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Clinical trials specialist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a clinical trials specialist. Clinical trials specialists usually study biology, psychology, or business. 66% of clinical trials specialists hold a bachelor's degree, and 17% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 584 real clinical trials specialist resumes to see exactly what clinical trials specialist education sections show.
The most common colleges for clinical trials specialists are the Temple University and the Temple University.
There are also many online clinical trials specialist courses to help get the education required to be a clinical trials specialist.
What education do you need to become a clinical trials specialist?
What degree do you need to be a clinical trials specialist?
- Bachelor's, 66%
- Master's, 17%
- Associate, 8%
- Doctorate, 4%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a clinical trials specialist?
- Biology, 16%
- Psychology, 16%
- Business, 13%
- Nursing, 9%
- Other Majors, 46%
Most common colleges for clinical trials specialists
| Clinical trials specialist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Temple University | 9.00% |
| North Carolina Central University | 8.00% |
| Northeastern University | 8.00% |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 6.00% |
| Boston University | 6.00% |
Best majors for clinical trials specialists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology | 16.4% |
| 2 | Psychology | 15.8% |
| 3 | Business | 12.9% |
| 4 | Nursing | 8.5% |
| 5 | Health Care Administration | 7.3% |
Best colleges for clinical trials specialists
The best colleges for clinical trials specialists are University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Duke University.
A clinical trials specialist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for clinical trials specialists. 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 clinical trials specialists.
1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
2. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,625
Enrollment
17,407
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
5. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
6. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
7. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
8. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
9. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
10. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
20 best online courses for clinical trials specialists
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1. Clinical Trials Operations
This specialization is designed for individuals and teams that will be running or interacting with clinical trials. In four courses, learners will develop insights and build the skills they need to design, manage, and monitor clinical trials as well as analyze, document, and communicate the results. Learners will also learn best practices regarding ethics, safety, participant recruitment, regulatory compliance, and reporting standards. The core principles and skills of the specialization will...
2. Clinical Trials Analysis, Monitoring, and Presentation
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...
3. Good Clinical Practice ICH GCP for Clinical Research
Certification on ICH GCP E6 R2 Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research The Only Complete Course You Can Find Online...
4. The Simplest Guide to Clinical Trials Data Analysis with SAS
Step into the world of Pharmaceutical industry Clinical Trials Clinical Research Biostatistics Clinical SAS SAS...
5. Clinical Trials Data Management and Quality Assurance
In this course, you’ll learn to collect and care for the data gathered during your trial and how to prevent mistakes and errors through quality assurance practices. Clinical trials generate an enormous amount of data, so you and your team must plan carefully by choosing the right collection instruments, systems, and measures to protect the integrity of your trial data. You’ll learn how to assemble, clean, and de-identify your datasets. Finally, you’ll learn to find and correct deficiencies...
6. Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials
In this course, you’ll learn how to design and carry out clinical trials. Each design choice has implications for the quality and validity of your results. This course provides you and your team with essential skills to evaluate options, make good design choices, and implement them within your trial. You’ll learn to control for bias, randomize participants, mask treatments and outcomes, identify errors, develop and test hypotheses, and define appropriate outcomes. Finally, a trial without...
7. Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research Professionals
The Complete, Certified ICH GCP (R2 & R3) Course for Investigators, Study Coordinators, Sponsors, Monitors and Study staff...
8. Certificate Course in Clinical Research (CCCR)
A Clinical Research Course-ICH-GCP E6(R2), Clinical Trials, Essential Documents, Sponsor, Investigator, Pharmaceuticals...
9. Making Data Science Work for Clinical Reporting
This course is aimed to demonstate how principles and methods from data science can be applied in clinical reporting. By the end of the course, learners will understand what requirements there are in reporting clinical trials, and how they impact on how data science is used. The learner will see how they can work efficiently and effectively while still ensuring that they meet the needed standards...
10. Drug Development
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...
11. The Beginners Course for Clinical Research
The Essentials of Clinical Trials - Clinical Research for Beginners...
12. Basic of Clinical Data Management
Clinical Data Management...
13. Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics
If you’ve ever skipped over the results section of a medical paper because terms like “confidence interval” or “p-value” go over your head, then you’re in the right place. You may be a clinical practitioner reading research articles to keep up-to-date with developments in your field or a medical student wondering how to approach your own research. Greater confidence in understanding statistical analysis and the results can benefit both working professionals and those undertaking research...
14. Clinical Data Science
Are you interested in how to use data generated by doctors, nurses, and the healthcare system to improve the care of future patients? If so, you may be a future clinical data scientist!\n\nThis specialization provides learners with hands on experience in use of electronic health records and informatics tools to perform clinical data science. This series of six courses is designed to augment learner’s existing skills in statistics and programming to provide examples of specific challenges,...
15. Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
Key features of the GCP guideline, roles and responsibilities involved and the requirements of essential documentation...
16. Project Charter Specialist (Accredited) Project Management
What is Project Charter? Components? Template? Example? Document Project Charter? Project Charter Specialist Earn PDUs...
17. Predictive Modeling and Transforming Clinical Practice
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...
18. Clinical Research for beginners
The Art of Publishing - Master Pub Med, Study design, Biostatistics, Journal choice, Manuscript writing & Referencing...
19. Project Schedule: Monitor & Control Specialist (Accredited)
Schedule Management: Monitor & Control Schedule, Analyze Schedule, Solve Project Schedule Problems Earn CPDs & PDUs...
20. Certificate Course in Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)
Pharma course (NDA, ANDA, CTD, DMF, USFDA, Regulatory strategy, GMP, Clinical Research, Orange Book, Pharmaceuticals)...
Top 10 most affordable universities for clinical trials specialists
The most affordable schools for clinical trials specialists are University of Florida, california state university - bakersfield, and hunter college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for clinical trials specialists 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 clinical trials specialists.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
3. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
4. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
5. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
6. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
7. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
8. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Cost of attendance
25,527
10. York College of the City University of New York
Jamaica, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,158
Cost of attendance
14,204
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for clinical trials specialists
The hardest universities for clinical trials specialists to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Duke University.
Some great schools for clinical trials specialists 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 clinical trials specialists 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. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
3. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
4. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
6. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
7. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
8. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
9. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
10. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for clinical trials specialists
The easiest schools for clinical trials specialists to get into are D'Youville College, barry university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a clinical trials specialist 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 clinical trials specialists.
1. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
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. Bluefield College
Bluefield, VA • Private
Admissions rate
95%
SAT average
980
5. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
6. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
7. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
8. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
9. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
10. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
Average clinical trials specialist salary by education level
| Clinical trials specialist education level | Clinical trials specialist salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $96,553 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $63,949 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $84,285 |
| Doctorate Degree | $104,596 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $68,030 |
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025