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Student affairs vice president education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a student affairs vice president. Student affairs vice presidents usually study business, psychology, or communication. 74% of student affairs vice presidents hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 448 real student affairs vice president resumes to see exactly what student affairs vice president education sections show.

The most common colleges for student affairs vice presidents are the Northern Arizona University and the Northern Arizona University.

There are also many online student affairs vice president courses to help get the education required to be a student affairs vice president.

What education do you need to become a student affairs vice president?

What degree do you need to be a student affairs vice president?

The most common degree for student affairs vice presidents is bachelor's degree, with 74% of student affairs vice presidents earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 15% and master's degree degree at 5%.
  • Bachelor's, 74%
  • Master's, 15%
  • Associate, 5%
  • Doctorate, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a student affairs vice president?

You should major in business to become a student affairs vice president. 19% of student affairs vice presidents major in business. Other common majors for a student affairs vice president include psychology and communication.

Most common colleges for student affairs vice presidents

Student affairs vice presidents often get their degrees at Northern Arizona University, Michigan State University, and University of Connecticut. Here are the most common colleges for student affairs vice presidents in the US based on their resumes.
Student affairs vice president common collegePercentages
Northern Arizona University7.14%
Michigan State University7.14%
University of Connecticut5.71%
San Diego State University5.71%
Bradley University5.71%

Best majors for student affairs vice presidents

RankMajorPercentages
1Business18.6%
2Psychology11.8%
3Communication8.2%
4Political Science6.8%
5Sociology5.0%

Best colleges for student affairs vice presidents

The best colleges for student affairs vice presidents are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A student affairs vice president 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 affairs vice presidents. 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 affairs vice presidents.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

4. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

6. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

8. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

9. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

10. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,465

Enrollment

6,483

20 best online courses for student affairs vice presidents

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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. 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...

3. Pharmaceutical Industry Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)

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Empowering Professionals in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Comprehensive Online Course in Drug Regulatory Affairs...

4. Public Speaking for College Students: Become a Great Speaker

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4.2
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Public speaking may be the single most important skill for long-term success and you are unlikely to learn it in college...

5. 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...

6. Unleash Student Creativity with Buncee

coursera

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. Law: A Comprehensive Summary for LLB Students

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4.2
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An essential 24 hours of Video Lectures, Spider Graphs and Case Summaries made to guide LLB students preparing for exams...

8. Thermodynamics for Engineering Students

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A Detailed Introduction to Thermodynamics...

9. 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...

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. 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...

12. Dosage Calculations Mastery for Nursing & Pharmacy Students

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4.5
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Master Dosage Calculations in 5 Hours Without Memorizing Any Formulas and Pass the NCLEX or PTCB Exam...

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. Engage and Assess Students with Quizizz

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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...

15. 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...

16. Student Self-Assessment with Microsoft Word

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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?...

17. Using Google Forms for Student Success

coursera

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...

18. Canva for college students

coursera

In this project the learner will learn how to use Canva for their college journey. Canva is an online graphic design program that allows you to create and design all types of documents, graphic design compositions and more. Canva is a great option for those looking for a user-friendly and easy-to-use platform to create attractive designs for their resumes. Canva has many elements that are free and it gives you a lot of freedom when designing. In addition to this, Canva has paid content that...

19. Create a Record of Students using Arrays in Java

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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...

20. 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...

Top 10 most affordable universities for student affairs vice presidents

The most affordable schools for student affairs vice presidents 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 affairs vice presidents 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 affairs vice presidents.

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. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

6. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

7. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

8. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

9. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

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 student affairs vice presidents

The hardest universities for student affairs vice presidents to get into are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for student affairs vice presidents 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 affairs vice presidents 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. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

4. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

5. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

6. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

8. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

10. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for student affairs vice presidents

The easiest schools for student affairs vice presidents to get into are D'Youville College, mount saint mary's university, and gwynedd mercy university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a student affairs vice president 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 affairs vice presidents.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

3. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

6. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

7. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

8. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

9. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

10. Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,017

Average student affairs vice president salary by education level

According to our data, student affairs vice presidents with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $105,908 annually. Student affairs vice presidents with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $90,320.
Student affairs vice president education levelStudent affairs vice president salary
Master's Degree$90,320
Bachelor's Degree$72,074
Doctorate Degree$105,908

Student affairs vice president 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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