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Research associate, policy education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a research associate, policy. Research associates, policy usually study political science, economics, or international relations. 64% of research associates, policy hold a bachelor's degree, and 28% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 304 real research associate, policy resumes to see exactly what research associate, policy education sections show.
The most common colleges for research associates, policy are the American University and the American University.
There are also many online research associate, policy courses to help get the education required to be a research associate, policy.
What education do you need to become a research associate, policy?
What degree do you need to be a research associate, policy?
- Bachelor's, 64%
- Master's, 28%
- Doctorate, 5%
- Associate, 2%
- Other Degrees, 1%
What should I major in to become a research associate, policy?
- Political Science, 24%
- Economics, 9%
- Psychology, 7%
- Other Majors, 53%
Most common colleges for research associates, policy
| Research associate, policy common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| American University | 8.33% |
| University of Texas at Austin | 8.33% |
| Georgetown University | 6.94% |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | 6.94% |
| Emory University | 5.56% |
Best majors for research associates, policy
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Political Science | 24.1% |
| 2 | Economics | 8.9% |
| 3 | International Relations | 6.8% |
| 4 | Psychology | 6.8% |
| 5 | Law | 5.8% |
Best colleges for research associates, policy
The best colleges for research associates, policy are Northwestern University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and University of Pennsylvania.
A research associate, policy with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for research associates, policy. 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 research associates, policy.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
3. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI • Private
In-state tuition
$10,555
Enrollment
30,360
4. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
6. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
7. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
8. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,830
Enrollment
29,474
9. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
10. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
20 best online courses for research associates, policy
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1. Data Analysis Immersive (Full-time)
Learn to problem solve, and effectively communicate, like an analyst. This course teaches you to use industry-standard tools to make ethical, data-driven decisions. Experience hands-on training to master SQL, Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, and Python – tools listed in virtually every data analytics job posting across industries...
2. Data Analytics (Part Time)
Harness Excel, SQL, and Tableau to drive powerful analysis and insights. Build confidence and credibility to apply this versatile skill set to countless jobs. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
3. Data Analyst
Use Python, SQL and Statistics to advance your programming skills and refine your ability to work with messy, complex datasets...
4. Marketing Analytics
Gain an in-depth understanding of Google Analytics and marketing analytics. Analyze data and build models with Excel, Data Studio, and create informative data visualizations with Tableau...
5. Global Health Policy
In this course, learners will become familiar with principles and theories of global health problems, and major challenges and controversies in improving global population health as well as practical applications of quantitative methods to analyze and interpret issues and challenges for policy. Topics will include health and foreign policy, health governance, acute disease surveillance, non-communicable diseases, burden of disease, universal health coverage, health systems strengthening, health...
6. Translating Research to Healthcare Policy
In this course, you will learn about the process of evaluating the real-world outcomes of health research. You will learn important terminology and concepts as you explore how the outcomes of health research can influence health policy and practice. The readings, videos, and activities in this course should be completed in the order they are presented to ensure that you will have the best learning experience possible. This course will be of interest to graduate students, health professions...
7. 2017 Great Decisions: Foreign Policy Association
Learn about leading foreign policy challenges confronting U.S. policy makers and the American public...
8. Master Public Policy Analysis In Six Easy Steps: The Basics
An Introduction to Policy Analysis Concepts and Practice For The Real World!...
9. Digital Marketing (Part Time)
Build confidence and capability to apply modern marketing strategies on the job. Drive growth with multichannel campaigns powered by data and customer insight. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
10. Intro to Data Analytics
Discover if data is a career fit for you Regardless of your industry or role, fluency in the language of data analytics will allow you to contribute to data driven decision making. In this free, two-hour livestream, you’ll learn to understand, analyze, and interpret data so you too can join the data conversation. We’ll cover how to ask the right questions of your data and basic analytic functionality. Then you’ll apply your new found data analytic skills to a real-world dataset, allowing you...
11. Data Structures and Algorithms
Get hands-on practice with over 80 data structures and algorithm exercises and guidance from a dedicated mentor to help prepare you for interviews and on-the-job scenarios...
12. Data Visualization
You will start by building data visualizations and dashboards, considering your audiences to be as effective as possible. Then, you’ll move into drafting presentations using storytelling techniques, visualizations, and animations to provide data-driven recommendations...
13. Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners
In the U.S., social policy accounts for two-thirds of government spending. Knowing how policies are constructed, what values underlie them, and how they succeed or fail makes everyone more effective at work or in their civic role. This specialization includes an HONORS track in which learners will complete a professional social policy analysis.\n\nTeachers, health care workers, police, and social workers interact with policy daily, but all of us should care about the impact and effectiveness of...
14. Engineering Life: Synbio, Bioethics & Public Policy
Synbio is a diverse field with diverse applications, and the different contexts (e.g., gain-of-function research, biofuels) raise different ethical and governance challenges. The objective of this course is to increase learners’ awareness and understanding of ethical and policy/governance issues that arise in the design, conduct and application of synthetic biology. The course will begin with a short history of recombinant DNA technology and how governance of that science developed and evolved,...
15. Master Public Policy Analysis: Advanced
Learn Advanced Policy Analysis Concepts and Practice For The Real World!...
16. Mastering Group Policy on Windows Server
An IT person's guide to managing Active Directory Users and Computers with Group Policy...
17. Digital Marketing
Gain real-world experience running live campaigns as you learn from top experts in the field. Launch your career with a 360-degree understanding of digital marketing...
18. Intro to Data Analysis
Start your data science journey right with this hands-on introduction to the discipline of data analysis. In this course you'll learn the 5 key stages of the data analysis process and apply them to real data sets using Python libraries NumPy, pandas, and Matplotlib...
19. Trade & investment: evidence-based policies for development
This MOOC prepares students that want to analyse trade and investment policies of developing countries and emerging markets. We couch you for the task of giving evidence-based policy. For students interested in policy advise the course brings a sound understanding of what can and what cannot be done with well-established theories and state-of-the-art research. For students interested in research the asset of this course is to learn how to effectively communicate research findings in a policy...
20. Global Energy and Climate Policy
The Global Energy and Climate Policy course offers an introduction to the theoretical and practical understanding of how energy and climate change policies are designed, shaped, advocated and implemented. As energy markets go truly global, domestic energy policies are becoming more and more entangled with wider issues of international governance. Concurrently, the urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change and transition to a low-carbon future is adding a further layer of complexity...
Top 10 most affordable universities for research associates, policy
The most affordable schools for research associates, policy are University of Florida, baruch college of the city university of new york, and florida state university.
If the best universities for research associates, policy 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 research associates, policy.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
3. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
4. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
5. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
6. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
7. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
8. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Cost of attendance
25,275
9. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
10. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for research associates, policy
The hardest universities for research associates, policy to get into are Northwestern University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for research associates, policy 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 research associates, policy 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. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
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. University of Chicago
Chicago, IL • Private
Admissions rate
7%
SAT average
1,520
6. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
7. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
8. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
9. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
10. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for research associates, policy
The easiest schools for research associates, policy to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, barry university, and university of the incarnate word.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a research associate, policy 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 research associates, policy.
1. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
4. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Camden
Camden, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,086
5. Linfield College
McMinnville, OR • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
1,117
6. San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,054
7. Centenary University
Hackettstown, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
67%
SAT average
987
8. La Roche College
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
99%
SAT average
1,008
9. Central Washington University
Ellensburg, WA • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,062
10. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
Average research associate, policy salary by education level
| Research associate, policy education level | Research associate, policy salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $81,137 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $70,634 |
| Doctorate Degree | $81,939 |
Research associate, policy education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025