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Consultant Education Requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a consultant. Consultants usually study business, computer science, or accounting. 64% of consultants hold a bachelor's degree, and 17% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 265,015 real consultant resumes to see exactly what consultant education sections show.
The most common colleges for consultants are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online consultant courses to help get the education required to be a consultant.
There are certain consultant certifications that you should consider. These consultant certifications include Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Program Management Professional (PgMP).
What education do you need to become a consultant?
What degree do you need to be a consultant?
- Bachelor's, 64%
- Master's, 17%
- Associate, 9%
- High School Diploma, 3%
- Other Degrees, 7%
What should I major in to become a consultant?
- Business, 24%
- Computer Science, 9%
- Accounting, 8%
- Psychology, 6%
- Other Majors, 53%
Most common colleges for consultants
Consultant Common College  | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 11.47% |
| New York University | 8.00% |
| University of Maryland - College Park | 6.83% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 5.99% |
| Ohio State University | 4.93% |
Best majors for consultants
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 24.3% |
| 2 | Computer Science | 9.4% |
| 3 | Accounting | 8.1% |
| 4 | Psychology | 6.4% |
| 5 | Finance | 5.6% |
Best colleges for consultants
The best colleges for consultants are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Southern California.
A consultant with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for consultants. 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 consultants.
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. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
5. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,230
Enrollment
12,161
20 best online courses for consultants
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Use Python, SQL and Statistics to advance your programming skills and refine your ability to work with messy, complex datasets...
4. 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...
5. Consulting Business: How to Start a Consulting Business
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6. Retail for Business Analysts and Management Consultants
A practical guide with cases studies how to analyze and improve a retail business during management consulting projects...
7. 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...
8. 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...
9. 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...
10. FMCG for Management Consultants and Business Analysts
A practical guide on how to analyze in Excel and improve consumer goods business during consulting projects...
Top 10 most affordable universities for consultants
The most affordable schools for consultants are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and suny farmingdale.
If the best universities for consultants 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 consultants.
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. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$8,306
Cost of Attendance
16,091
4. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,620
Cost of Attendance
18,136
5. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,656
Cost of Attendance
21,623
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for consultants
The hardest universities for consultants to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Southern California.
Some great schools for consultants 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 consultants 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. 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. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions Rate
5%
SAT Average
1,520
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for consultants
The easiest schools for consultants to get into are Notre Dame de Namur University, wayland baptist university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a consultant 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 consultants.
1. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions Rate
82%
SAT Average
983
2. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions Rate
98%
SAT Average
1,003
3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions Rate
68%
SAT Average
964
4. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions Rate
84%
SAT Average
1,031
5. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions Rate
81%
SAT Average
999
Average consultant salary by education level
| Consultant education level | Consultant salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $86,138 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $79,480 |
| Doctorate Degree | $90,078 |
Consultant Education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common business and financial questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025