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Senior associate scientist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a senior associate scientist. Senior associate scientists usually study chemistry, biology, or biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology. 70% of senior associate scientists hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 871 real senior associate scientist resumes to see exactly what senior associate scientist education sections show.

The most common colleges for senior associate scientists are the University of California - Davis and the University of California - Davis.

There are also many online senior associate scientist courses to help get the education required to be a senior associate scientist.

What education do you need to become a senior associate scientist?

What degree do you need to be a senior associate scientist?

The most common degree for senior associate scientists is bachelor's degree, with 70% of senior associate scientists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 22% and master's degree degree at 4%.
  • Bachelor's, 70%
  • Master's, 22%
  • Associate, 4%
  • Doctorate, 3%
  • Other Degrees, 1%

What should I major in to become a senior associate scientist?

You should major in chemistry to become a senior associate scientist. 28% of senior associate scientists major in chemistry. Other common majors for a senior associate scientist include biology and biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology.

Most common colleges for senior associate scientists

Senior associate scientists often get their degrees at University of California - Davis, University of Connecticut, and University of California, Santa Barbara. Here are the most common colleges for senior associate scientists in the US based on their resumes.
Senior associate scientist common collegePercentages
University of California - Davis10.30%
University of Connecticut9.70%
University of California, Santa Barbara9.70%
University of Rhode Island6.67%
University of Washington6.67%

Best majors for senior associate scientists

Best colleges for senior associate scientists

The best colleges for senior associate scientists are Harvard University, Duke University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

A senior associate scientist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for senior associate scientists. 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 senior associate scientists.

1. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

2. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

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. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

7. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

In-state tuition

$49,816

Enrollment

6,840

8. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

10. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

20 best online courses for senior associate scientists

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1. Drug Discovery

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The University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Drug Discovery course brings you lectures from both faculty and industry experts. With this course, recorded on campus at UCSD, we seek to share our access to top people in the field who bring an unprecedented range of expertise on drug discovery. In this course you will learn the drug discovery process up to the filing of an Initial New Drug Application or IND. Each week you will learn the steps that...

2. Drug Development

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The University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Drug Development course brings you lectures from both faculty and industry experts. With this course, recorded on campus at UCSD, we seek to share our access to top people in the field who bring an unprecedented range of expertise on drug development. In this course you will learn the different stages of clinical development as well as the regulatory including but not limited to, an Investigational New...

3. Pharmaceutical Industry Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)

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

4. Introduction to Cheminformatics and medicinal chemistry

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Understand the underlying chemistry of drug development and use free softwares to analyze molecules...

5. 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...

6. Drug Commercialization

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The University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Drug Commercialization course brings you lectures from both faculty and industry experts. With this course, recorded on campus at UCSD, we seek to share our access to top people in the field who bring an unprecedented range of expertise on drug commercialization. This course will cover pharmacoeconomic, marketing strategy, intellectual property strategy, portfolio management, managed markets and...

7. Certificate Course in Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)

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

8. Essential Non Technical Skills of Effective Data Scientists

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9. The Data Scientist’s Toolbox

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In this course you will get an introduction to the main tools and ideas in the data scientist's toolbox. The course gives an overview of the data, questions, and tools that data analysts and data scientists work with. There are two components to this course. The first is a conceptual introduction to the ideas behind turning data into actionable knowledge. The second is a practical introduction to the tools that will be used in the program like version control, markdown, git, GitHub, R, and...

10. Der Werkzeugkasten des Data Scientist

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In this course you will get an introduction to the main tools and ideas in the data scientist's toolbox. The course gives an overview of the data, questions, and tools that data analysts and data scientists work with. There are two components to this course. The first is a conceptual introduction to the ideas behind turning data into actionable knowledge. The second is a practical introduction to the tools that will be used in the program like version control, markdown, git, GitHub, R, and...

11. R Programming: Advanced Analytics In R For Data Science

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Take Your R & R Studio Skills To The Next Level. Data Analytics, Data Science, Statistical Analysis in Business, GGPlot2...

12. Certificate Course in Pharmacovigilance

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Drug safety, Drug development and discovery, ICSR , Adverse events, Global guidelines, Med DRA, PV Audits...

13. Microsoft Azure Data Scientist Associate (DP-100)

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This Professional Certificate is intended for data scientists with existing knowledge of Python and machine learning frameworks like Scikit-Learn, PyTorch, and Tensorflow, who want to build and operate machine learning solutions in the cloud. This Professional Certificate teaches learners how to create end-to-end solutions in Microsoft Azure. They will learn how to manage Azure resources for machine learning; run experiments and train models; deploy and operationalize machine learning...

14. Practical SQL Bootcamp for Data Analysts and Data Scientists

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15. Learn Data Science & Machine Learning with R from A-Z

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16. R Level 1 - Data Analytics with R

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17. Applied Statistical Modeling for Data Analysis in R

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18. Statistics for Data Analysis Using R

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Learn Programming in R & R Studio • Descriptive, Inferential Statistics • Plots for Data Visualization • Data Science...

19. How to Become a Senior Developer - Beyond coding skills

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The path to becoming a senior developer is clear, with these easily applicable lessons on mastering your craft...

20. R Programming Hands-on Specialization for Data Science (Lv1)

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An in-depth course on R language with real-world Data Science examples to supercharge your R data analysis skills...

Top 10 most affordable universities for senior associate scientists

The most affordable schools for senior associate scientists are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for senior associate scientists 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 senior associate scientists.

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. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

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 senior associate scientists

The hardest universities for senior associate scientists to get into are Harvard University, Duke University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for senior associate scientists 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 senior associate scientists 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. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

6. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

7. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

8. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

9. University of Chicago

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions rate

7%

SAT average

1,520

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for senior associate scientists

The easiest schools for senior associate scientists 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 senior associate scientist 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 senior associate scientists.

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. Our Lady of the Lake University

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,002

Average senior associate scientist salary by education level

Senior associate scientists with a Doctorate degree earn more than those without, at $92,330 annually. With a Master's degree, senior associate scientists earn a median annual income of $86,809 compared to $84,680 for senior associate scientists with an Bachelor's degree.
Senior associate scientist education levelSenior associate scientist salary
Master's Degree$86,809
Bachelor's Degree$84,680
Doctorate Degree$92,330

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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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