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Pharmaceutical process engineer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a pharmaceutical process engineer. Pharmaceutical process engineers usually study chemical engineering, business, or management. 61% of pharmaceutical process engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 17% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 58 real pharmaceutical process engineer resumes to see exactly what pharmaceutical process engineer education sections show.

The most common colleges for pharmaceutical process engineers are the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Southern Indiana.

There are also many online pharmaceutical process engineer courses to help get the education required to be a pharmaceutical process engineer.

What education do you need to become a pharmaceutical process engineer?

What degree do you need to be a pharmaceutical process engineer?

The most common degree for pharmaceutical process engineers is bachelor's degree, with 61% of pharmaceutical process engineers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are high school diploma degree at 17% and high school diploma degree at 8%.
  • Bachelor's, 61%
  • High School Diploma, 17%
  • Associate, 8%
  • Master's, 6%
  • Other Degrees, 8%

What should I major in to become a pharmaceutical process engineer?

You should major in chemical engineering to become a pharmaceutical process engineer. 38% of pharmaceutical process engineers major in chemical engineering. Other common majors for a pharmaceutical process engineer include business and management.

Most common colleges for pharmaceutical process engineers

Pharmaceutical process engineers often get their degrees at University of Southern Indiana, University of Texas at Austin, and Indiana University South Bend. Here are the most common colleges for pharmaceutical process engineers in the US based on their resumes.
Pharmaceutical process engineer common collegePercentages
University of Southern Indiana10.00%
University of Texas at Austin5.00%
Indiana University South Bend5.00%
University of Nebraska - Lincoln5.00%
Purdue University5.00%

Best majors for pharmaceutical process engineers

Best colleges for pharmaceutical process engineers

The best colleges for pharmaceutical process engineers are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A pharmaceutical process engineer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for pharmaceutical process engineers. 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 pharmaceutical process engineers.

1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

5. Texas State University

San Marcos, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$10,280

Enrollment

34,187

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

7. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

8. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

9. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

New Brunswick, NJ • Private

In-state tuition

$14,974

Enrollment

35,656

10. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,522

Enrollment

13,760

20 best online courses for pharmaceutical process engineers

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1. Engineering and Product Design Processes

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Welcome to “Engineering and Product Design Processes!” In this short course, you will learn how engineering design processes and product design processes are carried out. After the course, you will be familiar with the steps in both design processes. You will also be familiar with the main goal of each design process, as well as their similarities and differences...

2. 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...

3. Pharmaceutical Industry Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)

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4.5
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Empowering Professionals in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Comprehensive Online Course in Drug Regulatory Affairs...

4. Product Development & Systems Engineering

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4.6
(3,086)

The complete Product Development & Systems Engineering course! Earn 25 contact hours AND prepare to take the INCOSE Exam...

5. Machine Learning Engineering for Production (MLOps)

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Understanding machine learning and deep learning concepts is essential, but if you’re looking to build an effective AI career, you need production engineering capabilities as well.\n\nEffectively deploying machine learning models requires competencies more commonly found in technical fields such as software engineering and DevOps. Machine learning engineering for production combines the foundational concepts of machine learning with the functional expertise of modern software development and...

6. Introduction to Data Engineering

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Start your journey in one of the fastest growing professions today with this beginner-friendly Data Engineering course! You will be introduced to the core concepts, processes, and tools you need to know in order to get a foundational knowledge of data engineering. as well as the roles that Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts play in the ecosystem. You will begin this course by understanding what is data engineering as well as the roles that Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and...

7. The Pharmaceutical R & D Process in Healthcare

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4.4
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Learn about clinical trials, drug regulations, biotech products, generics, marketing and more. *Biotech Update! 1/22*...

8. Certificate Course in Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)

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4.2
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Pharma course (NDA, ANDA, CTD, DMF, USFDA, Regulatory strategy, GMP, Clinical Research, Orange Book, Pharmaceuticals)...

9. IBM Data Engineering

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Prepare for a career in the high-growth field of data engineering. In this program, you’ll learn in-demand skills like Python, SQL, and Databases to get job-ready in less than 5 months.\n\nData engineering is building systems to gather data, process and organize raw data into usable information, and manage data. The work data engineers do provides the foundational information that data scientists and business intelligence (BI) analysts use to make recommendations and decisions.\n\nThis program...

10. Basic Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

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4.4
(2,132)

Learn the good practices that applies to the pharmaceutical industry...

11. Practical Pharmaceutical Supply Management: LMIC Focus

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4.4
(2,385)

Pharmaceutical Supply Mastery: From Procurement to Efficient Distribution...

12. Process/Chemical Engineering - BOOTCAMP 2021

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4.2
(448)

The only course with over 10 hours practical knowledge about main process equipment Design, Control and Safety...

13. Mechanical design and Product development process

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4.2
(604)

Learn the basic ideas and concepts behind developing mechanical products related to mechanical engineering...

14. An Introduction to Machine Learning for Data Engineers

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4.4
(3,291)

A Prerequisite for Tensorflow on Google's Cloud Platform for Data Engineers...

15. Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate - Preparation

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4.6
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Preparation course for Databricks Data Engineer Associate certification exam (Versions 2 and 3) with hands-on training...

16. Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Practice Tests

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4.3
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Pass the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Exam...

17. Practice Exams: Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate

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4.6
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Practice Tests with Detailed Explanations for Databricks Data Engineer Associate certification exam (Versions 2 and 3)...

18. Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate Practice Exams

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Practice Exams Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate both for V2 and V3 exams, 5 Exams with detailed explanations...

19. Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional -Preparation

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4.6
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Preparation course for Databricks Data Engineer Professional certification exam with hands-on training...

20. Certificate Course in Clinical Research (CCCR)

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4
(302)

A Clinical Research Course-ICH-GCP E6(R2), Clinical Trials, Essential Documents, Sponsor, Investigator, Pharmaceuticals...

Top 10 most affordable universities for pharmaceutical process engineers

The most affordable schools for pharmaceutical process engineers are California State University - Long Beach, university of florida, and united states merchant marine academy.

If the best universities for pharmaceutical process engineers 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 pharmaceutical process engineers.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. United States Merchant Marine Academy

Kings Point, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$1,080

Cost of attendance

6,646

4. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

5. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

6. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

7. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

8. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

9. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

10. California State University - Northridge

Northridge, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,893

Cost of attendance

18,870

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for pharmaceutical process engineers

The hardest universities for pharmaceutical process engineers to get into are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for pharmaceutical process engineers 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 pharmaceutical process engineers 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. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

5. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

6. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

9. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

Admissions rate

23%

SAT average

1,434

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for pharmaceutical process engineers

The easiest schools for pharmaceutical process engineers to get into are University of the Incarnate Word, gwynedd mercy university, and texas a&m; university - kingsville.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a pharmaceutical process engineer 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 pharmaceutical process engineers.

1. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

2. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

3. Texas A&M University - Kingsville

Kingsville, TX • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,035

4. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

5. Marymount University

Arlington, VA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,065

6. Texas Woman's University

Denton, TX • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,059

7. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

8. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

9. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

10. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

Average pharmaceutical process engineer salary by education level

Pharmaceutical process engineers with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $97,022 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, pharmaceutical process engineers earn a median annual income of $88,193 compared to $76,456 for pharmaceutical process engineers with an Associate degree.
Pharmaceutical process engineer education levelPharmaceutical process engineer salary
Master's Degree$97,022
Bachelor's Degree$88,193
Some College/ Associate Degree$76,456

Pharmaceutical process engineer education FAQs

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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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