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Senior pharmaceutical sales representative education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a senior pharmaceutical sales representative. Senior pharmaceutical sales representatives usually study business, marketing, or communication. 86% of senior pharmaceutical sales representatives hold a bachelor's degree, and 9% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 817 real senior pharmaceutical sales representative resumes to see exactly what senior pharmaceutical sales representative education sections show.

The most common colleges for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives are the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania State University.

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

What education do you need to become a senior pharmaceutical sales representative?

What degree do you need to be a senior pharmaceutical sales representative?

The most common degree for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives is bachelor's degree, with 86% of senior pharmaceutical sales representatives earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 9% and master's degree degree at 3%.
  • Bachelor's, 86%
  • Master's, 9%
  • Associate, 3%
  • Doctorate, 1%
  • Other Degrees, 1%

What should I major in to become a senior pharmaceutical sales representative?

You should major in business to become a senior pharmaceutical sales representative. 31% of senior pharmaceutical sales representatives major in business. Other common majors for a senior pharmaceutical sales representative include marketing and communication.

Most common colleges for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives

Senior pharmaceutical sales representatives often get their degrees at Pennsylvania State University, Florida State University, and University of Phoenix. Here are the most common colleges for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives in the US based on their resumes.
Senior pharmaceutical sales representative common collegePercentages
Pennsylvania State University9.82%
Florida State University8.04%
University of Phoenix7.14%
The University of Alabama7.14%
Michigan State University5.36%

Best majors for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives

RankMajorPercentages
1Business30.9%
2Marketing14.3%
3Communication7.8%
4Nursing6.8%
5Psychology6.6%

Best colleges for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives

The best colleges for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives are University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and Stanford University.

A senior pharmaceutical sales representative 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 pharmaceutical sales representatives. 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 pharmaceutical sales representatives.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

3. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

4. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

5. SUNY College at Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,369

Enrollment

5,229

6. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$45,542

Enrollment

14,159

7. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,570

Enrollment

3,721

8. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

9. SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Delhi, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,360

Enrollment

3,142

10. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

20 best online courses for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives

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1. Sales Operations/Management

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5. HubSpot Sales Representative

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Whether you're completely new to sales and looking to start a new career, or you want to grow in your current sales role, this five-course career training program from the inbound sales experts at HubSpot can help you reach your career goals.\n\nYou’ll start by learning the basics of sales enablement and how sales and marketing teams can collaborate to create and keep relationships with their targeted buyers. You’ll develop data-driven sales goals and influential content to enable you to...

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The Complete Startup Playbook for Business Development & B2B Sales to learn Lead Generation, Pitching, & Closing Deals...

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Pharmaceutical Supply Mastery: From Procurement to Efficient Distribution...

10. Sales Machine: The Sales Training B2B Master Course

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11. Sales Skills: 9 Sales Training Courses In 1

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12. Sales and Marketing For Online Businesses

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13. Sales Training: How To Close More Sales

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14. Sales Funnels Masterclass: Increase Sales With Sales Funnels

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15. Sales Training: Become A Sales Superstar

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16. Sales Analysis for Management Consultants

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17. B2B Sales Skills: LinkedIn Lead Generation, Cold Email Sales

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18. LinkedIn Sales Navigator: LinkedIn's tool for B2B Sales

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19. Sales Skills Mastery 1: Sales Training For Beginners

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Selling Techniques and Sales Strategy that Every Salesperson Ought to Know - Sales Training For the Modern World...

20. Sales Methodologies: Best Practices for Enterprise Selling

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Apply sales methodology and sales process best practices to the modern enterprise selling organization...

Top 10 most affordable universities for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives

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

If the best universities for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives 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 pharmaceutical sales representatives.

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

2. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

7. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

8. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

9. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

10. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives

The hardest universities for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives to get into are University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and Stanford University.

Some great schools for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives 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 pharmaceutical sales representatives 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

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

6. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

7. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

8. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

9. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

10. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives

The easiest schools for senior pharmaceutical sales representatives to get into are Barry University, oklahoma wesleyan university, and d'youville college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a senior pharmaceutical sales representative 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 pharmaceutical sales representatives.

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. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

4. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

5. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

6. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

7. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

8. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

9. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

10. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

Average senior pharmaceutical sales representative salary by education level

According to our data, senior pharmaceutical sales representatives with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $126,916 annually. Senior pharmaceutical sales representatives with a Doctorate degree earn an average annual salary of $120,206.
Senior pharmaceutical sales representative education levelSenior pharmaceutical sales representative salary
Master's Degree$126,916
High School Diploma or Less$75,695
Bachelor's Degree$109,665
Doctorate Degree$120,206
Some College/ Associate Degree$79,631

Senior pharmaceutical sales representative 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.