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Materials director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a materials director. Materials directors usually study business, management, or supply chain management. 72% of materials directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 926 real materials director resumes to see exactly what materials director education sections show.
The most common colleges for materials directors are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online materials director courses to help get the education required to be a materials director.
What education do you need to become a materials director?
What degree do you need to be a materials director?
- Bachelor's, 72%
- Master's, 15%
- Associate, 9%
- Doctorate, 2%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a materials director?
- Business, 45%
- Management, 7%
- Accounting, 5%
- Other Majors, 37%
Most common colleges for materials directors
| Materials director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 13.77% |
| San Jose State University | 10.14% |
| Michigan State University | 6.52% |
| Ohio State University | 6.52% |
| Arizona State University | 5.80% |
Best majors for materials directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 44.9% |
| 2 | Management | 7.2% |
| 3 | Supply Chain Management | 5.6% |
| 4 | Accounting | 5.2% |
| 5 | Mechanical Engineering | 4.5% |
Best colleges for materials directors
The best colleges for materials directors are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
A materials 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 materials 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 materials directors.
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 materials directors
Advertising disclosure
1. Supply Chain Management A-Z: Operations & Logistics Basics
Supply Chain Management Basics: An MBA style course to boost your career as a business operations & logistics manager...
2. SAP MM Materials Management (beginner to expert level)
Master SAP Materials Management module with practical implementation steps. Prepare and crack SAP MM Certification exam...
3. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service
Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...
4. RA: Data Science and Supply chain analytics.(A-Z with R)
Learn R,Supply-chain Data Science, Inventory Optimization,Big Data forecasting, Machine learning and Revenue Management...
5. SAP Materials Management (MM) Super User Training
Complete Beginner and Intermediate Purchasing & Inventory Management Training - Perform all the task in SAP in no time...
6. SAP MM (Materials Management) Consultant Level Course
Learn SAP Material Management module from scratch. Purchasing, Schema Determination, Material Master, Goods Receipt, etc...
7. SAP MM -Material Management Simplified For Beginners
Exclusively designed SAP MM Training for End-Users, MM-Super-users , SAP Beginner to become SAP MM Consultant, S4 HANA...
8. Financial Accounting - Inventory Costs
Mastering Inventory Costs & Flows: An In-Depth Guide to Accounting for Inventory in Business Operations...
9. SAP S/4HANA Sourcing & Procurement (MM-Materials Management)
The course covers both configuration and end-user processes for SAP S/4HANA MM / Sourcing & Procurement...
10. Strategic Cost Management: Procurement and Supply Chain 2022
How to secure long term Procurement savings without breaking relations with your suppliers (with the updates 2022)...
11. RA: Data Science and Supply Chain analytics. A-Z with Python
Learn Python, Supply Chain Data Science ,Linear Programming, Forecasting, Pricing and Inventory Management...
12. Supply Chain Fundamentals: Logistic & Transportation
Learn the Fundamentals of Logistic, Warehouse, Inbound, Picking, Packing, transportation and apply it to any ERP system...
13. Procurement & Supply Planning tools and techniques.
Learn how to Make purchasing strategies ,MRP, forecast, inventory policies and techniques to minimize supply costs...
14. Practical Pharmaceutical Supply Management: LMIC Focus
Pharmaceutical Supply Mastery: From Procurement to Efficient Distribution...
15. Angular Material In Depth (Angular 16)
In-depth guided tour to the Angular Material component library (in Angular 16)...
16. Laravel 9 - Build Complete Inventory Management System A-Z
In This Course, You Will Build Two Different Projects With Laravel 9 including Inventory Management System A-Z...
17. SAP: Supply Chain Logistics in R/3
Everything you need to know about SAP Supply Chain Logistics and Transportation in one easy place...
18. eBay Drop Shipping Guide with No Inventory - Work From Home
Learn exactly how to work from home purely selling and drop shipping on e Bay. No up front inventory! Basic to Advanced!...
19. VPs and Directors of Product Management: Finding Excellence
Succeeding in an intense, stressful, invigorating job...
20. The Fundamentals of end-to-end Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain Management - Level 1: Introducing all the Key Components of a Supply Chain...
Top 10 most affordable universities for materials directors
The most affordable schools for materials directors are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for materials 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 materials directors.
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 materials directors
The hardest universities for materials directors to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for materials 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 materials 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. 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. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
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 materials directors
The easiest schools for materials directors 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 materials 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 materials directors.
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 materials director salary by education level
| Materials director education level | Materials director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $152,892 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $113,142 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $136,239 |
| Doctorate Degree | $149,947 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $115,085 |
Materials director education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025