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Recruitment director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a recruitment director. Recruitment directors usually study business, psychology, or communication. 76% of recruitment directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 12% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 3,999 real recruitment director resumes to see exactly what recruitment director education sections show.
The most common colleges for recruitment directors are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online recruitment director courses to help get the education required to be a recruitment director.
There are certain recruitment director certifications that you should consider. These recruitment director certifications include Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
What education do you need to become a recruitment director?
What degree do you need to be a recruitment director?
- Bachelor's, 76%
- Master's, 12%
- Associate, 7%
- High School Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 3%
What should I major in to become a recruitment director?
- Business, 29%
- Psychology, 9%
- Communication, 9%
- Marketing, 8%
- Other Majors, 45%
Most common colleges for recruitment directors
| Recruitment director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 15.92% |
| University of Maryland - College Park | 8.22% |
| Michigan State University | 5.31% |
| University of Houston | 5.31% |
| Florida State University | 5.04% |
Best majors for recruitment directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 29.2% |
| 2 | Psychology | 9.3% |
| 3 | Communication | 8.5% |
| 4 | Marketing | 8.3% |
| 5 | Political Science | 5.7% |
Best colleges for recruitment directors
The best colleges for recruitment directors are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and University of Pennsylvania.
A recruitment director with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for recruitment directors. 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 recruitment directors.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
3. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
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. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
8. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$15,094
Enrollment
32,974
9. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,230
Enrollment
12,161
10. SUNY College at Oswego
Oswego, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,440
Enrollment
7,039
20 best online courses for recruitment directors
Advertising disclosure
1. Recruitment Interviewing Essentials: Interviewing Made Easy
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2. Recruitment, Interviewing, and Emotional Intelligence
Smart Hiring with Emotional Intelligence: Recruiting, Interviewing Build Strong Teams Maximise Company Success...
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HR Managers - You Can Hire the Right People - Talent Management Skills for Human Resources Professionals...
4. Tech Recruitment with ChatGPT: 75 Minute Crash Course
Hiring, IT Recruitment, Technical Recruitment, Chat GPT, GPT4, Software roles, Resume screening, Prompt Engineering...
5. [2023] Recruiting: Talent Acquisition & Hiring (Version 3.2)
Be able to hire great people! Learn recruitment in a bestselling recruiting course used by IBM®, e Bay®, Lyft® & others...
6. Master Hiring & Interview Skills for Recruiting the Best Fit
2023 - All-in-One Human Resources Course on Effective Talent Acquisition, Recruitment, Questioning & Interviewing...
7. Job Search Success Strategies: Proven Job Hunting Strategies
You Want to Land Your Dream Job? Learn How to Impress Recruiters, Beat the Competition and Win Job Interviews!...
8. Social Media Recruitment for Human Resource Professionals
Complete Recruitment Workshop for HR Professionals to find talent on Social Networks, Linked In & 20+ Talent Communities...
9. Recruiting Talent: How to find & attract the best candidates
Optimize your recruiting efforts, find top talent, & make sure candidates are a perfect fit for your open positions...
10. Recruitment: IT Basics for IT Recruiters
IT fundamentals for Recruiters in IT industry...
11. Using LinkedIn to Get a Job Without Going Crazy
A Practical Guide for Job Seekers...
12. Boolean Search for Recruitment & Sourcing (Human Resource)
Boolean Search, Boolean Operators, Boolean String, Google Advanced Search, Xray Search for HR Professionals...
13. Introduction to Hiring and Recruiting Strategy
Design a Fair, Effective, and Clear Process to Source, Screen, and Select the Best People for Your Team...
14. Recruitment Tools for Difficult Times
The needed Virtual Interviewing Skills for Pandemic Context or VUCA world...
15. Recruiter Training - Hire Top Employees in Under 30 Days
Become a confident recruiter. Learn how to find, interview and hire top talent every time. Used by EY, IBM, e Bay & more...
16. Master Course in Human Resources 2.0
Strategic human resource management, strategic planning, recruiting, training, HR management,Labour welfare...
17. Beginner Tech Recruitment Bootcamp
Learn the basics of Tech Recruitment...
18. Job Interviewing: Complete Job Interview Success Course 6HR
Job Interviewing is critical. Learn all key Job Interview skills + demo on answering specific job interview questions...
19. The Lean Recruiting Toolkit: Advanced Strategy Course!
An Agile Blueprint for Creating & Executing Top Hiring Strategies Using Lean, Agile & Kaizen Methodologies. Free Book!...
20. Win Any Job Interview - TOP Strategies For Job Interviews
Job Interview Success to Get Your Dream Job: Skills, Strategies, Hacks. Get Better Job Offers and Make More Money...
Top 10 most affordable universities for recruitment directors
The most affordable schools for recruitment directors are Baruch College of the City University of New York, suny farmingdale, and university of florida.
If the best universities for recruitment directors 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 recruitment directors.
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. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
4. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
5. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
7. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
8. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
9. University of Houston - Victoria
Victoria, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$6,491
Cost of attendance
19,075
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for recruitment directors
The hardest universities for recruitment directors to get into are Northwestern University, University of Southern California, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for recruitment directors 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 recruitment directors 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
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
5. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
6. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
7. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
8. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
9. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for recruitment directors
The easiest schools for recruitment directors to get into are Barry University, oklahoma wesleyan university, and holy names university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a recruitment director 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 recruitment directors.
1. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
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. University of North Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
992
6. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
7. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
8. Our Lady of the Lake University
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,002
9. University of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,020
10. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
Average recruitment director salary by education level
| Recruitment director education level | Recruitment director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $140,761 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $125,288 |
| Doctorate Degree | $146,773 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $104,899 |
Recruitment director education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025