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Doctoral fellow education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a doctoral fellow. Doctoral fellows usually study chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, or biology. 46% of doctoral fellows hold a doctoral degree, and 37% hold an bachelor's degree. We analyzed 11,880 real doctoral fellow resumes to see exactly what doctoral fellow education sections show.
The most common colleges for doctoral fellows are the University of California - Davis and the University of California - Davis.
There are also many online doctoral fellow courses to help get the education required to be a doctoral fellow.
There are certain doctoral fellow certifications that you should consider. These doctoral fellow certifications include Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) and Clinical Trial Investigator (CTI).
What education do you need to become a doctoral fellow?
What degree do you need to be a doctoral fellow?
- Doctorate, 46%
- Bachelor's, 37%
- Master's, 16%
- Associate, 0%
- Other Degrees, 1%
What should I major in to become a doctoral fellow?
- Chemistry, 18%
- Biology, 14%
- Microbiology, 6%
- Other Majors, 46%
Most common colleges for doctoral fellows
| Doctoral fellow common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of California - Davis | 9.10% |
| National University | 7.92% |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | 7.92% |
| University of Florida | 5.37% |
| University of Maryland - College Park | 5.28% |
Best majors for doctoral fellows
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chemistry | 18.2% |
| 2 | Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology | 16.0% |
| 3 | Biology | 13.7% |
| 4 | Microbiology | 5.7% |
| 5 | Physics | 5.3% |
Best colleges for doctoral fellows
The best colleges for doctoral fellows are Harvard University, Duke University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
A doctoral fellow with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for doctoral fellows. 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 doctoral fellows.
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
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. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$13,226
Enrollment
31,568
7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
8. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
In-state tuition
$53,430
Enrollment
5,963
9. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
In-state tuition
$49,816
Enrollment
6,840
20 best online courses for doctoral fellows
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Learn about the technologies underlying experimentation used in systems biology, with particular focus on RNA sequencing, mass spec-based proteomics, flow/mass cytometry and live-cell imaging. A key driver of the systems biology field is the technology allowing us to delve deeper and wider into how cells respond to experimental perturbations. This in turns allows us to build more detailed quantitative models of cellular function, which can give important insight into applications ranging from...
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The healthcare system is a rapidly evolving field with new research leading to advancements in medicine. Developed at Johns Hopkins University and led by top-ranked Hopkins faculty and cancer experts, this specialization on Cancer Biology focuses on the basics of cancer biology, how cancer metastasis occurs, and specifically, screening guidelines for prostate cancer, the most common cancer in American men.\n\nThis specialization starts with an Introduction to the Biology of Cancer, introduces...
6. Plant Bioinformatics Capstone
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. In Plant Bioinformatics on Coursera.org, we covered 33 plant-specific...
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10. Chemical Biology
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...
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13. Understanding Prostate Cancer
Welcome to Understanding Prostate Cancer. My name is Ken Pienta, Professor of Urology and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. I have been studying prostate cancer and treating patients with prostate cancer for over 25 years. Over 1,000,000 men worldwide and 230,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. Three hundred thousand men worldwide and 30,000 men in the US are dying from prostate cancer every year. As people live longer, the incidence of...
14. Introduction to the Biology of Cancer
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16. Introduction to Cheminformatics and medicinal chemistry
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17. Reverse and complement nucleic acid sequences (DNA, RNA) using Python
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18. Reverse and complement nucleic acid sequences (DNA, RNA) using R
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Top 10 most affordable universities for doctoral fellows
The most affordable schools for doctoral fellows are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.
If the best universities for doctoral fellows 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 doctoral fellows.
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. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
5. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
6. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
7. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
8. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
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 doctoral fellows
The hardest universities for doctoral fellows to get into are Harvard University, Duke University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
Some great schools for doctoral fellows 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 doctoral fellows 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. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
5. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
6. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
7. University of Chicago
Chicago, IL • Private
Admissions rate
7%
SAT average
1,520
8. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
9. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
10. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for doctoral fellows
The easiest schools for doctoral fellows 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 a doctoral fellow 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 doctoral fellows.
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. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
5. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
6. The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,035
7. San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,054
8. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
9. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
10. University of Houston - Downtown
Houston, TX • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,012
Average doctoral fellow salary by education level
| Doctoral fellow education level | Doctoral fellow salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $51,962 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $51,074 |
| Doctorate Degree | $54,234 |
Doctoral fellow education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025