Product quality manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a product quality manager. Product quality managers usually study business, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering. 68% of product quality managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 18% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 525 real product quality manager resumes to see exactly what product quality manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for product quality managers are the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.

There are also many online product quality manager courses to help get the education required to be a product quality manager.

There are certain product quality manager certifications that you should consider. These product quality manager certifications include Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) and Six Sigma Green Belt.

What education do you need to become a product quality manager?

What degree do you need to be a product quality manager?

The most common degree for product quality managers is bachelor's degree, with 68% of product quality managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 18% and master's degree degree at 9%.

Bachelor's, 68%

Master's, 18%

Associate, 9%

High School Diploma, 3%

Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a product quality manager?

You should major in business to become a product quality manager. 21% of product quality managers major in business. Other common majors for a product quality manager include electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.

Business, 21%

Electrical Engineering, 14%

Mechanical Engineering, 10%

Industrial Engineering, 6%

Other Majors, 49%

Most common colleges for product quality managers

Product quality managers often get their degrees at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Missouri University of Science and Technology. Here are the most common colleges for product quality managers in the US based on their resumes.

Product quality manager common college	Percentages
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	7.04%
University of North Carolina at Greensboro	7.04%
Missouri University of Science and Technology	5.63%
Southern Illinois University Carbondale	5.63%
Ohio State University	5.63%

Show more common product quality manager colleges

Best majors for product quality managers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	21.3%
2	Electrical Engineering	13.6%
3	Mechanical Engineering	9.7%
4	Industrial Engineering	6.2%
5	Computer Science	5.0%

Show more common product quality manager majors

Best colleges for product quality managers

The best colleges for product quality managers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A product quality manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for product quality managers. 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 product quality managers.

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 product quality managers

Advertising disclosure

1. ISO 9001:2015-Quality Management System Implementation & Audit

4.2

(707)

Learn how to Implement and Audit a Quality Management System as per ISO 9001: 2015...

2. ISO 9001:2015 Quality management system auditor

4.5

(7,832)

Upgrade your career by learning how to implement and audit a quality management system according to ISO 9001...

3. ISO9001 Quality Management System

4.4

(318)

Learn why your business should be using Quality Management TODAY and create your own QMS (Quality Management System)...

4. Quality Management for Business Excellence

4.5

(3,592)

Lead Quality Management in the Organization • Transform the Organization to Become the Best-in-Class...

5. Quality Systems, Models and Theories

4.1

(251)

Understand, Develop and Implement Quality Systems for Success and Profit...

6. 7 Quality Tools for Quality Management and Improvements.

4.4

(434)

A complete Crash Course on the 7 Basic Tools for Quality Management and its Implementation using MS Excel...

7. Product Management Crash Course; IT Product Management

4.4

(593)

Product Management Essentials & Product Management Fundamentals to kick-start your career in Product Management...

8. Kaizen Practitioner Masterclass for Quality Management.

4.5

(2,289)

Structured Approach to identify and Eliminate waste in Business for Continuous Improvement & Quality Management...

9. Quality Management Systems:Management and Control of Quality

4.5

(985)

Learn to Build, Implement, and Sustain a Performance Excellence Culture into Your Organisation...

10. Mastering ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System

4.6

(2,349)

Plain and Simple Clause by Clause Explanation of ISO 9001:2015 QMS Standard & Implementation Strategies...

11. Certified Quality Process Analyst Training

4.3

(311)

Certified Quality Process Analyst (CQPA) Exam Preparation Course - Confidently Pass the Exam on the First Attempt...

12. Product Management+Agile Requirements using Product Backlog

(769)

Learn to manage requirements as professional scrum product owner using user stories ( Business Analysis ,Scrum Master)...

13. Certified Manager of Quality Training

4.5

(700)

Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE) Exam Preparation Course...

14. Comprehensive Product management for Product managers

4.5

(366)

Become a great product manager with comprehensive product management Real world case study with JIRA & Confluence...

15. Product Management Fundamentals

4.4

(4,918)

Case-based practical course on product management to build strong foundations in product concepts, process & frameworks...

16. The Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)

4.5

(1,218)

The 18-step process for ensuring new parts are consistently manufactured and meet their customers' quality expectations...

17. ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems Lead Auditor Course

4.1

(829)

How to Implement & Audit an ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems Lead Auditor/ Auditor course...

18. Great Product Manager: Product Management by a Big Tech's PM

4.5

(2,976)

Become a Great Product Manager! Land your dream job with Big Tech's Senior Product Manager...

19. Data Quality Fundamentals

4.2

(557)

Understand key concepts, principles and terminology related to Data Quality...

20. Cost of Quality Analysis and Reporting using Microsoft Excel

4.4

(533)

Expertly collect, analyze and present quality cost data (using Microsoft Excel) to help drive continual improvement...

Top 10 most affordable universities for product quality managers

The most affordable schools for product quality managers are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and baruch college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for product quality managers 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 product quality managers.

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 product quality managers

The hardest universities for product quality managers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for product quality managers 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 product quality managers 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

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

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 product quality managers

The easiest schools for product quality managers 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 product quality manager 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 product quality managers.

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 product quality manager salary by education level

According to our data, product quality managers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $150,563 annually. Product quality managers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $130,605.

Product quality manager education level	Product quality manager salary
Master's Degree	$150,563
High School Diploma or Less	$105,278
Bachelor's Degree	$130,605
Some College/ Associate Degree	$113,443

Product quality manager education FAQs

What is the best college for Product Quality Managers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.

Search for product quality manager jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs