Advanced degrees common among leaders

Over half of professional leaders have an advanced degree, according to a study conducted by the British Council.

The study found that over half of 1,709 participating professional leaders—which it defines as those “in a position of influence in their organisation and their sectors more broadly”—held an advanced degree and that, of those, half had a masters degree and almost half had a doctoral degree in the social sciences.

In addition, more than half of the undergraduate degrees held by the participants were social sciences or humanities degrees. Of the politicians who took part, 79 per cent had a social sciences or humanities undergraduate degree.