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Unit manager education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a unit manager. Unit managers usually study nursing, business, or criminal justice. 52% of unit managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 27% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 17,955 real unit manager resumes to see exactly what unit manager education sections show.
The most common colleges for unit managers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online unit manager courses to help get the education required to be a unit manager.
There are certain unit manager certifications that you should consider. These unit manager certifications include Certified Manager Certification (CM) and Wound Care Certified (WCC).
What education do you need to become a unit manager?
What degree do you need to be a unit manager?
- Bachelor's, 52%
- Associate, 27%
- Master's, 9%
- High School Diploma, 5%
- Other Degrees, 7%
What should I major in to become a unit manager?
- Nursing, 39%
- Business, 21%
- Criminal Justice, 5%
- Psychology, 4%
- Other Majors, 31%
Most common colleges for unit managers
| Unit manager common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 28.12% |
| Excelsior College | 5.50% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 4.97% |
| Florida State University | 4.44% |
| Ohio State University | 4.12% |
Best majors for unit managers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nursing | 38.9% |
| 2 | Business | 21.0% |
| 3 | Criminal Justice | 4.7% |
| 4 | Psychology | 4.3% |
| 5 | Management | 3.6% |
Best colleges for unit managers
The best colleges for unit managers are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.
A unit manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for unit managers. 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 unit managers.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
5. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
6. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
7. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
8. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
9. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
10. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,230
Enrollment
12,161
20 best online courses for unit managers
Advertising disclosure
1. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...
2. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care
In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...
3. Payroll Management
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4. Unit Operations in Chemical Engineering
Learn the most important Unit Operations in Chemical Plants...
5. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
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6. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...
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9. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
10. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
11. Operational Risks Management ORM
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12. Performance Management: Build a High Performing Team
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13. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
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14. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...
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17. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
18. High Level Biocontainment for Healthcare Facilities
The goal of this 4-week course is to equip learners to safely care for a patient infected with a pathogen requiring high-level biocontainment. This can be accomplished in any healthcare facility given the correct approach and protocols. Please copy and paste the following link into a new tab/browser to view the video overview of our course. http://bit.ly/2bPZ6Cz In this course, we will: 1. Discuss the essentials of intake screening. 2. Investigate pathogen transmission characteristics and the...
19. Internal Audit: a Guide for Management
Internal Audit, Risk Management, Compliance, Governance, Internal Controls, CIA, Audit Report, Audit Charter, IIA...
20. Trauma Emergencies and Care
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Top 10 most affordable universities for unit managers
The most affordable schools for unit managers are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and florida state university.
If the best universities for unit managers 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 unit managers.
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. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
5. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
6. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
7. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
8. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
9. University of Houston - Victoria
Victoria, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$6,491
Cost of attendance
19,075
10. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
Mayaguez, PR • Private
In-state tuition
$4,094
Cost of attendance
14,302
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for unit managers
The hardest universities for unit managers to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.
Some great schools for unit managers 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 unit managers 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. 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. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
6. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
7. University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL • Private
Admissions rate
32%
SAT average
1,365
8. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
10. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for unit managers
The easiest schools for unit managers to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, barry university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a unit manager 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 unit managers.
1. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
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. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
8. University of North Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
992
9. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
10. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
Average unit manager salary by education level
| Unit manager education level | Unit manager salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $80,282 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $54,584 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $68,197 |
| Doctorate Degree | $77,051 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $56,427 |
Unit manager education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025