2027 Best Majors With Academic Advising
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Which major makes sense if you want to become an academic advisor, and does a master's degree improve your options? The answer depends on whether you want to advise college students generally, specialize in a field, or pursue a more senior student-services role.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 4% employment growth for the broader school and career counselors and advisors occupation from 2024 to 2034, but that category is not a forecast for college academic advisors alone. This guide compares relevant fields and explains how to assess credentials, practical experience, cost, and career fit.
Key Things You Should Know
- Education, higher education, counseling, psychology, and social work offer the most direct preparation for broad student-advising roles; a subject-specific master's may be more useful for advising within that discipline.
- A bachelor's degree can qualify applicants for some academic advising jobs, while other employers prefer a master's degree or relevant student-services experience. No single major is universally required.
- The BLS reports a May 2024 median annual wage of $65,140 for school and career counselors and advisors, a broader occupation, not the median pay of academic advisors or graduates of a particular major.
Top 10 Best Majors With Academic Advising
Business Programs
A master's in business administration or management can suit someone aiming to advise business students, especially if they already know the curriculum or have experience in recruiting or student services. Coursework in organizations, analytics, and communication may help with program planning.
It is a less direct route to general academic advising than higher education or counseling. Compare the business degree's full cost with the duties in actual advisor job postings before enrolling; an MBA is not a standard requirement for the occupation.
Healthcare Programs
Master's programs in public health, health administration, or health professions education may help advisors working with health-sciences students navigate prerequisite sequences and professional pathways. These degrees are most compelling when paired with healthcare or student-support experience.
They do not substitute for verifying admission standards, clinical requirements, or licensing rules for the programs students hope to enter. If your goal is general college advising rather than health-program specialization, a higher education degree may be a closer fit.
Information Technology Programs
A master's in information technology may fit advising roles connected to IT programs, digital learning, or student-success systems. Technical knowledge can help an advisor explain course sequences and changing skill requirements, but advising also requires communication, referral, and record-management skills.
Some IT master's programs expect prior computing coursework; others provide foundation courses that add time and cost. Choose this route for genuine subject specialization, not because an IT credential is generally required for advising jobs.
Computer Science Programs
A master's in computer science can be valuable when advising students through programming prerequisites, mathematics requirements, research options, or computing career paths. It is often academically demanding and may require substantial prior preparation.
For someone primarily seeking a general academic advisor position, that investment may be hard to justify. Look for advising, teaching-assistant, or student-mentoring experience alongside the degree; technical expertise by itself does not demonstrate an ability to support students.
Nursing Programs
A master's in nursing is usually designed for registered nurses pursuing advanced nursing, education, or leadership roles, not as a general entry route into academic advising. It can make sense for a nurse who wants to advise nursing students and understands clinical placement and licensure preparation.
Admission commonly requires an existing nursing credential, and programs may include practice requirements. Prospective general advisors without nursing backgrounds should consider a more accessible student-affairs or education pathway instead.
Psychology Programs
A master's in psychology can strengthen an advisor's understanding of learning, motivation, and research methods. It does not, by itself, qualify someone to practice as a licensed psychologist or mental health counselor.
Academic advisors should know when to refer students to qualified counseling professionals rather than provide therapy. Compare programs' applied experience and cost: a degree in higher education with advising practice may be more directly aligned with routine college advising work.
Education Programs
A master's in higher education, student affairs, or education with an academic advising concentration is among the most direct graduate choices for college advising. Relevant study may cover student development, access, assessment, and institutional policy; an internship or assistantship can add experience.
Check the actual concentration and placement requirements, because a general education master's may focus instead on classroom teaching or school leadership. Teacher licensure is not normally the purpose of a higher education advising track.
Criminal Justice Programs
A master's in criminal justice may help someone advising students in justice, public safety, or related programs understand the discipline's coursework and career pathways. It is not a typical prerequisite for academic advising.
If your interest is supporting students across many majors, prioritize student-development coursework and direct advising experience. If you already work in criminal justice, weigh whether a specialized master's advances both your subject expertise and your advising goals before committing to its cost.
Engineering Programs
A master's in engineering can support specialized advising where course prerequisites, laboratory schedules, and discipline-specific options are complex. Many engineering graduate programs require a related undergraduate background.
Subject knowledge is useful, but advisor hiring may also emphasize student communication and familiarity with university policies. Unless you want to maintain an engineering career option, a graduate degree focused on higher education may offer a more direct route to advising.
Social Work Programs
A master of social work can be relevant to student-support roles involving case coordination, access to resources, and complex barriers to enrollment. It generally includes supervised field education and may lead toward social work licensure only when additional state requirements are met.
That substantial commitment may exceed what an academic advising position requires. Choose it if you also want a social work career path; otherwise, compare less practice-intensive higher education programs.
What majors prepare students for careers in academic advising?
Education and higher education are the most direct majors for academic advising, but they are not the only viable choices. Psychology, social work, and counseling-related study can build student-support skills, while business, computing, healthcare, and other subject majors can prepare advisors to work with students in those disciplines.
At the bachelor's level, pair your major with peer advising, tutoring, orientation, or campus employment. At the master's level, look for student-development coursework and supervised practice rather than relying on the degree title.
The comparison below shows how the main pathways differ. It describes likely preparation, not a universal hiring rule.
| Field | Strongest connection to advising | Main limitation |
| Higher education or student affairs | College systems, student development, advising practice | Program quality depends on its curriculum and experiential opportunities |
| Psychology or social work | Student needs, communication, and referrals | Clinical or social work preparation is not the same as academic advising |
| Discipline-specific field | Advising students within that subject area | May provide little training in advising methods |
If you need a shorter way to build a targeted skill, compare relevant online certificates with the experience requested in job postings. A certificate can complement, but does not automatically replace, a degree an employer requires.
What degree do you need to become an academic advisor?
Academic advisor requirements vary by employer and role. Some positions accept a bachelor's degree in a range of fields plus relevant experience; others prefer or require a master's in higher education, counseling, education, or a related area.
More specialized or senior positions may expect substantial advising or student-services experience. A master's is therefore a strategic choice, not a universal entry requirement.
Before paying for graduate school, review several current openings for the type of institution where you want to work. Compare their required and preferred qualifications, then assess whether campus employment or an assistantship could close your experience gap.
Do not assume that a counseling-focused degree grants a professional counseling license or that such a license is necessary for academic advising.
How much do academic advisors earn, and what is the job outlook?
The BLS does not publish a separate national median wage and growth forecast specifically for college academic advisors. Its school and career counselors and advisors category had a May 2024 median annual wage of $65,140 and projected 4% employment growth from 2024 to 2034.
Those figures provide occupational context, but the category includes jobs with different duties and qualifications. Pay for a particular advising position depends on its employer, location, responsibilities, and experience requirements.
Use local job postings and published institutional pay ranges to evaluate a potential master's degree against tuition, fees, and earnings you might forgo while studying.
If compensation is your primary goal, compare the best degrees to make money with the work you actually want to do; a higher-paying occupation may require a very different career path.
What courses do academic advising majors typically include?
Academic advising is usually a concentration or career focus within a broader degree, rather than a standard undergraduate major. Relevant graduate coursework may include student development, advising theory, higher education administration, college access, assessment, ethics, and research methods. Programs may also offer electives in career development or support for specific student populations.
Check how students practice those skills. An internship, practicum, assistantship, or capstone tied to student services may be more useful for an entry-level applicant than an additional elective. Course titles alone do not show whether a program provides hands-on advising experience or fits the jobs you intend to pursue.
Are online academic advising programs as effective as campus programs?
Online study can be an effective route to academic advising preparation when the curriculum, instructor access, and opportunities for supervised experience meet your needs. Delivery format alone does not establish program quality. An online master's may still have scheduled meetings, fixed deadlines, a local internship, or campus visits; confirm each requirement before enrolling.
Campus study may make it easier to pursue a nearby graduate assistantship or build relationships with student-services staff. Online study can better fit work and caregiving, provided required activities are manageable. Readers balancing family responsibilities can use online courses for moms as a starting point for comparing formats, then verify the advising program's own schedule and experiential requirements.
What are the admission requirements for academic advising programs?
A bachelor's program generally requires a high school diploma or equivalent, while a master's program requires a completed bachelor's degree. Graduate programs may also request transcripts, a statement of purpose, recommendations, and evidence of relevant experience.
Prerequisite courses, GPA standards, interviews, and test policies differ by institution and program; check the current requirements for your intended credential rather than assuming a university-wide policy applies.
Application costs are worth comparing across schools, but a waived fee says nothing about graduate admission or program fit. If that expense matters, explore free application online colleges, then confirm whether the waiver covers the specific program and applicant category you are considering.
How long do academic advising degrees and certificates take?
A bachelor's degree commonly takes about four years of full-time study from the start, while a master's often takes roughly one to two years after a bachelor's degree. A focused graduate certificate may take less time, but requirements vary considerably. Part-time enrollment, foundation courses, internship hours, course availability, and a thesis or capstone can change any estimate.
Ask programs for the required credits and a term-by-term plan at your intended course load. If you have previous coursework, request an evaluation of whether it applies to the specific credential; accepted credits do not necessarily satisfy every major, concentration, or experiential requirement.
Do academic advisors need certification or professional credentials?
Academic advising generally has no single, nationwide license or mandatory professional certification. Employers instead set their own degree and experience requirements. Optional training or certificates may help demonstrate knowledge, but they should be evaluated against actual job postings and the cost of obtaining them.
Do not confuse academic advising with licensed mental health counseling or social work. An advisor may discuss academic choices and connect a student with support, but providing regulated clinical services involves separate education, supervised practice, examinations, and state rules. If you want both career options, check the applicable state licensing board's requirements before selecting a degree.
How can you choose an accredited academic advising program?
Start by confirming that the college or university holds recognized institutional accreditation and that the specific degree or certificate meets your goals. Then compare curricula, advising-related experiential opportunities, delivery requirements, and the full price, not tuition alone.
Mandatory fees, travel, and time away from work can materially change the cost of completion. Two common mistakes are choosing a program solely for its title and assuming online study includes an accessible internship.
Ask where recent students completed practical work, whether placements are arranged or self-sourced, and what support is available to online students. Finally, compare the program with current advisor openings: the best choice is the one that addresses your qualification gaps at a cost and schedule you can sustain.
Other Things You Should Know About the Best Majors
Some institutions offer advising concentrations or certificates, but academic advising is more commonly studied through higher education, student affairs, counseling-related, or education programs.
Yes, some employers accept a bachelor's degree, particularly when applicants have relevant student-services experience. Other positions prefer or require a master's.
A major in that field can provide valuable subject knowledge. Pair it with advising, tutoring, or student-support experience so you can demonstrate both kinds of preparation.
It may be if the positions you want prefer graduate preparation and the program provides relevant experience at a manageable cost. Compare job requirements and total program expenses before deciding.
References
- Program Integrity Questions and Answers - Incentive Compensation | U.S. Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/program-integrity-information-questions-and-4
- OSU Advising Vision, Mission, Goals, and Commitments | Academic Advising https://advising.oregonstate.edu/advising-vision-mission-goals-and-commitments
- Academic Advising - Definition - Academics - University of Maine at Machias https://machias.edu/academics/faculty-handbook/section-iv-academic-pol/academic-adv-def/
- Effective Academic Advising Strategies | Civitas Learning https://civitaslearning.com/blog/effective-academic-advising-strategies/
- Exploring The Student to Advisor Ratio | EAB https://eab.com/higher-education-glossary/student-success/student-to-advisor-ratio/
- Academic Advisor Skills: What Makes a Good Academic Advisor? | IvyWise https://www.ivywise.com/blog/academic-advisor-skills-what-makes-a-good-academic-advisor/
