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Membership director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a membership director. Membership directors usually study business, communication, or marketing. 76% of membership directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 11% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 3,663 real membership director resumes to see exactly what membership director education sections show.
The most common colleges for membership directors are the Florida State University and the Florida State University.
There are also many online membership director courses to help get the education required to be a membership director.
There are certain membership director certifications that you should consider. These membership director certifications include Certified Sales Professional (CSP) and Certified Planning Engineer (CPE).
What education do you need to become a membership director?
What degree do you need to be a membership director?
- Bachelor's, 76%
- Associate, 11%
- Master's, 8%
- High School Diploma, 3%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a membership director?
- Business, 25%
- Communication, 9%
- Marketing, 8%
- Other Majors, 52%
Most common colleges for membership directors
| Membership director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Florida State University | 7.92% |
| Ohio University | 6.45% |
| University of Phoenix | 6.45% |
| George Washington University, The | 6.16% |
| University of South Carolina - Columbia | 5.87% |
Best majors for membership directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 25.3% |
| 2 | Communication | 9.5% |
| 3 | Marketing | 8.3% |
| 4 | Political Science | 6.3% |
| 5 | Kinesiology | 6.2% |
Best colleges for membership directors
The best colleges for membership directors are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.
A membership 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 membership 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 membership directors.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
4. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
5. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
6. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
7. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
8. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
10. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$10,595
Enrollment
30,184
20 best online courses for membership directors
Advertising disclosure
1. Digital Project Management
Build confidence translating business requirements into project scope statements, creating project plans in Waterfall or Agile, and developing a high-performing team...
2. Basic Governance for Board Members
Know your rights, duties & stay out of trouble...
3. Create a Members Only Blog using PHP, MySQL, & AJAX
Create a Database Driven Blog with Authentication, Validated Contact Forms, & Session Variables using PHP, MYSQL, & AJAX...
4. Lean Problem-Solving for Team Members and Leaders
Problem Solving Is The Core Activity of Continuous Improvement that Every Team Member Should Know...
5. How to Help Family Members or Friends with Mental Illness
Practical Counseling Skills to help children, family or friends with Depression, Anxiety, or Other Mental Illness...
6. Sales Analysis for Management Consultants
A practical guide on how to improve sales and marketing of your customers during consulting projects like Mc Kinsey, BCG,...
7. The Customer: Build a Customer Service Strategy (BITE SIZE)
For you and your team to be successful in providing great customer service, start by putting your customer first...
8. Customer Retention: Maximise Your Profits
How CRM, Customer Care, Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction, and Customer Experience will 10X your profits...
9. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer
Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...
10. Customer Service: 6 Keys To Exceptional Customer Service
Master Customer Satisfaction & Astonish Your Customers With A+ Customer Service...
11. Sales Forecasting in Excel for Management Consultants
A practical guide on how to do basic sales forecasting models in Excel with case studies & real-life examples...
12. Customer Service
How to Approach New Customers and Maintain Existing Ones...
13. Customer Service Basics: Improve your Service now
The basic golden rules to kickstart your service...
14. Sales Fire: B2B Sales & Business Development for Startups
The Ultimate Sales Methodology for Business Development & B2B Sales to Learn Sales Strategy, Sales Skills & Deal Closing...
15. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives
Learn Customer Service Skills & Provide Excellent Customer Support, Customer Experience & How To Manage Upset Customers...
16. Coaching for Growth and Success
12 Ways to Bring Out the Best in Your Colleagues, Clients, and Team Members...
17. Better Virtual Meetings: How to Lead Effective Meetings
Learn the basics of facilitation and minute taking at meetings to save time, improve communication, and get things done...
18. Business Communication Skills: Handling Clients & Customers
Soft Skills Training Social Skills Business Etiquette Business English Customer Service Training...
19. No Pressure Prospecting - Close More Sales
This sales training course will make prospecting easy, by teaching you how to find prospects that want what you sell...
20. Customer Service Success: Take Your Skills to the Next Level
3-in-1 Customer Service Training: Levels 1, 2, 3 Improve Your Soft Communication Skills, Customer Support & Experience...
Top 10 most affordable universities for membership directors
The most affordable schools for membership directors are University of Florida, baruch college of the city university of new york, and hunter college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for membership 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 membership directors.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
3. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
4. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
5. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
6. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
7. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
8. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
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 membership directors
The hardest universities for membership directors to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.
Some great schools for membership 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 membership 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. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
4. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
5. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
6. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
7. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
8. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
9. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
10. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for membership directors
The easiest schools for membership directors to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, barry university, and university of the incarnate word.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a membership 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 membership directors.
1. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
4. University of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,020
5. University of North Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
992
6. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
7. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
8. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
9. California University of Pennsylvania
California, PA • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,007
10. San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,054
Average membership director salary by education level
| Membership director education level | Membership director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $68,201 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $43,439 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $58,937 |
| Doctorate Degree | $73,182 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $46,289 |
Membership 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