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Study coordinator education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a study coordinator. Study coordinators usually study nursing, psychology, or biology. 61% of study coordinators hold a bachelor's degree, and 18% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 3,211 real study coordinator resumes to see exactly what study coordinator education sections show.

The most common colleges for study coordinators are the Boston University and the Boston University.

There are also many online study coordinator courses to help get the education required to be a study coordinator.

There are certain study coordinator certifications that you should consider. These study coordinator certifications include Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) and Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC).

What education do you need to become a study coordinator?

What degree do you need to be a study coordinator?

The most common degree for study coordinators is bachelor's degree, with 61% of study coordinators earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 18% and master's degree degree at 10%.
  • Bachelor's, 61%
  • Master's, 18%
  • Associate, 10%
  • Doctorate, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 7%

What should I major in to become a study coordinator?

You should major in nursing to become a study coordinator. 19% of study coordinators major in nursing. Other common majors for a study coordinator include psychology and biology.

Most common colleges for study coordinators

Study coordinators often get their degrees at Boston University, University of Washington, and University of Utah. Here are the most common colleges for study coordinators in the US based on their resumes.
Study coordinator common collegePercentages
Boston University8.50%
University of Washington7.52%
University of Utah6.86%
University of Phoenix6.54%
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill6.54%

Best majors for study coordinators

RankMajorPercentages
1Nursing18.5%
2Psychology17.7%
3Biology15.8%
4Business9.2%
5Health Care Administration4.3%

Best colleges for study coordinators

The best colleges for study coordinators are Columbia University in the City of New York, Northwestern University, and Johns Hopkins University.

A study coordinator with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for study coordinators. 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 study coordinators.

1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

2. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

3. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

5. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Enrollment

16,205

6. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

7. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

9. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Enrollment

31,321

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

20 best online courses for study coordinators

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1. Studying Cities: Social Science Methods for Urban Research

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Welcome! Are you looking to learn more about how to conduct scientific research, specifically in an urban or local context? Then you have found the right course: Studying Cities: Social Science Methods for Urban Research by the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. During the course you will gain more insight in the different steps of the research cycle, and build a firm foundation for your own future research endeavors. Before any (urban)...

2. Case Studies in Personalized Medicine

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Learn how advances in biomedicine hold the potential to revolutionize drug development, drug treatments, and disease prevention: where are we now, and what does the future hold? This course will present short primers in genetics and mechanisms underlying variability in drug responses. A series of case studies will be used to illustrate principles of how genetics are being brought to bear on refining diagnoses and on personalizing treatment in rare and common diseases. The ethical and...

3. Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research Professionals

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The Complete, Certified ICH GCP (R2 & R3) Course for Investigators, Study Coordinators, Sponsors, Monitors and Study staff...

4. Good Clinical Practice ICH GCP for Clinical Research

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Certification on ICH GCP E6 R2 Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research The Only Complete Course You Can Find Online...

5. Google Data Analytics Capstone: Complete a Case Study

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This course is the eighth course in the Google Data Analytics Certificate. You’ll have the opportunity to complete an optional case study, which will help prepare you for the data analytics job hunt. Case studies are commonly used by employers to assess analytical skills. For your case study, you’ll choose an analytics-based scenario. You’ll then ask questions, prepare, process, analyze, visualize and act on the data from the scenario. You’ll also learn other useful job hunt skills through...

6. Clinical Trials Data Management and Quality Assurance

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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...

7. Certificate Course in Clinical Research (CCCR)

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A Clinical Research Course-ICH-GCP E6(R2), Clinical Trials, Essential Documents, Sponsor, Investigator, Pharmaceuticals...

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Step into the world of Pharmaceutical industry Clinical Trials Clinical Research Biostatistics Clinical SAS SAS...

9. Study Skills for University Success

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In this course, you’ll learn about many important skills to support your study, including time management, discovering your own learning styles, and reading more effectively and increasing your vocabulary. You’ll hear some guidelines for studying effectively in online or remote classes, which are becoming more and more popular in university-level education. You’ll also improve your skills in listening to lectures and taking good notes to help you as you study for tests. Finally, you’ll hear...

10. Agile Scrum Master Training: Case Studies and Confessions

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Learn 7 case studies+project management+dealing w difficult people/challenging situations for scrum master certification...

11. Become an UltraLearner: The #1 Study Framework for Success

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4.3
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The perfect companion to all the great memory & study skills courses out there...

12. Accelerated Learning: Study Skills for Success: IT industry

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Learn: Study Skills, Certification Techniques, Continuous Learning, Productivity, Focus, Time Management, Goal Setting...

13. Core Subjects Test Review for Social Studies

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14. Market Research: A-Z Fundamentals with Case Studies

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15. Data Science Masterclass With R 8 Case Studies + 4 Projects

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Data Science by IITian -Data Science+R Programming ,Data analysis, Data Visualization, Data Pre-processing etc...

16. Clinical Research for beginners

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The Art of Publishing - Master Pub Med, Study design, Biostatistics, Journal choice, Manuscript writing & Referencing...

17. Data Science & Deep Learning for Business™ 20 Case Studies

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18. Data Analysis Bootcamp™ 21 Real World Case Studies

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Gain Business Intelligence Skills using Statistics, Data Wrangling, Data Science, Visualizations & Google Data Studio...

19. Basic of Clinical Data Management

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Clinical Data Management...

20. Software Architecture Case Studies

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Become an even better Software Architect by learning from real-world architecture case studies...

Top 10 most affordable universities for study coordinators

The most affordable schools for study coordinators are Hunter College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and california state university - bakersfield.

If the best universities for study coordinators 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 study coordinators.

1. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

5. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

6. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

7. California State University - Fresno

Fresno, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,587

Cost of attendance

16,915

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. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

10. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for study coordinators

The hardest universities for study coordinators to get into are Columbia University in the City of New York, Northwestern University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Some great schools for study coordinators 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 study coordinators 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. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

5. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

6. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

7. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,456

9. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

10. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for study coordinators

The easiest schools for study coordinators to get into are Barry University, d'youville college, and bluefield college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a study coordinator 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 study coordinators.

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. Bluefield College

Bluefield, VA • Private

Admissions rate

95%

SAT average

980

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. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

7. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

8. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

9. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

10. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

Average study coordinator salary by education level

According to our data, study coordinators with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $59,720 annually. Study coordinators with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $56,513.
Study coordinator education levelStudy coordinator salary
Master's Degree$56,513
High School Diploma or Less$42,530
Bachelor's Degree$51,455
Doctorate Degree$59,720
Some College/ Associate Degree$44,385

Study coordinator education FAQs

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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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