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Assay development scientist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an assay development scientist. Assay development scientists usually study biology, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, or chemistry. 60% of assay development scientists hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 151 real assay development scientist resumes to see exactly what assay development scientist education sections show.

The most common colleges for assay development scientists are the University of California - Davis and the University of California - Davis.

There are also many online assay development scientist courses to help get the education required to be an assay development scientist.

What education do you need to become an assay development scientist?

What degree do you need to be an assay development scientist?

The most common degree for assay development scientists is bachelor's degree, with 60% of assay development scientists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 19% and master's degree degree at 19%.
  • Bachelor's, 60%
  • Master's, 19%
  • Doctorate, 19%
  • Associate, 1%

What should I major in to become an assay development scientist?

You should major in biology to become an assay development scientist. 30% of assay development scientists major in biology. Other common majors for an assay development scientist include biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology and chemistry.

Most common colleges for assay development scientists

Assay development scientists often get their degrees at University of California - Davis, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Boston University. Here are the most common colleges for assay development scientists in the US based on their resumes.
Assay development scientist common collegePercentages
University of California - Davis14.29%
University of California, Santa Barbara12.24%
Boston University8.16%
University of California, Berkeley6.12%
Purdue University4.08%

Best majors for assay development scientists

Best colleges for assay development scientists

The best colleges for assay development scientists are Harvard University, Duke University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

An assay development scientist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for assay development scientists. 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 assay development scientists.

1. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

2. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

5. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

6. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

7. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

In-state tuition

$49,816

Enrollment

6,840

8. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

10. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

20 best online courses for assay development scientists

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1. Chemical Biology

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Chemical biology is a burgeoning field that has rapidly risen to prominence. This surge of interest has been fuelled by chemical biology’s applicability to understanding critical processes in live cells or model organisms in real time. This success has arisen because chemical biology straddles a nexus between chemistry, biology, and physics. Thus, chemical biology can harness rapid chemistry to observe or perturb biological processes, that are in turn reported using physical assays, all in an...

2. Mastering Software Development in R

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R is a programming language and a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics, widely used by data analysts, data scientists and statisticians. This Specialization covers R software development for building data science tools. As the field of data science evolves, it has become clear that software development skills are essential for producing and scaling useful data science results and products.\n\nThis Specialization will give you rigorous training in the R language,...

3. Aspen HYSYS - Petroleum Assays and Oil Characterization

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Learn how to setup petroleum assays, hypothetical compounds and use the oil manager tools in Aspen HYSYS...

4. Essential Non Technical Skills of Effective Data Scientists

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Boost your Data Science Career by developing these crucial Non Technical Skills & become a Successful Data Scientist...

5. Clinical Trials Analysis, Monitoring, and Presentation

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In this course, you’ll learn more advanced operational skills that you and your team need to run a successful clinical trial. You’ll learn about the computation of sample size and how to develop a sample size calculation that’s suitable for your trial design and outcome measures. You’ll also learn to use statistical methods to monitor your trial for safety, integrity, and efficacy. Next, you’ll learn how to report the results from your clinical trials through both journal articles and data...

6. Drug Development

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The University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Drug Development course brings you lectures from both faculty and industry experts. With this course, recorded on campus at UCSD, we seek to share our access to top people in the field who bring an unprecedented range of expertise on drug development. In this course you will learn the different stages of clinical development as well as the regulatory including but not limited to, an Investigational New...

7. Learn Data Science & Machine Learning with R from A-Z

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Become a professional Data Scientist with R and learn Machine Learning, Data Analysis + Visualization, Web Apps + more!...

8. The Simplest Guide to Clinical Trials Data Analysis with SAS

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Step into the world of Pharmaceutical industry Clinical Trials Clinical Research Biostatistics Clinical SAS SAS...

9. Databases for Data Scientists

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Whether you are a beginning programmer with an interest in Data Science, a data scientist working closely with content experts, or a software developer seeking to learn about the database layer of the stack this specialization is for you! We focus on the relational database which is the most widely used type of database. Relational databases have dominated the database software marketplace for nearly four decades and form a core, foundational part of software development. In this specialization...

10. The Data Scientist’s Toolbox

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In this course you will get an introduction to the main tools and ideas in the data scientist's toolbox. The course gives an overview of the data, questions, and tools that data analysts and data scientists work with. There are two components to this course. The first is a conceptual introduction to the ideas behind turning data into actionable knowledge. The second is a practical introduction to the tools that will be used in the program like version control, markdown, git, GitHub, R, and...

11. R Programming: Advanced Analytics In R For Data Science

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Take Your R & R Studio Skills To The Next Level. Data Analytics, Data Science, Statistical Analysis in Business, GGPlot2...

12. Certificate in Qlik Sense Analytics Development

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Real world data scenarios for Qlik Sense app development...

13. Der Werkzeugkasten des Data Scientist

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In this course you will get an introduction to the main tools and ideas in the data scientist's toolbox. The course gives an overview of the data, questions, and tools that data analysts and data scientists work with. There are two components to this course. The first is a conceptual introduction to the ideas behind turning data into actionable knowledge. The second is a practical introduction to the tools that will be used in the program like version control, markdown, git, GitHub, R, and...

14. Drug Development Product Management

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Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are spending years and millions of dollars developing drugs or promising new biologics, all with the hopes of saving or enhancing patients’ lives. This specialization will provide you with a 30,000 feet view of the entire process of drug discovery and development. In the first course you will begin with learning how scientists go from selecting a drug discovery target to filing an Initial New Drug application. In the second course you will learn the...

15. SQL Server Analysis Services - SSAS, Data Mining & Analytics

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Develop SSAS cubes from data warehouse on Multidimensional & Tabular modes with Dimensional & Data Mining Models...

16. R Programming Hands-on Specialization for Data Science (Lv1)

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An in-depth course on R language with real-world Data Science examples to supercharge your R data analysis skills...

17. Plant Bioinformatic Methods

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The past 15 years have been exciting ones in plant biology. Hundreds of plant genomes have been sequenced, RNA-seq has enabled transcriptome-wide expression profiling, and a proliferation of "-seq"-based methods has permitted protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions to be determined cheaply and in a high-throughput manner. These data sets in turn allow us to generate hypotheses at the click of a mouse or tap of a finger.The Plant Bioinformatics Specialization on Coursera introduces core...

18. Predictive Modeling and Transforming Clinical Practice

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This course teaches you the fundamentals of transforming clinical practice using predictive models. This course examines specific challenges and methods of clinical implementation, that clinical data scientists must be aware of when developing their predictive models...

19. R Level 1 - Data Analytics with R

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Use R for Data Analytics and Data Mining...

20. Practical SQL Bootcamp for Data Analysts and Data Scientists

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Top 10 most affordable universities for assay development scientists

The most affordable schools for assay development scientists are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for assay development scientists 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 assay development scientists.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

7. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

8. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

9. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Cost of attendance

25,527

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for assay development scientists

The hardest universities for assay development scientists to get into are Harvard University, Duke University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for assay development scientists 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 assay development scientists 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. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

2. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

3. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

6. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

7. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

8. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

9. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

10. University of Chicago

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions rate

7%

SAT average

1,520

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for assay development scientists

The easiest schools for assay development scientists to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, d'youville college, and barry university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an assay development scientist 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 assay development scientists.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

2. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

3. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

4. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

5. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

6. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

7. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

8. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

9. Marymount University

Arlington, VA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,065

10. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

Average assay development scientist salary by education level

According to our data, assay development scientists with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $77,384 annually. Assay development scientists with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $73,207.
Assay development scientist education levelAssay development scientist salary
Master's Degree$73,207
Bachelor's Degree$71,588
Doctorate Degree$77,384

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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