Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Prior authorization specialist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a prior authorization specialist. Prior authorization specialists usually study nursing, pharmacy, or business. 32% of prior authorization specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 25% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 2,691 real prior authorization specialist resumes to see exactly what prior authorization specialist education sections show.
The most common colleges for prior authorization specialists are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online prior authorization specialist courses to help get the education required to be a prior authorization specialist.
There are certain prior authorization specialist certifications that you should consider. These prior authorization specialist certifications include Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) and Medical Assistant.
What education do you need to become a prior authorization specialist?
What degree do you need to be a prior authorization specialist?
- Bachelor's, 32%
- Associate, 25%
- High School Diploma, 13%
- Diploma, 12%
- Other Degrees, 18%
What should I major in to become a prior authorization specialist?
Most common colleges for prior authorization specialists
| Prior authorization specialist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 20.00% |
| Pima Medical Institute | 7.37% |
| Remington College | 7.37% |
| Arizona State University | 5.79% |
| Baker College | 5.79% |
Best majors for prior authorization specialists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nursing | 20.7% |
| 2 | Pharmacy | 17.1% |
| 3 | Business | 14.6% |
| 4 | Health Care Administration | 11.9% |
| 5 | Medical Assisting Services | 5.4% |
Best colleges for prior authorization specialists
The best colleges for prior authorization specialists are University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, and Vanderbilt University.
A prior authorization specialist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for prior authorization specialists. 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 prior authorization specialists.
1. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
5. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,625
Enrollment
17,407
6. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
7. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
8. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
9. University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$13,700
Enrollment
29,722
10. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
20 best online courses for prior authorization specialists
Advertising disclosure
1. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...
2. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
3. Data Science for Healthcare Claims Data
Learn and practice how to transform raw healthcare claims data into valuable knowledge and actionable insights!...
4. Top Drugs 1 - Medications you NEED to Know - Pharmacy
Part 1: Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Cholesterol, and OTC: Cough, Cold, Allergy - Condition Overview and Common Medications...
5. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...
6. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
7. Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist
Health Information Technology HIT...
8. ICD 10 & 11 Medical Coding and Billing
Preparation for Medical Coding Certification Exam...
9. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...
10. The Critical Role of IT Support Staff in Healthcare
This is a very exciting time to be exploring a career in Health IT Support! In this introductory course, you’ll learn about various roles in IT support that are common in healthcare. IT support staff play critical roles in many different healthcare venues. In addition to helping clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms, you may end up providing support in a skilled nursing facility, ambulatory surgical center, virtual care setting, or even a patient’s home! On any given day, you may interact...
11. Medical Coding: ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Training
Learn medical coding and prepare yourself for today's healthcare workplace...
12. Health Data 101
An Introduction to Health Data for data analysts...
13. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
14. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
15. Understanding HIPAA for the Medical Office
A healthcare professional's guide to understanding the requirements HIPAA...
16. Understanding Medications and Therapeutics
Helping you build the best foundation to truly understand medications and develop clinical reasoning skills...
17. Healthcare Data Literacy
This course will help lay the foundation of your healthcare data journey and provide you with knowledge and skills necessary to work in the healthcare industry as a data scientist. Healthcare is unique because it is associated with continually evolving and complex processes associated with health management and medical care. We'll learn about the many facets to consider in healthcare and determine the value and growing need for data analysts in healthcare. We'll learn about the Triple Aim and...
18. Drug Commercialization
The University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Drug Commercialization course brings you lectures from both faculty and industry experts. With this course, recorded on campus at UCSD, we seek to share our access to top people in the field who bring an unprecedented range of expertise on drug commercialization. This course will cover pharmacoeconomic, marketing strategy, intellectual property strategy, portfolio management, managed markets and...
19. Medical Terminology 101
For those in healthcare, billing, and more. Boost earning ability and marketable skills by learning to speak medicine...
20. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...
Top 10 most affordable universities for prior authorization specialists
The most affordable schools for prior authorization specialists are University of Florida, california state university - bakersfield, and suny farmingdale.
If the best universities for prior authorization specialists 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 prior authorization specialists.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
3. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
4. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
5. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
6. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Cost of attendance
25,527
8. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
9. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
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 prior authorization specialists
The hardest universities for prior authorization specialists to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, and Vanderbilt University.
Some great schools for prior authorization specialists 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 prior authorization specialists 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. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
3. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
4. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
6. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
7. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
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. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for prior authorization specialists
The easiest schools for prior authorization specialists to get into are D'Youville College, mount saint mary's university, and gwynedd mercy university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a prior authorization specialist 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 prior authorization specialists.
1. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
2. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
3. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
4. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
5. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
6. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
7. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
8. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
9. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
10. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
Average prior authorization specialist salary by education level
| Prior authorization specialist education level | Prior authorization specialist salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $41,974 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $35,782 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $40,493 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $37,009 |
Prior authorization specialist education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.
Search for prior authorization specialist jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025