Recruiter education requirements

Q: What degree do you need to be a recruiter?

A college degree is not necessary to become a recruiter. While not required, most recruiters do hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree. Many aspiring recruiters obtain a four-year degree in a relevant field, such as human resources, business administration, or psychology. Other relevant coursework, such as communications and sociology, will help candidates in their role as a recruiter.

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a recruiter. Recruiters usually study business, psychology, or human resources management. 69% of recruiters hold a bachelor's degree, and 12% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 81,337 real recruiter resumes to see exactly what recruiter education sections show.

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

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

There are certain recruiter certifications that you should consider. These recruiter certifications include Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP) and Society for Human Resource Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP).

What education do you need to become a recruiter?

What degree do you need to be a recruiter?

The most common degree for recruiters is bachelor's degree, with 69% of recruiters earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 12% and associate degree degree at 9%.

Bachelor's, 69%

Associate, 12%

Master's, 9%

High School Diploma, 6%

Other Degrees, 4%

What should I major in to become a recruiter?

You should major in business to become a recruiter. 29% of recruiters major in business. Other common majors for a recruiter include psychology and human resources management.

Business, 29%

Psychology, 10%

Human Resources Management, 10%

Communication, 9%

Other Majors, 42%

Most common colleges for recruiters

Recruiters often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Pennsylvania State University, and Florida State University. Here are the most common colleges for recruiters in the US based on their resumes.

Recruiter common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	22.02%
Pennsylvania State University	4.73%
Florida State University	4.58%
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey	4.50%
University of North Texas	4.46%

Show more common recruiter colleges

Best majors for recruiters

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	29.3%
2	Psychology	10.4%
3	Human Resources Management	10.1%
4	Communication	8.6%
5	Marketing	5.3%

Show more common recruiter majors

Best colleges for recruiters

The best colleges for recruiters are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Southern California.

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

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

5. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

6. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

9. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

10. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$15,094

Enrollment

32,974

20 best online courses for recruiters

Advertising disclosure

1. Recruitment, Interviewing, and Emotional Intelligence

4.2

(382)

Smart Hiring with Emotional Intelligence: Recruiting, Interviewing Build Strong Teams Maximise Company Success...

2. Recruitment Interviewing Essentials: Interviewing Made Easy

4.5

(5,413)

Start hiring confidently, interview skilfully & make recruitment decisions professionally. Avoid costly hiring mistakes...

3. Tech Recruitment with ChatGPT: 75 Minute Crash Course

4.3

(315)

Hiring, IT Recruitment, Technical Recruitment, Chat GPT, GPT4, Software roles, Resume screening, Prompt Engineering...

4. Job Search Success Strategies: Proven Job Hunting Strategies

4.5

(314)

You Want to Land Your Dream Job? Learn How to Impress Recruiters, Beat the Competition and Win Job Interviews!...

5. [2023] Recruiting: Talent Acquisition & Hiring (Version 3.2)

4.5

(9,991)

Be able to hire great people! Learn recruitment in a bestselling recruiting course used by IBM®, e Bay®, Lyft® & others...

6. The Complete Recruiting Masterclass - HR Resources - Hiring

4.3

(317)

HR Managers - You Can Hire the Right People - Talent Management Skills for Human Resources Professionals...

7. Social Media Recruitment for Human Resource Professionals

4.3

(1,741)

Complete Recruitment Workshop for HR Professionals to find talent on Social Networks, Linked In & 20+ Talent Communities...

8. Master Hiring & Interview Skills for Recruiting the Best Fit

4.7

(363)

2023 - All-in-One Human Resources Course on Effective Talent Acquisition, Recruitment, Questioning & Interviewing...

9. Recruiting Talent: How to find & attract the best candidates

4.5

(1,307)

Optimize your recruiting efforts, find top talent, & make sure candidates are a perfect fit for your open positions...

10. Using LinkedIn to Get a Job Without Going Crazy

4.5

(455)

A Practical Guide for Job Seekers...

11. Recruitment: IT Basics for IT Recruiters

4.2

(1,281)

IT fundamentals for Recruiters in IT industry...

12. Boolean Search for Recruitment & Sourcing (Human Resource)

4.4

(2,370)

Boolean Search, Boolean Operators, Boolean String, Google Advanced Search, Xray Search for HR Professionals...

13. Recruiter Training - Hire Top Employees in Under 30 Days

4.4

(2,197)

Become a confident recruiter. Learn how to find, interview and hire top talent every time. Used by EY, IBM, e Bay & more...

14. Introduction to Hiring and Recruiting Strategy

4.5

(845)

Design a Fair, Effective, and Clear Process to Source, Screen, and Select the Best People for Your Team...

15. Ultimate HR Generalist and Human Resource Management Course

4.3

(1,866)

Hands-on HR Certification: All HRM topics. Master Employee Life Cycle, Payroll, Recruitment, Engagement, EXDesign and AI...

16. Recruitment Tools for Difficult Times

4.4

(269)

The needed Virtual Interviewing Skills for Pandemic Context or VUCA world...

17. Job Interviewing: Complete Job Interview Success Course 6HR

4.8

(747)

Job Interviewing is critical. Learn all key Job Interview skills + demo on answering specific job interview questions...

18. Master Course in Human Resources 2.0

4.3

(312)

Strategic human resource management, strategic planning, recruiting, training, HR management,Labour welfare...

19. Interviewing Skills for Jobs: Ace the Job Interview

4.1

(700)

Interviewing Skills - How to ace any job interview-Excel in all Job Interviewing skills...

20. Beginner Tech Recruitment Bootcamp

4.5

(925)

Learn the basics of Tech Recruitment...

Top 10 most affordable universities for recruiters

The most affordable schools for recruiters are Baruch College of the City University of New York, suny farmingdale, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for recruiters 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 recruiters.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

5. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

6. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

7. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

8. University of Houston - Victoria

Victoria, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$6,491

Cost of attendance

19,075

9. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

10. California State University - Fresno

Fresno, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,587

Cost of attendance

16,915

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for recruiters

The hardest universities for recruiters to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Southern California.

Some great schools for recruiters 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 recruiters 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. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

4. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

7. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

8. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

10. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for recruiters

The easiest schools for recruiters to get into are Barry University, holy names university, and university of north texas at dallas.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a recruiter 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 recruiters.

1. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

2. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

3. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

4. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

5. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

6. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

7. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

8. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

9. Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,017

10. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

Average recruiter salary by education level

According to our data, recruiters with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $66,852 annually. Recruiters with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $62,330.

Recruiter education level	Recruiter salary
Master's Degree	$62,330
High School Diploma or Less	$47,290
Bachelor's Degree	$56,372
Doctorate Degree	$66,852
Some College/ Associate Degree	$47,446

Recruiter education FAQs

What degree do you need to be a recruiter?

What is the best college for Recruiters?

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

Search for recruiter 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 business and financial jobs