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Tour director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a tour director. Tour directors usually study business, hospitality management, or communication. 72% of tour directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 12% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 760 real tour director resumes to see exactly what tour director education sections show.
The most common colleges for tour directors are the University of Central Florida and the University of Central Florida.
There are also many online tour director courses to help get the education required to be a tour director.
There are certain tour director certifications that you should consider. These tour director certifications include Certified Tour Professional (CTP) and Certified Tour Guide / Director.
What education do you need to become a tour director?
What degree do you need to be a tour director?
- Bachelor's, 72%
- Associate, 12%
- Master's, 9%
- High School Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a tour director?
- Business, 23%
- Communication, 7%
- Psychology, 5%
- Other Majors, 56%
Most common colleges for tour directors
| Tour director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Central Florida | 11.34% |
| University of Florida | 7.22% |
| Temple University | 6.19% |
| Boston University | 6.19% |
| New York University | 6.19% |
Best majors for tour directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 22.6% |
| 2 | Hospitality Management | 8.6% |
| 3 | Communication | 7.1% |
| 4 | Psychology | 5.4% |
| 5 | English | 5.1% |
Best colleges for tour directors
The best colleges for tour directors are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.
A tour 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 tour 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 tour directors.
1. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
2. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
3. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
5. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
6. Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$3,926
Enrollment
9,835
7. SUNY College at Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,369
Enrollment
5,229
8. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,230
Enrollment
12,161
9. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
10. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
20 best online courses for tour directors
Advertising disclosure
1. Guided Tour of Machine Learning in Finance
This course aims at providing an introductory and broad overview of the field of ML with the focus on applications on Finance. Supervised Machine Learning methods are used in the capstone project to predict bank closures. Simultaneously, while this course can be taken as a separate course, it serves as a preview of topics that are covered in more details in subsequent modules of the specialization Machine Learning and Reinforcement Learning in Finance. The goal of Guided Tour of Machine...
2. A Tour of Google Cloud Sustainability
This is a self-paced lab that takes place in the Google Cloud console. In this hands-on lab, you will learn why Google Cloud is the cleanest cloud in the industry by exploring and utilizing sustainability tools....
3. Entity Framework Core - A Full Tour
Learn how to use and take advantage of the full feature set of Entity Framework Core in your .NET Core applications...
4. CCNA and CCNP Real World Labs - Data Centers and Cabling
A Data Center Tour and the Physical Layer, including Cable Testers and Analyzers by Fluke and Ideal Networks...
5. A Tour of Google Cloud Hands-on Labs
This is a self-paced lab that takes place in the Google Cloud console. In this first hands-on lab you will access the Google Cloud Platform Console and use these basic Google Cloud features: Projects, Resources, IAM Users, Roles, Permissions, and APIs...
6. Cloud Computing
The Cloud Computing Specialization takes you on a tour through cloud computing systems. We start in in the middle layer with Cloud Computing Concepts covering core distributed systems concepts used inside clouds, move to the upper layer of Cloud Applications and finally to the lower layer of Cloud Networking. We conclude with a project that allows you to apply the skills you've learned throughout the courses.\n\nThe first four courses in this Specialization form the lecture component of courses...
7. Microsoft 365 Administration (Exam 70-346)
This course is designed to give users a tour and understanding of the administrative capabilities in Microsoft 365...
8. Travel Management Course (Skill-Based)
#1 Travel Management Course in the Industry .All you need to know to step into the Travel & Tourism Sector...
9. Using Advanced Formulas and Functions in Excel
In this project, you will learn the advanced formulas and functions in Excel to perform analysis on several different topics. First, we will review basic formulas and functions and take a tour through the many choices in the Excel Formulas tab. Then we will explore the advanced financial formulas and functions followed by logic and text. Last, we will learn many ways to perform lookup and reference type queries. Throughout the project, you will work through some examples that will show you how...
10. Libertarian Free Will
Yes, we have free will! This Specialization will explore Libertarian Free Will and discuss philosophical arguments and neuroscientific evidence for and against its existence.\n\nIn this Specialization, we will dismantle arguments against free will, both from a philosophical and neuroscientific perspective. In supporting free will, we will tour philosophy, physics and neuroscience. We will rethink the neural code and discover that evolution has discovered a middle path between determinism and...
11. ABC of Cisco SD-WAN Viptela Part 1
By Ratnesh 2x CCIE #61380...
12. Trello Ultimate Guide
Everything you need to know about Trello in 2022...
13. Getting Started with ProfitBooks
This project will give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the cloud-based platform, ProfitBooks. We will start this project by introducing you to the platform through creating an online account and taking a virtual tour of the software. This step will include updating your company profile in the settings. We will continue our introduction by building out a CRM through the customer profile feature. Once the customer profiles are created, you will be introduced to some beginner...
14. Computational Social Science Capstone Project
CONGRATULATIONS! Not only did you accomplish to finish our intellectual tour de force, but, by now, you also already have all required skills to execute a comprehensive multi-method workflow of computational social science. We will put these skills to work in this final integrative lab, where we are bringing it all together. We scrape data from a social media site (drawing on the skills obtained in the 1st course of this specialization). We then analyze the collected data by visualizing the...
15. Prep for the LPIC-1 Exam 101-500: Linux System Administrator
Conquer the test with this extensive course that covers 100% of the LPIC-1 Exam 101-500 certification objectives...
16. Git and GitHub For Beginners
Learn Git and Github From Scratch...
17. Introduction to Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics
In this course, you will learn how Azure Synapse Analytics enables you to perform different types of analytics through its’ components that can be used to build Modern Data Warehouses through to advanced analytical solutions. You will learn how Azure Synapse Analytics solves the issue of having a single service to fulfill the broad range of analytics requirements that organizations face today and take a tour of the core application used to interact with the various components of Azure Synapse...
18. Toledo: Deciphering Secrets of Medieval Spain
This course evaluates the medieval history of Toledo from the era of the Visigoth Kingdom (6th-8th centuries) through its Islamic period (8th to 11th centuries) and into its reintegration into Christian Spain (after 1085 c.e.) In particular, we take note of the cultural and religious transformations that characterized the city with a special effort to understand how many peoples and religions came to settle and live amongst one another. We will virtually-tour the Islamic and Christian...
19. Successful Events: Event Planning, Marketing & Management
Create a single successful event or event-series with effective event promotion, planning, management, and monetization...
20. Backyard Astronomy
An Introduction to Star Gazing...
Top 10 most affordable universities for tour directors
The most affordable schools for tour directors are USF Sarasota-Manatee, suny farmingdale, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for tour 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 tour directors.
1. USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,587
Cost of attendance
13,043
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
5. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
6. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
7. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
8. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
9. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
10. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for tour directors
The hardest universities for tour directors to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.
Some great schools for tour 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 tour 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. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
5. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
6. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
8. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
9. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
Admissions rate
40%
SAT average
1,376
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Admissions rate
43%
SAT average
1,338
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for tour directors
The easiest schools for tour directors to get into are University of North Texas at Dallas, oklahoma wesleyan university, and notre dame college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a tour 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 tour directors.
1. University of North Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
992
2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
3. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
4. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
5. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
6. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
7. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
8. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
9. Cleary University
Howell, MI • Private
Admissions rate
58%
SAT average
1,039
10. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
Average tour director salary by education level
| Tour director education level | Tour director salary |
|---|---|
| High School Diploma or Less | $50,417 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $58,476 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $60,229 |
Tour director education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025