Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Principle investigator education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a principle investigator. Principle investigators usually study psychology, biology, or nursing. 59% of principle investigators hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 779 real principle investigator resumes to see exactly what principle investigator education sections show.
The most common colleges for principle investigators are the University of California - Davis and the University of California - Davis.
There are also many online principle investigator courses to help get the education required to be a principle investigator.
What education do you need to become a principle investigator?
What degree do you need to be a principle investigator?
- Bachelor's, 59%
- Master's, 19%
- Doctorate, 16%
- Associate, 3%
- Other Degrees, 3%
What should I major in to become a principle investigator?
- Psychology, 21%
- Biology, 16%
- Nursing, 8%
- Chemistry, 7%
- Other Majors, 48%
Most common colleges for principle investigators
| Principle investigator common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of California - Davis | 7.69% |
| New York University | 6.59% |
| Harvard University | 6.59% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 6.59% |
| University of Central Florida | 5.49% |
Best majors for principle investigators
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psychology | 21.2% |
| 2 | Biology | 16.0% |
| 3 | Nursing | 7.8% |
| 4 | Chemistry | 6.9% |
| 5 | Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology | 5.2% |
Best colleges for principle investigators
The best colleges for principle investigators are Duke University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Harvard University.
A principle investigator with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for principle investigators. 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 principle investigators.
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
3. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
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. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
9. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
In-state tuition
$53,430
Enrollment
5,963
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
In-state tuition
$49,816
Enrollment
6,840
20 best online courses for principle investigators
Advertising disclosure
1. 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...
2. Introduction to Statistics & Data Analysis in Public Health
Welcome to Introduction to Statistics & Data Analysis in Public Health! This course will teach you the core building blocks of statistical analysis - types of variables, common distributions, hypothesis testing - but, more than that, it will enable you to take a data set you've never seen before, describe its keys features, get to know its strengths and quirks, run some vital basic analyses and then formulate and test hypotheses based on means and proportions. You'll then have a solid grounding...
3. Statistics / Data Analysis in SPSS: Inferential Statistics
Increase Your Data Analytic Skills – Highly Valued And Sought After By Employers...
4. Statistics / Data Analysis: Survey Data and Likert Scales
How to Process Survey Data and Analyze Likert Scales In SPSS...
5. Fundamentals of Data Analysis for Big Data
This course prepares participants to begin running data analysis on databases...
6. Basic of Clinical Data Management
Clinical Data Management...
7. Complete Data Wrangling & Data Visualisation With Python
Learn to Preprocess, Wrangle and Visualise Data For Practical Data Science Applications in Python...
8. 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...
9. Statistics/Data Analysis with SPSS: Descriptive Statistics
Increase Your Descriptive Data Analytic Skills – Highly Valued And Sought After By Employers...
10. Core Spatial Data Analysis: Introductory GIS with R and QGIS
Become Proficient In Spatial Data Analysis Using R & QGIS By Working On A Real Project - Get A Job In Spatial Data!...
11. Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research Professionals
The Complete, Certified ICH GCP (R2 & R3) Course for Investigators, Study Coordinators, Sponsors, Monitors and Study staff...
12. Applied Statistical Modeling for Data Analysis in R
Your Complete Guide to Statistical Data Analysis and Visualization For Practical Applications in R...
13. Data Science:Data Mining & Natural Language Processing in R
Harness the Power of Machine Learning in R for Data/Text Mining, & Natural Language Processing with Practical Examples...
14. SPSS Masterclass: Learn SPSS From Scratch to Advanced
The Only Course You Will Ever Need to Learn IBM SPSS Statistics, Research, & Data Analysis Scratch to Advanced Level...
15. Data Analysis Excel for Beginners: Statistical Data Analysis
Data Analysis with Excel 2013 for Beginners. Business Data Analysis. Statistical Data Analysis with Case Studies...
16. Excel Data Analytics in AML Financial Intelligence Analysis
Applying Excel Data Analytics in Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism Analysis & Investigations...
17. Health Data 101
An Introduction to Health Data for data analysts...
18. Complete Data Science Training with Python for Data Analysis
Beginners python data analytics : Data science introduction : Learn data science : Python data analysis methods tutorial...
19. SPSS For Research
SPSS data analysis made easy. Become an expert in advanced statistical analysis with SPSS...
20. Regression Analysis / Data Analytics in Regression
Gain Important and Highly Marketable Skills in Regression Analysis - Tame the Regression Beast Today!...
Top 10 most affordable universities for principle investigators
The most affordable schools for principle investigators are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.
If the best universities for principle investigators 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 principle investigators.
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. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
5. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
6. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
7. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
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 principle investigators
The hardest universities for principle investigators to get into are Duke University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Harvard University.
Some great schools for principle investigators 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 principle investigators 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. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
2. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
6. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
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. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for principle investigators
The easiest schools for principle investigators to get into are D'Youville College, mount saint mary's university, and barry university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a principle investigator 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 principle investigators.
1. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
2. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
3. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
4. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
5. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
6. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
7. The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,035
8. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
9. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
10. Marymount University
Arlington, VA • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,065
Average principle investigator salary by education level
| Principle investigator education level | Principle investigator salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $74,851 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $72,686 |
| Doctorate Degree | $80,507 |
Principle investigator education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common life, physical, and social science questions.
Search for principle investigator jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025