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Senior clinical research scientist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a senior clinical research scientist. Senior clinical research scientists usually study biology, nursing, or chemistry. 57% of senior clinical research scientists hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an doctoral degree. We analyzed 150 real senior clinical research scientist resumes to see exactly what senior clinical research scientist education sections show.
The most common colleges for senior clinical research scientists are the New York University and the New York University.
There are also many online senior clinical research scientist courses to help get the education required to be a senior clinical research scientist.
What education do you need to become a senior clinical research scientist?
What degree do you need to be a senior clinical research scientist?
- Bachelor's, 57%
- Doctorate, 24%
- Master's, 15%
- Associate, 3%
- Other Degrees, 1%
What should I major in to become a senior clinical research scientist?
Most common colleges for senior clinical research scientists
| Senior clinical research scientist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| New York University | 8.11% |
| University of Connecticut | 8.11% |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 8.11% |
| Villanova University | 8.11% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University | 8.11% |
Best majors for senior clinical research scientists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biology | 23.5% |
| 2 | Nursing | 11.8% |
| 3 | Chemistry | 7.8% |
| 4 | Physiology And Anatomy | 6.9% |
| 5 | Pharmacy | 6.9% |
Best colleges for senior clinical research scientists
The best colleges for senior clinical research scientists are University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Johns Hopkins University.
A senior clinical research 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 clinical research 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 clinical research scientists.
1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
2. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
3. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
4. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,625
Enrollment
17,407
5. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
6. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
8. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
9. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
10. Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$40,651
Enrollment
3,495
20 best online courses for senior clinical research scientists
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2. Making Data Science Work for Clinical Reporting
This course is aimed to demonstate how principles and methods from data science can be applied in clinical reporting. By the end of the course, learners will understand what requirements there are in reporting clinical trials, and how they impact on how data science is used. The learner will see how they can work efficiently and effectively while still ensuring that they meet the needed standards...
3. Basic of Clinical Data Management
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4. The Beginners Course for Clinical Research
The Essentials of Clinical Trials - Clinical Research for Beginners...
5. Clinical Trials Operations
This specialization is designed for individuals and teams that will be running or interacting with clinical trials. In four courses, learners will develop insights and build the skills they need to design, manage, and monitor clinical trials as well as analyze, document, and communicate the results. Learners will also learn best practices regarding ethics, safety, participant recruitment, regulatory compliance, and reporting standards. The core principles and skills of the specialization will...
6. Clinical Trials Analysis, Monitoring, and Presentation
In this course, you’ll learn more advanced operational skills that you and your team need to run a successful clinical trial. You’ll learn about the computation of sample size and how to develop a sample size calculation that’s suitable for your trial design and outcome measures. You’ll also learn to use statistical methods to monitor your trial for safety, integrity, and efficacy. Next, you’ll learn how to report the results from your clinical trials through both journal articles and data...
7. Good Clinical Practice ICH GCP for Clinical Research
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8. Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research Professionals
The Complete, Certified ICH GCP (R2 & R3) Course for Investigators, Study Coordinators, Sponsors, Monitors and Study staff...
9. 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...
10. Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics
If you’ve ever skipped over the results section of a medical paper because terms like “confidence interval” or “p-value” go over your head, then you’re in the right place. You may be a clinical practitioner reading research articles to keep up-to-date with developments in your field or a medical student wondering how to approach your own research. Greater confidence in understanding statistical analysis and the results can benefit both working professionals and those undertaking research...
11. 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...
12. Certificate Course in Clinical Research (CCCR)
A Clinical Research Course-ICH-GCP E6(R2), Clinical Trials, Essential Documents, Sponsor, Investigator, Pharmaceuticals...
13. Predictive Modeling and Transforming Clinical Practice
This course teaches you the fundamentals of transforming clinical practice using predictive models. This course examines specific challenges and methods of clinical implementation, that clinical data scientists must be aware of when developing their predictive models...
14. Introduction to Clinical Data Science
This course will prepare you to complete all parts of the Clinical Data Science Specialization. In this course you will learn how clinical data are generated, the format of these data, and the ethical and legal restrictions on these data. You will also learn enough SQL and R programming skills to be able to complete the entire Specialization - even if you are a beginner programmer. While you are taking this course you will have access to an actual clinical data set and a free, online...
15. Clinical Research for beginners
The Art of Publishing - Master Pub Med, Study design, Biostatistics, Journal choice, Manuscript writing & Referencing...
16. Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
Key features of the GCP guideline, roles and responsibilities involved and the requirements of essential documentation...
17. Drug Development
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...
18. Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials
In this course, you’ll learn how to design and carry out clinical trials. Each design choice has implications for the quality and validity of your results. This course provides you and your team with essential skills to evaluate options, make good design choices, and implement them within your trial. You’ll learn to control for bias, randomize participants, mask treatments and outcomes, identify errors, develop and test hypotheses, and define appropriate outcomes. Finally, a trial without...
19. Certificate Course in Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)
Pharma course (NDA, ANDA, CTD, DMF, USFDA, Regulatory strategy, GMP, Clinical Research, Orange Book, Pharmaceuticals)...
20. Clinical Natural Language Processing
This course teaches you the fundamentals of clinical natural language processing (NLP). In this course you will learn the basic linguistic principals underlying NLP, as well as how to write regular expressions and handle text data in R. You will also learn practical techniques for text processing to be able to extract information from clinical notes. Finally, you will have a chance to put your skills to the test with a real-world practical application where you develop text processing...
Top 10 most affordable universities for senior clinical research scientists
The most affordable schools for senior clinical research scientists are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for senior clinical research 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 clinical research 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 - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
5. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Cost of attendance
25,527
7. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
8. York College of the City University of New York
Jamaica, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,158
Cost of attendance
14,204
9. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
10. University of Missouri - Kansas City
Kansas City, MO • Private
In-state tuition
$8,178
Cost of attendance
20,934
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for senior clinical research scientists
The hardest universities for senior clinical research scientists to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Johns Hopkins University.
Some great schools for senior clinical research 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 clinical research 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. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
2. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
3. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
4. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
5. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
6. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
7. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
8. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
9. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
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 senior clinical research scientists
The easiest schools for senior clinical research scientists to get into are D'Youville College, adventhealth university, and barry university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a senior clinical research 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 clinical research scientists.
1. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
2. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
3. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
4. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
5. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
6. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
7. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
8. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
9. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
10. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
Average senior clinical research scientist salary by education level
| Senior clinical research scientist education level | Senior clinical research scientist salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $130,236 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $90,162 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $115,360 |
| Doctorate Degree | $139,878 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $95,281 |
Senior clinical research scientist education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025