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Student activities director education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a student activities director. Student activities directors usually study business, communication, or psychology. 74% of student activities directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 12% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 3,539 real student activities director resumes to see exactly what student activities director education sections show.

The most common colleges for student activities directors are the Texas A&M; University and the Texas A&M; University.

There are also many online student activities director courses to help get the education required to be a student activities director.

There are certain student activities director certifications that you should consider. These student activities director certifications include Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP) and Certified Planning Engineer (CPE).

What education do you need to become a student activities director?

What degree do you need to be a student activities director?

The most common degree for student activities directors is bachelor's degree, with 74% of student activities directors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 12% and master's degree degree at 8%.
  • Bachelor's, 74%
  • Master's, 12%
  • Associate, 8%
  • High School Diploma, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a student activities director?

You should major in business to become a student activities director. 15% of student activities directors major in business. Other common majors for a student activities director include communication and psychology.

Most common colleges for student activities directors

Student activities directors often get their degrees at Texas A&M; University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Pennsylvania State University. Here are the most common colleges for student activities directors in the US based on their resumes.
Student activities director common collegePercentages
Texas A&M University7.98%
University of North Carolina at Greensboro7.14%
Pennsylvania State University5.88%
University of California - Davis5.46%
New York University5.04%

Best majors for student activities directors

RankMajorPercentages
1Business15.4%
2Communication11.4%
3Psychology10.3%
4Political Science5.5%
5English5.5%

Best colleges for student activities directors

The best colleges for student activities directors are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.

A student activities 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 student activities 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 student activities directors.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

5. Emory University

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,306

Enrollment

6,975

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

20 best online courses for student activities directors

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1. Enhance Student Learning through Kahoot

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By the end of this project, you will have created a Kahoot collection that will engage your students during virtual learning or as a more engaging way to encourage practice and review at home or in the classroom. Teaching is constantly evolving. As we learn more about our students, we uncover new ways to ensure that they are not just learning - they are thriving. When we can connect our tech-savvy students to tech-connected learning, our students are more likely to enjoy learning. We can also...

2. Engage and Assess Students with Quizizz

coursera

By the end of this project, you will be ready to use Quizizz with your students to create gamified quizzes, polls, and lessons. Whether you are teaching online or in the classroom, Quizizz allows you to gather valuable assessment data while your students are actively engaged in a friendly competitive game. Throughout each task, we will set up your Quizizz account and learn how to create your own quizzes as well as use the reporting feature to see how your students are progressing. Engage your...

3. Successful Events: Event Planning, Marketing & Management

udemy
4.7
(2,141)

Create a single successful event or event-series with effective event promotion, planning, management, and monetization...

4. Law: A Comprehensive Summary for LLB Students

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4.2
(253)

An essential 24 hours of Video Lectures, Spider Graphs and Case Summaries made to guide LLB students preparing for exams...

5. Creating a Student Profile in Google Docs

coursera

By the end of this project, you will have created a Student Profile in Google Docs that will allow you identify student needs and differentiate instruction. We will work together to learn how to use Google Docs as we create a Student Profile template and complete it for a particular student you have in mind. You will be provided with additional resources that will help improve your teaching practice through identification of students needs and ensuring that the appropriate accommodations are...

6. Unleash Student Creativity with Buncee

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By the end of this project, you will be able to use Buncee to unleash your students’ creativity. Buncee is “a creation and communication tool… to create interactive content, allowing those of all ages to visualize concepts and communicate creatively.” With Buncee, learning becomes more personalized as students are able to share through engaging multimedia projects using Buncee’s templates, stickers, and animations. Throughout this project, we will work together to ensure that you are confident...

7. Thermodynamics for Engineering Students

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A Detailed Introduction to Thermodynamics...

8. Leading Effective Meetings - You Can Lead Effective Meetings

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4.4
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Learn How to Plan Effective Meetings, Run Effective Meetings and Generate Results After Your Meetings...

9. Encouraging Student Collaboration with Padlet

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By the end of this project, you be able to use Padlet to create a collaborative classroom fostering interactive student engagements, creating virtual lessons, and more. With Padlet, teachers and students can collaborate in real time on lessons, projects, and anything else you can imagine. Together, we will learn how to use Padlet to connect with students during virtual learning, for in class collaboration, and discover ways to improve our ability to differentiate instruction using Padlet. The...

10. Increase Student Buy in with Google Slides

coursera

By the end of this project, you will have created a student punchcard that will engage your students during virtual learning or as a more engaging way to encourage buy in during classroom learning. Teaching is constantly evolving. As we learn more about our students, we uncover new ways to ensure that they are not just learning - they are thriving. Using a punchcard will not only provide your students with more choice and independence, it will also provide your classroom with the procedures and...

11. Dosage Calculations Mastery for Nursing & Pharmacy Students

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4.5
(303)

Master Dosage Calculations in 5 Hours Without Memorizing Any Formulas and Pass the NCLEX or PTCB Exam...

12. Cisco Troubleshooting Labs For CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE Students

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TSHOOT Labs in Routing, Switching, BGP, IPv6, IP Services, MPLS, and Security for CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE Students...

13. Preparing for Graduate Study in the U.S.: A course for international students

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Preparing for graduate school in the United States can be nerve-wracking. Many international students have questions about what the programs are like and what resources they can use to excel in their studies. This course allows potential and incoming international students to practice their communication skills, identify tools that support academic success, and gain confidence as they prepare for their advanced degrees. Alongside advancing your English skills, get the chance to hear from...

14. Student Self-Assessment with Microsoft Word

coursera

By the end of this project, you will have created a self-report card and a behaviour reflection form for student self-reflection. You will also be equipped with suggestions for how to use these documents with students. Encouraging our students to reflect on their learning is one of many goals we have as teachers. One valuable way to do this is by allowing our students to share their perspective on the school year. What areas are going well for them? What areas do they see where they could grow?...

15. Business English Course for ESL Students

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4.6
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Learn essential Business English vocabulary for presentations, meetings, negotiations, phone calls, e-mails, and more!...

16. Productivity for Students: Study Smarter, Not Harder

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4.3
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Powerful learning strategies to increase your personal productivity: Studying SMART with Project Elon founder Mike Elon...

17. A Law Student's Toolkit

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Whether you are an advanced law student looking to review the basics, or an aspiring law student looking for head start, this course will help you build the foundation you will need to succeed in law school and beyond. This course will introduce you to terminology, concepts, and tools lawyers and legal academics use to make their arguments. It will help you follow these arguments—and make arguments of your own. This course consists of a series of short lectures and assignments. A reading list...

18. Using Google Forms for Student Success

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By the end of this project, you have used Google Forms to create several tools to use with your students and parents in order to ensure a successful school year. With volunteer sign-up forms, you can simplify your volunteer process within your classroom and across the school. Through exit tickets and assessments, you will be able to check your student’s understanding of the content taught that day or during a unit so that you can adjust instruction to address misunderstandings or gather...

19. Sort students marks using bubble and insertion algorithms

coursera

The learner will create two sorting algorithms in Java programming language. The learner will create an optimised bubble sort function that sorts students' marks in ascending order by repeatedly swapping adjacent elements within an array if they are in the wrong order. The learner will also create an insertion sort function that sorts students' marks in ascending order by building a sorted array, one element at a time...

20. Create a Record of Students using Arrays in Java

coursera

This project provides a step-by-step approach in instruction and will equip you with fundamental concepts of creating arrays and array lists in Java programming, from the ground up. Using jGRASP development environment, you will create a Java project that records and processes students’ data. The data includes name, mode of study, and marks. Using this data, you will output the student details, compute the total marks per student, determine the average mark, and the highest mark for the class...

Top 10 most affordable universities for student activities directors

The most affordable schools for student activities directors are Baruch College of the City University of New York, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for student activities 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 student activities 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. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

6. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

7. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

8. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

9. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

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 student activities directors

The hardest universities for student activities directors to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University.

Some great schools for student activities 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 student activities 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 Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

5. Emory University

Atlanta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,449

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

7. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

8. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

10. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for student activities directors

The easiest schools for student activities directors to get into are Wayland Baptist University, notre dame de namur university, and nyack college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a student activities 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 student activities directors.

1. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

3. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

4. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

5. Bluefield College

Bluefield, VA • Private

Admissions rate

95%

SAT average

980

6. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

7. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

8. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

9. Rochester University

Rochester Hills, MI • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,002

10. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

Average student activities director salary by education level

According to our data, student activities directors with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $64,147 annually. Student activities directors with a Associate degree earn an average annual salary of $54,309.
Student activities director education levelStudent activities director salary
Master's Degree$64,147
Bachelor's Degree$54,139
Some College/ Associate Degree$54,309

Student activities director 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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