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Scientific consultant education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a scientific consultant. Scientific consultants usually study biology, chemistry, or biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology. 47% of scientific consultants hold a bachelor's degree, and 30% hold an doctoral degree. We analyzed 363 real scientific consultant resumes to see exactly what scientific consultant education sections show.
The most common colleges for scientific consultants are the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa.
There are also many online scientific consultant courses to help get the education required to be a scientific consultant.
What education do you need to become a scientific consultant?
What degree do you need to be a scientific consultant?
- Bachelor's, 47%
- Doctorate, 30%
- Master's, 20%
- Associate, 1%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a scientific consultant?
Most common colleges for scientific consultants
| Scientific consultant common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Iowa | 8.77% |
| Ohio State University | 8.77% |
| University of California - Davis | 7.02% |
| Cornell University | 7.02% |
| University of Florida | 5.26% |
Best majors for scientific consultants
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology | 18.3% |
| 2 | Chemistry | 14.8% |
| 3 | Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology | 11.3% |
| 4 | Physics | 7.4% |
| 5 | Microbiology | 6.1% |
Best colleges for scientific consultants
The best colleges for scientific consultants are Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University.
A scientific consultant with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for scientific consultants. 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 scientific consultants.
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. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
In-state tuition
$53,399
Enrollment
7,356
4. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
6. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
7. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
In-state tuition
$53,430
Enrollment
5,963
8. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
10. Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH • Private
In-state tuition
$55,453
Enrollment
4,312
20 best online courses for scientific consultants
Advertising disclosure
1. A Scientific Approach to Innovation Management
How can innovators understand if their idea is worth developing and pursuing? In this course, we lay out a systematic process to make strategic decisions about innovative product or services that will help entrepreneurs, managers and innovators to avoid common pitfalls. We teach students to assess the feasibility of an innovative idea through problem-framing techniques and rigorous data analysis labelled ‘a scientific approach’. The course is highly interactive and includes exercises and...
2. Julia Scientific Programming
This course introduces you to Julia as a first programming language. Julia is a high-level, high-performance dynamic programming language developed specifically for scientific computing. This language will be particularly useful for applications in physics, chemistry, astronomy, engineering, data science, bioinformatics, and many more. You can start programming with Julia within Coursera and it can also be used from the command line, program files, or a Jupyter notebook. Julia is designed to...
3. Master Python programming by solving scientific projects
Learn scientific coding in Python from a warm-blooded scientist. Each video includes hands-on solved practice problems!...
4. Business Analysis Fundamentals for Management Consultants
A practical guide for Business Analysts and Management Consultants with exercises in Excel...
5. AI for Scientific Research
In the AI for Scientific Research specialization, we'll learn how to use AI in scientific situations to discover trends and patterns within datasets. Course 1 teaches a little bit about the Python language as it relates to data science. We'll share some existing libraries to help analyze your datasets. By the end of the course, you'll apply a classification model to predict the presence or absence of heart disease from a patient's health data. Course 2 covers the complete machine learning...
6. Practical Regulatory Affairs 2020 - US FDA Medical Devices
A practical course discussing the US FDA Medical Device regulations for real-world situations...
7. Practical Project Management for Management Consultants
How to manage successfully a consulting project - a practical guide for Project Managers...
8. Consulting Business Masterclass: Start A Consulting Business
The Complete A-Z Consulting Course for Everyone Who Wants to Become Location-Independent...
9. Consulting Business: How to Start a Consulting Business
Consulting Business 90-Step Startup + 5-Phase Consulting Business Proposal Plan to Start Consulting Business Fast...
10. 15 Errors in Scientific Writing & How to Fix Them
For people with current or future careers in academia, medical writing, medical editing, copyediting, or copywriting...
11. Medical Devices Quality Management System - ISO 13485:2016
Awareness and Application for the requirements of ISO 13485:2016 for Medical Device Development and QMS...
12. Performance Improvement Projects for Management Consultants
A practical guide on how to conduct consulting projects on the level of Mc Kinsey, Bain, BCG, Pw C...
13. FMCG for Management Consultants and Business Analysts
A practical guide on how to analyze in Excel and improve consumer goods business during consulting projects...
14. Retail for Business Analysts and Management Consultants
A practical guide with cases studies how to analyze and improve a retail business during management consulting projects...
15. Sales Analysis for Management Consultants
A practical guide on how to improve sales and marketing of your customers during consulting projects like Mc Kinsey, BCG,...
16. Medical Device Regulation 2017/745 EU regulatory affairs.
Understand regulations for medical devices in simple terms to gain market approval of a medical device in the EU...
17. Management Consulting Essential Training
Everything you need to know about the techniques of world's top management consulting firms to land 6-figure job offer...
18. Data Visualization for Management Consultants & Analysts
A practical guide on how to show results of analyses during consulting projects...
19. Management Consulting Skills Mastery
Problem solving, communication, corporate strategy, financial analysis, operations analysis. Everything is included!...
20. Computational Physics: Scientific Programming with Python
From numerical methods to exciting applications: Differential equations, eigenvalue problems, Monte Carlo methods & more...
Top 10 most affordable universities for scientific consultants
The most affordable schools for scientific consultants are University of Florida, brigham young university, and florida state university.
If the best universities for scientific consultants 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 scientific consultants.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
3. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
4. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Cost of attendance
25,527
6. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
7. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
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 Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Cost of attendance
25,275
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 scientific consultants
The hardest universities for scientific consultants to get into are Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University.
Some great schools for scientific consultants 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 scientific consultants 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. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
4. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
5. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
6. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
7. California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA • Private
Admissions rate
7%
SAT average
1,566
8. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
9. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
10. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for scientific consultants
The easiest schools for scientific consultants to get into are Barry University, d'youville college, and mount saint mary's university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a scientific consultant 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 scientific consultants.
1. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
2. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
3. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
4. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
5. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
6. La Roche College
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
99%
SAT average
1,008
7. Thomas More University
Crestview Hills, KY • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
1,099
8. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
9. San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,054
10. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
Average scientific consultant salary by education level
| Scientific consultant education level | Scientific consultant salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $106,536 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $67,419 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $93,610 |
| Doctorate Degree | $101,534 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $70,514 |
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025