative director certifications include Certified Internet Marketer (CIM) and Certified Advertising Specialist (CAS).
What education do you need to become a marketing and creative director?
What degree do you need to be a marketing and creative director?
- Bachelor's, 79%
- Associate, 10%
- Master's, 8%
- High School Diploma, 1%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a marketing and creative director?
- Graphic Design, 22%
- Marketing, 12%
- Communication, 11%
- Business, 11%
- Other Majors, 44%
Most common colleges for marketing and creative directors
| Marketing and creative director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| School of Visual Arts | 9.27% |
| Brigham Young University | 7.95% |
| San Diego State University | 6.62% |
| University of California - Davis | 5.96% |
| University of Florida | 5.30% |
Best majors for marketing and creative directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graphic Design | 22.5% |
| 2 | Marketing | 12.1% |
| 3 | Communication | 11.3% |
| 4 | Business | 10.5% |
| 5 | Fine Arts | 7.8% |
Best colleges for marketing and creative directors
The best colleges for marketing and creative directors are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and University of Pennsylvania.
A marketing and creative director with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for marketing and creative directors. 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 marketing and creative directors.
1. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI • Private
In-state tuition
$10,555
Enrollment
30,360
2. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
3. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,830
Enrollment
29,474
4. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Enrollment
33,495
5. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
6. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
7. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
8. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
9. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
10. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
20 best online courses for marketing and creative directors
Advertising disclosure
1. Product Management (Part Time)
Balance business viability, technical feasibility, and customer desire to lead products and features toward long-term success. Learn from a seasoned expert. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
2. Digital Marketing (Part Time)
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...
3. Predictive Analytics for Business
Learn to apply predictive analytics and business intelligence to solve real-world business problems...
4. Marketing Analytics
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. Creativity And Entrepreneurship
Creativity & Entrepreneurship will help you tap into your inner creativity and learn how to leverage it for career development or business innovation. Presented by Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship founder Panos Panay, this course features interviews with world renown entrepreneurs, innovators, songwriters, producers, creative directors, educators, performers, visual artists and chefs as they discuss parallels between the creative and entrepreneurial journeys. The course...
6. Creativity Toolkit II: Creative Collaboration
Creativity requires us to collaborate with others, and this course helps you be a better creative collaborator. We need to be able to pitch our creative ideas so that others are excited rather than baffled or dismissive by them. We need to be able to evaluate the ideas of others so we identify rather than miss creative solutions. We need to be able to work with our teams such that creativity thrives rather than is suppressed. This course addresses each of these needs, identifying challenges and...
7. Creativity, Design Thinking, and Innovation for Business
Creativity that Create an Innovative Corporate Culture Using Design Thinking & Problem Solving for the Workplace...
8. Creativity Course by a Creativity Coach Art & Innovation
Creativity & Innovation for Innovators, Artists, Entrepreneurs, Writers, & Students - By a Professional Creativity Coach...
9. Product Manager
Envision and lead the product strategy of industry-defining products, and learn to successfully bring them to market. Influence the execution of product development as a Product Manager, one of the most highly-coveted roles in technology...
10. Data Product Manager
Leverage data to build products that deliver the right experiences, to the right users, at the right time. Lead the development of data-driven products that position businesses to win in their market...
11. Creativity and AI
The Creativity and AI Specialization explores what it means to be creative in the 21st century. Through a hands-on approach, you will discover the creative potential of AI and learn design methods to expand your creative capacity. These courses are designed for those with technical backgrounds who want to look at their fields from a new perspective and those in creative professions who want to better understand AI and its implications in their industries...
12. Creative Thinking Tools for Success and Leadership
This Creative Thinking specialisation consists of three courses, designed to enhance learners' creativity skills by employing diverse brainstorming techniques, systematic creativity tools, and advanced creative thinking strategies. Throughout the specialisation, participants will gain expertise in using approaches such as the creativity diamond framework, biomimicry, analogy, metaphor, and AI-enabled platforms in order to generate innovative ideas and effectively address challenges or...
13. Creative Thinking Exercises: Improve Your Creative Thinking
Creative exercises to boost your creativity and brainstorm new ideas with design thinking, writing & drawing exercises...
14. Creative Thinking: How to Think More Creatively
Learn to Use Mind Mapping and Creative Problem Solving...
15. Digital Marketing
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...
16. AI for Business Leaders
Master the foundations of artificial intelligence so you can strategically implement AI in your company. Leverage machine learning technologies to power corporate growth, increase efficiency, and enhance customer experiences...
17. 365 Days of Creativity
A totally new learning experience that will teach you 365 creative skills...
18. Adobe Creative Cloud Ultimate Guide
Adobe Creative Cloud Ultimate A-Z Guide. Go From Basic to Advanced with Creative Cloud and 10 Projects From Scratch...
19. Business Analytics
In this program, you will learn foundational data skills that apply across functions and industries. You will learn to analyze data and build models with Excel, query databases using SQL, and create informative data visualizations with Tableau...
20. AI Product Manager
Learn to develop AI products that deliver business value. Build skills that help you compete in the new AI-powered world...
Top 10 most affordable universities for marketing and creative directors
The most affordable schools for marketing and creative directors are University of Florida, suny farmingdale, and fashion institute of technology.
If the best universities for marketing and creative directors 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 marketing and creative directors.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$5,740
Cost of attendance
17,864
4. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
5. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
6. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
7. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
8. University of Houston - Victoria
Victoria, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$6,491
Cost of attendance
19,075
9. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
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 marketing and creative directors
The hardest universities for marketing and creative directors to get into are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for marketing and creative directors 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 marketing and creative directors 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 Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
5. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
7. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
Admissions rate
39%
SAT average
1,367
8. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
Admissions rate
47%
SAT average
1,390
9. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
10. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
Admissions rate
49%
SAT average
1,347
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for marketing and creative directors
The easiest schools for marketing and creative directors to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, university of the incarnate word, and notre dame de namur university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a marketing and creative director 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 marketing and creative directors.
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. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
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. La Roche College
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
99%
SAT average
1,008
7. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
8. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
9. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
10. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
Average marketing and creative director salary by education level
| Marketing and creative director education level | Marketing and creative director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $148,533 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $122,948 |
| Doctorate Degree | $158,787 |
Marketing and creative director education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025