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Senior administrator education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a senior administrator. Senior administrators usually study business, computer science, or accounting. 61% of senior administrators hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 6,974 real senior administrator resumes to see exactly what senior administrator education sections show.

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

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

There are certain senior administrator certifications that you should consider. These senior administrator certifications include Certified Manager Certification (CM) and International Accredited Business Accountant (IABA).

What education do you need to become a senior administrator?

What degree do you need to be a senior administrator?

The most common degree for senior administrators is bachelor's degree, with 61% of senior administrators earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 15% and associate degree degree at 14%.
  • Bachelor's, 61%
  • Associate, 15%
  • Master's, 14%
  • High School Diploma, 5%
  • Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a senior administrator?

You should major in business to become a senior administrator. 34% of senior administrators major in business. Other common majors for a senior administrator include computer science and accounting.

Most common colleges for senior administrators

Senior administrators often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, University of Maryland - College Park, and Monroe College. Here are the most common colleges for senior administrators in the US based on their resumes.
Senior administrator common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix24.30%
University of Maryland - College Park6.29%
Monroe College6.07%
Strayer University5.64%
New York University5.42%

Best majors for senior administrators

RankMajorPercentages
1Business33.9%
2Computer Science8.2%
3Accounting6.9%
4Finance4.8%
5Psychology4.1%

Best colleges for senior administrators

The best colleges for senior administrators are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

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

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 senior administrators

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Top 10 most affordable universities for senior administrators

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

If the best universities for senior administrators 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 senior administrators.

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 senior administrators

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

Some great schools for senior administrators 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 senior administrators 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

4%

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

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 senior administrators

The easiest schools for senior administrators 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 senior administrator 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 senior administrators.

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 senior administrator salary by education level

Senior administrators with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $116,669 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, senior administrators earn a median annual income of $112,357 compared to $101,154 for senior administrators with an Associate degree.
Senior administrator education levelSenior administrator salary
Master's Degree$116,669
High School Diploma or Less$99,788
Bachelor's Degree$112,357
Some College/ Associate Degree$101,154

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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