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Strategic analyst education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a strategic analyst. Strategic analysts usually study business, finance, or economics. 68% of strategic analysts hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 665 real strategic analyst resumes to see exactly what strategic analyst education sections show.
The most common colleges for strategic analysts are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online strategic analyst courses to help get the education required to be a strategic analyst.
What education do you need to become a strategic analyst?
What degree do you need to be a strategic analyst?
- Bachelor's, 68%
- Master's, 22%
- Associate, 6%
- Doctorate, 2%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a strategic analyst?
Most common colleges for strategic analysts
| Strategic analyst common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 9.30% |
| University of Nebraska - Lincoln | 5.81% |
| American University | 5.81% |
| University of California, Berkeley | 5.81% |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 5.81% |
Best majors for strategic analysts
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 28.6% |
| 2 | Finance | 10.8% |
| 3 | Economics | 8.2% |
| 4 | Marketing | 6.7% |
| 5 | Political Science | 5.2% |
Best colleges for strategic analysts
The best colleges for strategic analysts are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt University.
A strategic analyst with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for strategic analysts. 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 strategic analysts.
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. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
5. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$10,595
Enrollment
30,184
6. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
7. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,896
Enrollment
15,529
8. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Enrollment
33,495
9. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
10. Texas State University
San Marcos, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$10,280
Enrollment
34,187
20 best online courses for strategic analysts
Advertising disclosure
1. Data Analysis Immersive (Full-time)
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)
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
Use Python, SQL and Statistics to advance your programming skills and refine your ability to work with messy, complex datasets...
4. Marketing Analytics
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. Strategic Analysis with Financial Competitive Profile Matrix
By the end of this guided project, you will be able to use the Financial Competitive Profile Matrix (FCPM) to analyze your industry and identify your competitive advantage with key financial indicators. FCPM is a strategic management tool that enables you to benchmark your company in relation to competition and then identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of all the competitors based on some Financial Critical Success Factors (FCSFs) analysis. The FCSFs are assigned weight based on their...
6. Strategic Business Analytics
This specialization is designed for students, business analysts, and data scientists who want to apply statistical knowledge and techniques to business contexts. We recommend that you have some background in statistics, R or another programming language, and familiarity with databases and data analysis techniques such as regression, classification, and clustering.We’ll cover a wide variety of analytics approaches in different industry domains. You’ll engage in hands-on case studies in real...
7. Strategic Planning Skills
Strategic Planning Skills...
8. HR as a Strategic Business Partner
Better understand your value and role as a strategic business partner...
9. Digital Marketing (Part Time)
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...
10. Intro to Data Analytics
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...
11. Data Structures and Algorithms
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...
12. Data Visualization
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...
13. Business Analysis Process
The Business Analysis Process course will give you a foundational understanding of the process of business analysis and will introduce you to a framework that can be used within a variety of industries and organizations. You’ll see how an analyst assesses a business problem, prepares business requirements, and implements a solution. You will learn how to identify stakeholders, to analyze them, and to define their role in a business analysis project. You’ll also learn how to gather requirements...
14. Business Analysis Fundamentals for Management Consultants
A practical guide for Business Analysts and Management Consultants with exercises in Excel...
15. Strategic Planning Basics for Human Resources
Learn to collaborate with your organizational leaders on the development and implementation of a strategic plan...
16. Digital Marketing
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...
17. Intro to Data Analysis
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...
18. Business analysis & Scrum with JIRA for Software development
Become a great Business analyst, Product owner & Scrum master with JIRA & Confluence. Business analysis & Scrum course...
19. Business Analysis Crash Course
Business Analysis Essentials; Become a Business Analyst with this business analysis course...
20. Data Visualization
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...
Top 10 most affordable universities for strategic analysts
The most affordable schools for strategic analysts are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and florida state university.
If the best universities for strategic analysts 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 strategic analysts.
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. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
3. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
4. USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,587
Cost of attendance
13,043
5. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
6. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
7. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
8. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
9. Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$5,740
Cost of attendance
17,864
10. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for strategic analysts
The hardest universities for strategic analysts to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt University.
Some great schools for strategic analysts 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 strategic analysts 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. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
5. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
6. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
7. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,407
8. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
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 strategic analysts
The easiest schools for strategic analysts 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 strategic analyst 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 strategic analysts.
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. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
6. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
7. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
8. Iona College
New Rochelle, NY • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,089
9. William Paterson University of New Jersey
Wayne, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
994
10. San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,054
Average strategic analyst salary by education level
| Strategic analyst education level | Strategic analyst salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $91,601 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $81,054 |
| Doctorate Degree | $92,400 |
Strategic analyst education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025