Project manager/team lead education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a project manager/team lead. Project managers/team lead usually study business, computer science, or electrical engineering. 68% of project managers/team lead hold a bachelor's degree, and 17% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 2,107 real project manager/team lead resumes to see exactly what project manager/team lead education sections show.

The most common colleges for project managers/team lead are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online project manager/team lead courses to help get the education required to be a project manager/team lead.

There are certain project manager/team lead certifications that you should consider. These project manager/team lead certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM).

What education do you need to become a project manager/team lead?

What degree do you need to be a project manager/team lead?

The most common degree for project managers/team lead is bachelor's degree, with 68% of project managers/team lead earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 17% and master's degree degree at 9%.

Bachelor's, 68%

Master's, 17%

Associate, 9%

Diploma, 2%

Other Degrees, 4%

What should I major in to become a project manager/team lead?

You should major in business to become a project manager/team lead. 27% of project managers/team lead major in business. Other common majors for a project manager/team lead include computer science and electrical engineering.

Business, 27%

Computer Science, 12%

Electrical Engineering, 7%

Mechanical Engineering, 6%

Other Majors, 48%

Most common colleges for project managers/team lead

Project managers/team lead often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, University of Maryland - College Park, and DeVry University. Here are the most common colleges for project managers/team lead in the US based on their resumes.

Project manager/team lead common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	12.12%
University of Maryland - College Park	8.66%
DeVry University	7.79%
George Washington University, The	6.06%
New York University	5.63%

Show more common project manager/team lead colleges

Best majors for project managers/team lead

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	27.2%
2	Computer Science	11.9%
3	Electrical Engineering	6.9%
4	Mechanical Engineering	5.7%
5	Project Management	5.2%

Show more common project manager/team lead majors

Best colleges for project managers/team lead

The best colleges for project managers/team lead are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

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

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 project managers/team lead

Advertising disclosure

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3. Master Course in Project Management 2.0

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Project Management, PMP, Agile project management, Project manager, Prince2, Scrum, Project Planning, Project risk cost...

4. Project Management Essentials

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A crash course in the essentials of project management for new project managers...

5. Practical Project Management for Management Consultants

4.5

(809)

How to manage successfully a consulting project - a practical guide for Project Managers...

6. Agile Project Management Bootcamp: Agile Project Management

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This Agile Project Management Bootcamp course will allow you to learn the Agile Way! Agile Project Management (Scrum)...

7. Project Management Office (PMO) for Management Consultants

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A practical guide on how to build and run PMO on the level of top consulting firm Mc Kinsey, BCG, Bain, Pw C...

8. Mastering Construction/Project Management

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Mastering Construction-Project Management in less than 10 Hours...

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10. Agile Project Management for Teams and Individuals

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Project Management...

12. Project Management: Simple Software Project Management

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Project Management for NEW Project Managers - knowledge, tools, techniques, skills, checklists, guidelines, pitfalls...

13. Beginning Project Management: Project Management Level One

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Project Management: Growing a Successful Career as a Project Manager...

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15. Project Management Essentials: Ace Your Next Project!

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17. Project Risk Management

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Practice of identifying , analyzing, prioritizing and mitigating risks...

18. The Project Management Course: Beginner to PROject Manager

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The Complete Course For Becoming A Successful Project Manager...

19. Project Management Professional Certification Program (PMP)

4.2

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Your Guide to the Gold Standard of Project Management Certifications (PMI-PMP) (PMBOK7 updated) (40 PDUs minimum)...

20. Project Management: Master Project Management - PMP/PMI

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Master Project Management using this practical certification course...

Top 10 most affordable universities for project managers/team lead

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

If the best universities for project managers/team lead 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 project managers/team lead.

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 project managers/team lead

The hardest universities for project managers/team lead to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for project managers/team lead 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 project managers/team lead 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 project managers/team lead

The easiest schools for project managers/team lead 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 project manager/team lead 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 project managers/team lead.

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 project manager/team lead salary by education level

According to our data, project managers/team lead with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $120,807 annually. Project managers/team lead with a Doctorate degree earn an average annual salary of $119,960.

Project manager/team lead education level	Project manager/team lead salary
Master's Degree	$120,807
Bachelor's Degree	$111,351
Doctorate Degree	$119,960
Some College/ Associate Degree	$97,546

Project manager/team lead education FAQs

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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

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