Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Senior development scientist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a senior development scientist. Senior development scientists usually study chemistry, biology, or biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology. 56% of senior development scientists hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an doctoral degree. We analyzed 343 real senior development scientist resumes to see exactly what senior development scientist education sections show.
The most common colleges for senior development scientists are the Temple University and the Temple University.
There are also many online senior development scientist courses to help get the education required to be a senior development scientist.
What education do you need to become a senior development scientist?
What degree do you need to be a senior development scientist?
- Bachelor's, 56%
- Doctorate, 24%
- Master's, 17%
- Associate, 2%
- Other Degrees, 1%
What should I major in to become a senior development scientist?
- Chemistry, 33%
- Biology, 16%
- Microbiology, 6%
- Other Majors, 30%
Most common colleges for senior development scientists
| Senior development scientist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Temple University | 10.34% |
| Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | 10.34% |
| University of California - San Diego | 6.90% |
| University of Chicago | 6.90% |
| University of Florida | 5.17% |
Best majors for senior development scientists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chemistry | 33.3% |
| 2 | Biology | 16.3% |
| 3 | Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology | 14.8% |
| 4 | Microbiology | 5.6% |
| 5 | Chemical Engineering | 4.4% |
Best colleges for senior development scientists
The best colleges for senior development scientists are Harvard University, Duke University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
A senior development 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 development 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 development 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 development scientists
Advertising disclosure
1. Drug Development Product Management
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...
2. 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...
3. Pharmaceutical Industry Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)
Empowering Professionals in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Comprehensive Online Course in Drug Regulatory Affairs...
4. Certificate Course in Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA)
Pharma course (NDA, ANDA, CTD, DMF, USFDA, Regulatory strategy, GMP, Clinical Research, Orange Book, Pharmaceuticals)...
5. Drug Commercialization
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...
6. Drug Discovery
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...
7. How to Become a Senior Developer - Beyond coding skills
The path to becoming a senior developer is clear, with these easily applicable lessons on mastering your craft...
8. Pharma Drug Regulatory Affairs Certificate Course - DRA 2023
DRA, Orange book, USFDA, e CTD, CTD, INDA, NDA, ANDA, DMF, ICH, Software Demo, RA Jobs, Quiz, Pharma Skills, Updated 2023...
9. Mastering Software Development in R
R is a programming language and a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics, widely used by data analysts, data scientists and statisticians. This Specialization covers R software development for building data science tools. As the field of data science evolves, it has become clear that software development skills are essential for producing and scaling useful data science results and products.\n\nThis Specialization will give you rigorous training in the R language,...
10. Strategic Product Development
This course discusses how companies create new products that customers want while achieving their financial objectives. Learners begin by defining the product strategies necessary to ensure a company’s long-term growth. Learners then explore the different product development processes used by high-tech businesses today, such as Stage-Gate and Lean/Agile techniques. Learners conclude by illustrating the tools to build the high-performance teams that take the development process from concept...
11. Essential Non Technical Skills of Effective Data Scientists
Boost your Data Science Career by developing these crucial Non Technical Skills & become a Successful Data Scientist...
12. Certificate Course in Pharmacovigilance
Drug safety, Drug development and discovery, ICSR , Adverse events, Global guidelines, Med DRA, PV Audits...
13. Product Development & Systems Engineering
The complete Product Development & Systems Engineering course! Earn 25 contact hours AND prepare to take the INCOSE Exam...
14. Great Product Manager: Product Management by a Big Tech's PM
Become a Great Product Manager! Land your dream job with Big Tech's Senior Product Manager...
15. Addiction & Mental Health - Chemically Speaking Two (2hrs)
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions - Understand Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health. How to help people...
16. Mastering Agile Scrum Project Management
Review and master agile development & scrum methodologies for your career...
17. Practical Regulatory Affairs 2020 - US FDA Medical Devices
A practical course discussing the US FDA Medical Device regulations for real-world situations...
18. Certificate in Qlik Sense Analytics Development
Real world data scenarios for Qlik Sense app development...
19. Android Development: Android App Development From Scratch
Learn java, android, android studio, android development and android app development with Android 11, become a developer...
20. Full Stack Web & Mobile App Development Mern Stack Project
Full Stack Web Development and Mobile App Development with React JS, React Native, Node JS, Mongo DB MERN Stack Projects...
Top 10 most affordable universities for senior development scientists
The most affordable schools for senior development 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 development 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 development 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 development scientists
The hardest universities for senior development scientists to get into are Harvard University, Duke University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.
Some great schools for senior development 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 development 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 development scientists
The easiest schools for senior development 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 development 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 development 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 development scientist salary by education level
| Senior development scientist education level | Senior development scientist salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $99,521 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $97,788 |
| Doctorate Degree | $103,958 |
Senior development scientist education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common life, physical, and social science questions.
Search for senior development scientist jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025