Purchasing Agent Education Requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a purchasing agent. Purchasing agents usually study business, accounting, or management. 56% of purchasing agents hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 31,662 real purchasing agent resumes to see exactly what purchasing agent education sections show.

The most common colleges for purchasing agents are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online purchasing agent courses to help get the education required to be a purchasing agent.

There are certain purchasing agent certifications that you should consider. These purchasing agent certifications include Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) and Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP).

What education do you need to become a purchasing agent?

What degree do you need to be a purchasing agent?

The most common degree for purchasing agents is bachelor's degree, with 56% of purchasing agents earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 22% and associate degree degree at 11%.

Bachelor's, 56%

Associate, 22%

High School Diploma, 11%

Master's, 6%

Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a purchasing agent?

You should major in business to become a purchasing agent. 45% of purchasing agents major in business. Other common majors for a purchasing agent include accounting and management.

Business, 45%

Accounting, 9%

Management, 5%

Marketing, 5%

Other Majors, 36%

Most common colleges for purchasing agents

Purchasing agents often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Houston. Here are the most common colleges for purchasing agents in the US based on their resumes.

Purchasing Agent Common College	Percentages
University of Phoenix	21.51%
Pennsylvania State University	6.49%
University of Houston	5.63%
Michigan State University	5.49%
Miami Dade College	5.03%

Show more common purchasing agent colleges

Best majors for purchasing agents

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	44.8%
2	Accounting	8.9%
3	Management	5.3%
4	Marketing	4.6%
5	General Studies	3.8%

Show more common purchasing agent majors

Best colleges for purchasing agents

The best colleges for purchasing agents are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

A purchasing agent with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for purchasing agents. 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 purchasing agents.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

3. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

5. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

6. SUNY College at Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,369

Enrollment

5,229

7. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

8. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$45,542

Enrollment

14,159

9. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,570

Enrollment

3,721

10. Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,853

Enrollment

14,759

20 best online courses for purchasing agents

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1. SAP MM Materials Management (beginner to expert level)

4.3

(331)

Master SAP Materials Management module with practical implementation steps. Prepare and crack SAP MM Certification exam...

2. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service

4.5

(3,822)

Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...

3. Supply Chain Management A-Z: Operations & Logistics Basics

4.5

(2,394)

Supply Chain Management Basics: An MBA style course to boost your career as a business operations & logistics manager...

4. SAP Materials Management (MM) Super User Training

4.6

(614)

Complete Beginner and Intermediate Purchasing & Inventory Management Training - Perform all the task in SAP in no time...

5. RA: Data Science and Supply chain analytics.(A-Z with R)

4.5

(322)

Learn R,Supply-chain Data Science, Inventory Optimization,Big Data forecasting, Machine learning and Revenue Management...

6. Financial Accounting - Inventory Costs

4.3

(254)

Mastering Inventory Costs & Flows: An In-Depth Guide to Accounting for Inventory in Business Operations...

7. SAP MM (Materials Management) Consultant Level Course

(306)

Learn SAP Material Management module from scratch. Purchasing, Schema Determination, Material Master, Goods Receipt, etc...

8. SAP MM Purchasing Simplified for Beginners

4.6

(2,045)

Easy Introduction into Purchasing Processing in SAP ERP...

9. SAP S/4HANA Sourcing & Procurement (MM-Materials Management)

4.5

(2,553)

The course covers both configuration and end-user processes for SAP S/4HANA MM / Sourcing & Procurement...

10. Procurement & Supply Planning tools and techniques.

4.4

(310)

Learn how to Make purchasing strategies ,MRP, forecast, inventory policies and techniques to minimize supply costs...

11. SAP MM Purchasing (Procurement) Process

4.5

(406)

Business Process Explanation along with SAP Configuration and Testing of Purchasing Processes...

12. Laravel 9 - Build Complete Inventory Management System A-Z

4.5

(666)

In This Course, You Will Build Two Different Projects With Laravel 9 including Inventory Management System A-Z...

13. Strategic Cost Management: Procurement and Supply Chain 2022

4.5

(1,611)

How to secure long term Procurement savings without breaking relations with your suppliers (with the updates 2022)...

14. Project Schedule: Monitor & Control Specialist (Accredited)

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Schedule Management: Monitor & Control Schedule, Analyze Schedule, Solve Project Schedule Problems Earn CPDs & PDUs...

15. Complete Tally ERP 9-GST Course with Live Project of Clients

4.2

(353)

Learn Tally ERP 9 with live Accounts of a Business Covering its Accounting, Payroll, GST, Banking, Inventory System...

16. RA: Data Science and Supply Chain analytics. A-Z with Python

4.4

(840)

Learn Python, Supply Chain Data Science ,Linear Programming, Forecasting, Pricing and Inventory Management...

17. Supply Chain Fundamentals: Logistic & Transportation

4.5

(577)

Learn the Fundamentals of Logistic, Warehouse, Inbound, Picking, Packing, transportation and apply it to any ERP system...

18. Project Management Fundamentals - The Art of Scheduling

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(1,807)

Learn How To Schedule Like A Pro From A Pro...

19. SAP MM -Material Management Simplified For Beginners

4.6

(518)

Exclusively designed SAP MM Training for End-Users, MM-Super-users , SAP Beginner to become SAP MM Consultant, S4 HANA...

20. SAP: Supply Chain Logistics in R/3

4.6

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,240

Cost of Attendance

13,991

7. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Cost of Attendance

22,430

8. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,238

Cost of Attendance

21,567

9. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-State Tuition

$5,587

Cost of Attendance

13,043

10. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-State Tuition

$5,620

Cost of Attendance

18,136

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for purchasing agents

The hardest universities for purchasing agents to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for purchasing agents 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 purchasing agents 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

SAT Average

1,492

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions Rate

SAT Average

1,497

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions Rate

SAT Average

1,508

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions Rate

20%

SAT Average

1,419

5. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions Rate

15%

SAT Average

1,506

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions Rate

22%

SAT Average

1,420

7. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions Rate

43%

SAT Average

1,338

8. Fordham University

Bronx, NY • Private

Admissions Rate

46%

SAT Average

1,354

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions Rate

13%

SAT Average

1,445

10. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions Rate

29%

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions Rate

97%

SAT Average

1,050

Average purchasing agent salary by education level

Purchasing agents with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $66,101 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, purchasing agents earn a median annual income of $58,294 compared to $48,495 for purchasing agents with an High School Diploma degree.

Purchasing Agent education level	Purchasing Agent salary
Master's Degree	$66,101
High School Diploma or Less	$48,495
Bachelor's Degree	$58,294
Some College/ Associate Degree	$47,013

Purchasing Agent Education FAQs

What is the best college for Purchasing Agents?

Have more questions? See all answers to common business and financial questions.

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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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