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Senior marketing specialist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a senior marketing specialist. Senior marketing specialists usually study business, marketing, or communication. 77% of senior marketing specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 14% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 1,925 real senior marketing specialist resumes to see exactly what senior marketing specialist education sections show.

The most common colleges for senior marketing specialists are the Michigan State University and the Michigan State University.

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

There are certain senior marketing specialist certifications that you should consider. These senior marketing specialist certifications include Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) and Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate.

What education do you need to become a senior marketing specialist?

What degree do you need to be a senior marketing specialist?

The most common degree for senior marketing specialists is bachelor's degree, with 77% of senior marketing specialists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 14% and master's degree degree at 7%.
  • Bachelor's, 77%
  • Master's, 14%
  • Associate, 7%
  • Diploma, 1%
  • Other Degrees, 1%

What should I major in to become a senior marketing specialist?

You should major in business to become a senior marketing specialist. 25% of senior marketing specialists major in business. Other common majors for a senior marketing specialist include marketing and communication.

Most common colleges for senior marketing specialists

Senior marketing specialists often get their degrees at Michigan State University, University of Phoenix, and San Jose State University. Here are the most common colleges for senior marketing specialists in the US based on their resumes.
Senior marketing specialist common collegePercentages
Michigan State University8.68%
University of Phoenix8.68%
San Jose State University6.61%
New York University6.20%
Pennsylvania State University5.37%

Best majors for senior marketing specialists

RankMajorPercentages
1Business24.6%
2Marketing22.7%
3Communication11.9%
4Management5.1%
5English4.4%

Best colleges for senior marketing specialists

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

A senior marketing specialist 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 marketing specialists. 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 marketing specialists.

1. University of Georgia

Athens, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,830

Enrollment

29,474

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-state tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

5. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

6. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

7. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

8. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

9. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

10. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

20 best online courses for senior marketing specialists

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1. Data Analysis Immersive (Full-time)

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Learn to problem solve, and effectively communicate, like an analyst. This course teaches you to use industry-standard tools to make ethical, data-driven decisions. Experience hands-on training to master SQL, Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, and Python – tools listed in virtually every data analytics job posting across industries...

2. Data Analytics (Part Time)

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Harness Excel, SQL, and Tableau to drive powerful analysis and insights. Build confidence and credibility to apply this versatile skill set to countless jobs. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

3. Data Analyst

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Use Python, SQL and Statistics to advance your programming skills and refine your ability to work with messy, complex datasets...

4. Marketing Analytics

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Gain an in-depth understanding of Google Analytics and marketing analytics. Analyze data and build models with Excel, Data Studio, and create informative data visualizations with Tableau...

5. Marketing Analytics

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Organizations large and small are inundated with data about consumer choices. But that wealth of information does not always translate into better decisions. Knowing how to interpret data is the challenge -- and marketers in particular are increasingly expected to use analytics to inform and justify their decisions. Marketing analytics enables marketers to measure, manage and analyze marketing performance to maximize its effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI). Beyond the obvious...

6. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email Specialist Practice Tests

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4.5
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Email Specialist Practice Exams - 100 Questions - Answers & Explanations - Exam Simulated Environment...

7. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email Specialist Certification

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Want SFMC videos?Want practice tests?Want to pass Marketing Cloud Cert? Take the course - learn concepts & get certified...

8. Digital Marketing (Part Time)

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Build confidence and capability to apply modern marketing strategies on the job. Drive growth with multichannel campaigns powered by data and customer insight. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

9. Intro to Data Analytics

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Discover if data is a career fit for you Regardless of your industry or role, fluency in the language of data analytics will allow you to contribute to data driven decision making. In this free, two-hour livestream, you’ll learn to understand, analyze, and interpret data so you too can join the data conversation. We’ll cover how to ask the right questions of your data and basic analytic functionality. Then you’ll apply your new found data analytic skills to a real-world dataset, allowing you...

10. Data Structures and Algorithms

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Get hands-on practice with over 80 data structures and algorithm exercises and guidance from a dedicated mentor to help prepare you for interviews and on-the-job scenarios...

11. Data Visualization

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You will start by building data visualizations and dashboards, considering your audiences to be as effective as possible. Then, you’ll move into drafting presentations using storytelling techniques, visualizations, and animations to provide data-driven recommendations...

12. Email Marketing. Increase Sales With Email Marketing!

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A Hands-on Guide to Email Marketing for Beginners. Learn How to Boost Your Business With Email Marketing Strategy...

13. Facebook Marketing 2023. Promote Your Business on Facebook!

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4.3
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Learn how to promote your brand on Facebook, create engaging content, launch ads and increase the number of followers!...

14. Digital Marketing

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Gain real-world experience running live campaigns as you learn from top experts in the field. Launch your career with a 360-degree understanding of digital marketing...

15. Intro to Data Analysis

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Start your data science journey right with this hands-on introduction to the discipline of data analysis. In this course you'll learn the 5 key stages of the data analysis process and apply them to real data sets using Python libraries NumPy, pandas, and Matplotlib...

16. Google Analytics, GTM. How to improve your marketing?

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4.4
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Learn how to increase your online marketing performance with analytical tools to effectively promote your business!...

17. Online Marketing: SEO & Social Media Marketing Strategy

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2023 growth hacking with top web marketing and Internet marketing strategies: Social media marketing strategies + SEO...

18. Data Visualization

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Discover how data visualization can communicate insights far more effectively than text or tables. In this course, you’ll learn how to build data visualizations programmatically using Python, and how you can use visualization to both discover and convey trends in your data...

19. Experimental Design & Recommendations

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Learn two of the most in-demand skills in the entire field of data science! By the end of this course, you’ll know how to generate personalized recommendations based on user data, as well as run statistically valid tests that produce clean, interpretable results...

20. Marketing Analytics & Retail Business Management using Excel

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Retail analytics using MS Excel - Covering Forecasting, Market Basket, RFM, Customer Valuation & Price Bundling...

Top 10 most affordable universities for senior marketing specialists

The most affordable schools for senior marketing specialists are Baruch College of the City University of New York, suny farmingdale, and university of florida.

If the best universities for senior marketing specialists 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 marketing specialists.

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. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

6. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

7. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

8. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

9. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

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 senior marketing specialists

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

Some great schools for senior marketing specialists 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 marketing specialists 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 Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

4. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

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. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

9. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

10. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for senior marketing specialists

The easiest schools for senior marketing specialists to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, university of the incarnate word, and holy names university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a senior marketing specialist 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 marketing specialists.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

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. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

6. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

7. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

8. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

9. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

10. Iona College

New Rochelle, NY • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,089

Average senior marketing specialist salary by education level

According to our data, senior marketing specialists with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $85,640 annually. Senior marketing specialists with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $85,077.
Senior marketing specialist education levelSenior marketing specialist salary
Master's Degree$85,077
Bachelor's Degree$77,523
Doctorate Degree$85,640

Senior marketing specialist education FAQs

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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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